“Strangely, life gets harder when you try to make it easy. Exercising might be hard, but never moving makes life harder. Uncomfortable conversations are hard, but avoiding every conflict is harder. Mastering your craft is hard, but having no skills is harder. Easy has a cost.” – James Clear

At work we have a daily spreadsheet report. One of our regional consultants created this daily tool and he updates it / revises it each year and distributes it for each clinic’s ability to enter and track business metrics. One of 2023’s new features is a quote for each day, and the above quote appeared on October 17th’s daily report. 

The core message in the statement, “Easy has a cost,” resonates within me, on so many levels. For those of you who have read my book, I shared early in the story that in my late twenties I came to the conclusion that life is hard. This may sound overly simple; yet my coming to this understanding was profoundly impactful and re-framed my perspective, decision-making, and resolve from that moment in my life and continues today. 

Seeking to avoid necessary tasks, conversations, responsibilities, ___________, in the short term ….. Fill in the blank …… seeking to avoid that which we don’t want to do – for whatever the reason or self justification might be – is not beneficial or healthy in the long term.

In my personal life and walk with the Lord, in caring for clients in our physical therapy practice, in family dynamics, in relationship with my friends, in functioning as a productive member of my community (just to cite examples of various relational levels); I have daily challenges / opportunities in how I might respond. 

What guides our response to make an “easy” vs a “hard” choice

Several scriptures emerge in my thoughts as I am typing . . . . 

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

According to Philippians 4:19, my Heavenly Father will supply all that I need; therefore, I will have the courage, the patience, the resolve, the kindness I need to have a difficult conversation. 

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.”

Philippians 2:3 instructs me that my decisions / choices / actions are to be founded in humility rather than selfish ambition and empty pride. Indeed, this is one of many Kingdom mysteries; so counterculture to the world’s paradigm of how to succeed in life. 

Jesus taught the disciples in John 15 that He was leaving them with a “new commandment” – that they would love others as He has loved them. In verse 13, He states, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

So as I steward and nurture relationships in my life, I have no greater love than to lay my life down.

Indeed, life is hard. 

Yet, “… in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

Life is hard. He is worth it.