One reason, if not the reason why the story of humanity’s first wrong choice, the original failure, is vehemently denounced is the brutality with which this event—a seemingly trivial “dietary” decision that turned out to be the most costly ever made by a human being—reminds us more powerfully than any other story how painful the consequences of our mistakes can be. We do not take kindly to stories that moralise about the inescapable consequences of our mistakes.
The hardest thing to accept after making a disastrous choice is the pain of facing the consequences, especially when we pay for the wrong step for the rest of our lives. It is only then that we understand the inestimable value of being able to anticipate how costly the step we intend to take will be. Why are we often incapable of anticipating the harmful consequences of our decisions, only becoming aware of the costs when we experience them first-hand? Why do we only discover how much something or someone was worth after we have lost them?
Cost and value are two sides of the same coin: a choice costs you exactly what you lose as a result of that decision. Therefore, valuing things at their true value is key to anticipating the costs of our choices. But what determines our ability to value things at their true value? This obviously depends on the accuracy of the value assessments we have received and internalised from the various sources we have given authority and credibility to, and taken “at face value”. As long as our value system is not based on accurate assessments, it is entirely unrealistic to expect that we will be able to successfully anticipate the losses and suffering caused by our decisions.
“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” This assessment of all things in this world was compiled by Jesus in the biblical text of Matthew 16 (verse 26). Ultimately, we risk selling our souls and our lives for nothing, precisely because we have not foreseen how precious they are. We are blinded by our gross overestimation of the value of the things in this world. More precisely, because we have ignored or disbelieved Jesus’s assessment, we have not “bought” it. “Come, buy. . . that you may live” is the explicit invitation made in the Book of Isaiah, in the first three verses of Chapter 55. By not accepting the assessment, we are in fact refusing to recognise the credibility of its author as an evaluator, and his authority to determine the true value of the things in this world.
Accepting a different assessment means rejecting the current valuations that have shaped our value system, whether consciously or not. Whenever we do not sell or give up something, we are actually making the decision to buy it. Indecision is essentially a decision in the opposite direction, with consequences that are as tangible as any other decision, and are often much more painful.
Post-factum lamentations are all too familiar: “If only I had known the costs before making this decision; if only someone had told me how expensive it would be!” Another common lament is, “How could I not listen to him? How could I not take his word when he told me how much it would cost?” If we are honest with ourselves, we will ultimately acknowledge our responsibility. We would have known if we had wanted to know. However, we often stubbornly want to do or have certain things. We overvalue or illegitimately value these things, and the “blinding glow” of what we desire paradoxically keeps us in the dark. We either do not want to know or are not interested in knowing what the costs will be. In extreme cases, we are not aware that there is something to know—absolute darkness. “If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Jesus remarks with sadness during the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:23).
The inflamed evaluator’s eye feeds to satiety on the sparkle of this world’s riches, valuing them above all else. The ultimate symptom of the disease is satiety with junk food and unbroken self-sufficiency: “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). If left untreated, blindness becomes impenetrable, the darkness of the light within becomes all-powerful, and the absence of light is no longer felt.
Jesus repeats His offer of healing: “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Revelation 3:18). Once accepted, the remedy produces a reversal of values in the healed eye, and the patient finally begins to feel that they are lacking something. This newfound hunger for genuine, nourishing values paves the way for personal fulfilment and complete joy: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry” (Matthew 5:6).
The ability to see the real, legitimate value of things and to see them in their true light and splendour is therefore what makes it possible to prevent costly failures and even existential collapse—the cornerstone of our life’s edifice. If this vision is healthy, the whole edifice will be healthy. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light” (Matthew 6:22). This discerning eye can distinguish between the genuine and the counterfeit, the essential and the accessory, and the brilliance of the precious pearl and the darkness of the light within or the false sparkle. Healing this eye enables us to recognise valuable things, allowing us to abandon old, harmful evaluations and “sell” them (even “clear out the stock”), making it desirable to do so: “When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
Taking responsibility for the consequences of one’s decisions is a sign of recovery, and a prerequisite for salvation. Before asking for and receiving salvation, the thief crucified on the cross takes responsibility for the consequences of his actions: “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve” (Luke 23:41).
We cannot avoid the consequences of our choices. Even if we lack the ability to anticipate how painful the consequences of our decisions will be, we still have the power to accept the necessary treatment to heal our mentality: buying legitimate assessments that will create a completely new mental map with unquestionable paths and landmarks.
So let’s go shopping!