Opportunity Costs

I took several Economics classes in college and there is a lot of jargon to learn. Most of the terms used by economists are things that we all understand, but are given names so they can more easily be talked about. For instance: Opportunity costs- what you have to give up in order to do something else. The basic concept is that you cannot be in two places at once, therefore, you must make a choice between the options you have. By weighing all of these options you ideally choose the one or combinations of options that will make you the most happy.

The Sea to Sea bike tour has huge opportunity costs for me just by the mere fact that it encompasses a continuous block of two month's time. In August of 2007 when I signed up for the tour, the tour was a very concrete option and very few other options were even floating around in my head. Since then more and more things have become established and they begin to get tossed in the mix. Here is a list of some of them:

1. The Olympics- I was never going to be going to China to see them, but the summer games have been one of my favorite sporting events to watch since I was a wee lad and they only come every four years.

2. The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival- Sure, at least one gets rained out each year and I typically only see 2 out of 7 each year, but each one I see brings me a good deal of joy. The festival starts when the tour starts and ends the week before the tour ends; I won't be doing that next summer.

3. Baseball- The Cubs are looking good and I miss the heart of the season. I will still make it to my 5th consecutive opening day, but my usual ten games per season will dwindle considerably.

4. Jeff's wedding- The first of five high school friends is getting married and the odds are I'll miss it. The date isn't set yet, but unless I can convince him that Saturday, August 16th would be a great day to have a wedding sometime in late afternoon in Grand Rapids the only way I'll be there is in the form of a card.

5. Erica's wedding???- I missed my sister's graduation and profession of faith because I went on trips, I might be chopped off the family tree if I were to miss this. Let's hope an autumn wedding appeals to her.

There are a host of smaller costs that are negligable, but so far the cumulative opportunity cost is nowhere near the benefit of taking part in the tour. If you look at the small list I made, most of the costs are personal costs. That list does not reflect the cumulative benefit of everyone else around me, including those I am raising money to help. I think it is always important to weigh the total gain or loss to a community and not to the individual. So, even though I will be homeless and jobless at the beginning of the tour next year I look at it as an opportunity to trust God and not a personal financial cost.