It’s hard to give up on something once we’ve invested our time, energy, and resources into it. And certainly there’s a place for sticking with the commitments we’ve made. But occasionally we experience sunk cost and a previous investment is no longer worth continuing.
For example, perhaps we ordered too much food and feel the need to finish our plate in order to get our money’s worth.
While the food is already paid for, overeating comes with a cost that often outweighs the original price.
We might spend years getting educated and trained to work a particular job, and then feel like we must stick with it even once it’s clear it’s a dead end. We don’t want to waste the time and money we put into it. But the cost on our soul is often not worth it.
Likewise, we might struggle to give up a harmful and toxic relationship just because we’ve already invested so many years into it.
While no one likes losing an investment, holding on to a bad one only holds us back from God’s best. It’s a commitment to false loyalty and likely makes an idol of whatever we’re holding onto.
Rather than faithfully pursuing our deeper yes, we hold onto our past efforts and expect it to deliver on a promise it cannot fulfill.
Accepting sunk cost gives us the freedom to decline the well-meaning gifts from our past self that are no longer beneficial.
The past investment was a gift to our future self. But if the gift no longer serves us today we’re free not to accept it.
While there’s still grief in the loss, this freedom opens the door to invest in what matters most today.
Don’t let sunk cost keep you stuck. Let go and rediscover God’s best today.
