Is Doing the Right Thing Always Worth the Cost?

Everything we do or don’t do costs something, whether time, money, or other resources. We call it “opportunity cost.” When I choose to watch a movie on the couch, there exist a host of other things I’m not doing—fixing the brakes on my car, cutting the grass, reading a book, and more. Every choice we make possesses this dynamic. 

The question becomes, is this choice worth the cost? I may need a chill time on the couch. If I’ve worked 60 hours that week, I need to give my body rest. The rest is worth the cost of not doing other constructive things for that short period of time. 

As part of God’s love to us, he reveals the cost and consequences of our choices, especially the big and important ones. The Father desires to teach us wisdom. Therefore, he is honest about the cost and clear regarding consequences. The choice is ours, but he holds us accountable for those decisions. 

We often struggle with the cost of doing right. Why don’t we see immediate benefits? Why must we sacrifice for good? Fortunately, God understands the struggle and teaches us, like a Good Father, how the right thing is always worth the cost, whatever it might be. 

What is Righteousness? 

We can simply define righteousness as doing what is right. But who defines what’s right? 

Biblically, God defines himself as righteousness. What he does, therefore, is the best thing. Righteousness doesn’t exist apart from him. True righteousness flows from his leadership and character. “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17) To live right means to align our actions, thoughts, and desires with his nature, being, and will. 

For us, then, living right begins with establishing or maintaining a right relationship with God. We can’t have righteousness apart from him, so we must remain close to him and follow him to do what is right. In the Old Testament, obedience to God’s law showed righteousness. “And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God.” (Deuteronomy 6:25) However, while the Law came from God, and he dwelt with them in a way, the covenant of law depended upon human nature to follow the divine standard, which failed. The Law only revealed our need for a different covenant relationship. We needed righteousness, the Person. 

This came though the new covenant, by faith, believing and trusting Christ. “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Romans 3:22) God imparts his Spirit, righteousness, to our hearts so we can live from his power and being. 

We don’t only receive righteousness by faith; we live it out. The apostle John clearly states: “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.” (1 John 3:7) True righteousness flows from God through us to others, in love, justice, mercy, and integrity. 

Why Is Sin Wrong? 

If God alone is righteousness, sin becomes any action apart from him. Sin directly opposes the person of God, his nature, and his design. As with putting sawdust in a vehicle’s gas tank, going against God’s way damages his creation, us, others, and the very earth. Everything God created expresses his perfect order and purpose. Sin goes against that order. Just as he did with righteousness, John addresses sin: “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4) Sin is anarchy, disorder, against God’s design. 

God alone is good, and his designs produce greater good. To resist his creative order leads to negative consequences, evil. 

God designed us to live in intimate relationship with him and each other in peace, love, and truth. Sin rejects that design. Paul describes in Romans 1:25 how people “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” 

Sin harms us, severing us from God (Isaiah 59:2), who is life, giving us death. Turning from God, we walk in spiritual death. Even sins that seem individual, like pride or lust, twist our hearts and keep us from living in love and peace. This sin then harms others. Every lie, choice of greed, anger, or selfishness hurts other people. Jesus summarized the law as loving God and loving others (Matthew 22:37-40). Sin violates God’s intent, leading to hate and division. “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” (James 4:1-2) Sin goes even further, binding and enslaving us. 

Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us in this hopeless state. In his love, he offers a way back. Yet we must believe his warnings. 

Why Is it God’s Love to Warn People Against Sin?  

Because sin leads to harm, to us and others, God warns us against such sin. For God to stand by and do nothing, despite how we deserve the consequences, God warns, corrects, and calls people back to himself. He desires our good and life. 

Like a loving parent warning a kid not to touch a hot stove, God warns us against the consequences of sin. “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves.” (Proverbs 3:11-12) 

Often, we take offense at God’s correction. But his correction proves his love. And if we are in the right relationship with him, it proves our intimacy. For both, he corrects out of love, for our best, to redeem us or further grow us in his will. 

Throughout Scripture, God sends prophets, teachers, and even his own Son to warn people. God doesn’t want anyone to perish. His warnings flow from mercy and his desire for all people to repent (2 Peter 3:9).

Why don’t people listen? Because the sin feels good in the moment, it is in our human nature. The consequence may not be immediate. We don’t see the negative consequences soon enough, choosing instead the temporary pleasure of pride and lust. However, God tells us, sin has a terrible cost, one we will see in the future. 

Why Does Righteousness Have a Cost? 

In contrast, the right thing has a cost in the immediate but offers a reward in the future. 

Doing the right thing carries a cost for several reasons. First, living right expresses God’s nature. Walking in his righteousness aligns with the Father’s character, which includes sacrifice for the good of others, as we see in Christ. “Be imitators of God … and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.” (Ephesians 5:1-2) Righteousness means giving of ourselves for the sake of God and others. Yet because this aligns with God, he gives back to us far more than we ever sacrifice, based on his eternal and infinite resources. 

Second, our fallen world opposes God. The Father’s righteousness goes against the ways of the world. The systems of humanity reward pride, selfishness, and power, no matter what name they place upon it. Jesus taught his disciples, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own … but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19) Doing right brings rejection and hardship in this world. 

Third, our own human, sinful nature wants immediate reward, not a delayed one. With the Spirit, we can choose sacrifice in the moment, knowing the later reward outweighs what we lost. And what we sacrifice, we would never get to keep anyway. The reward promised later? We never lose that. However, we battle our lust for the immediate in this. “The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:17) The right path feels like death because we deny ourselves in the moment, but if it is for God and his Kingdom, we only gain in the end. 

The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:13, “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” The cost of righteousness is temporary, at best, while the reward is one we can’t lose. Ever. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said in Matthew 5:10. 

What Does the Bible Say about God Always Rewarding the Righteous? 

The whole Scripture consistently calls us to live in the moment in light of eternity, which often includes a cost. But God always promises to reward those who do what’s right, even far beyond the immediate cost. God, by nature, is a rewarder, a giver. It’s part of his identity. “Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) 

Jesus taught in Matthew 19:29, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” We must remember the key phrase, “for my name’s sake.” Many sacrifice and pay the cost for all kinds of causes and goals. But we pay the cost of righteousness, of following God, and that results in exponential blessings, both in this life and the next. 

Paul encourages us with this same principle in Galatians 6:9: “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Rewards will always come, guaranteed because the Father himself promises them. We may grow tired, but the secure future hope keeps us faithful. Jesus promised heavenly treasure to those who do good, even when no one sees it. The Lord does. “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6) God notices what others miss. We may feel unseen or forgotten by others, but God sees and never forgets to reward. Christ also focused on the eternal value coming with giving to the needy. “Whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water … will by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:42) Jesus, God in the flesh, says there’s no way to lose the reward!

Jesus ultimately lived this principle on the cross, believing in an absolute reward for obedience. He knew it was worth it. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2) 

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Klaus Vedfelt

Britt Mooney lives and tells great stories. As an author of fiction and non-fiction, he is passionate about teaching ministries and nonprofits the power of storytelling to inspire and spread truth. Mooney has a podcast called Kingdom Over Coffee and is a published author of We Were Reborn for This: The Jesus Model for Living Heaven on Earth as well as Say Yes: How God-Sized Dreams Take Flight.