Start Strong Part 1: Count the Cost
Every meaningful life is shaped by intention. We do not drift into faithfulness, wholeness, or legacy. We move toward them by first seeing the end clearly—and then choosing, often daily, to pay the price required to get there.
Jesus understood this. That's why He consistently called people not merely to belief, but to counted commitment.
Jesus and the Wisdom of Counting the Cost
Jesus invited His listeners to consider two very ordinary scenarios—building and warfare—because both require foresight.
"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn't first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Lest perhaps, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him."
— Luke 14:28–29 (WEB)
Then He turns to war:
"Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?"
— Luke 14:31 (WEB)
These are not lessons about architecture or armies. They are about discipleship.
Jesus closes with clarity that leaves little room for negotiation:
"So therefore whoever of you who doesn't renounce all that he has, he can't be my disciple."
— Luke 14:33 (WEB)
The cost is real. Jesus never minimizes it. But He also never suggests the cost is wasted.
The Stakes of Not Counting the Cost
Many people never count the cost of victory. They set out with good intentions but without the preparation required to see it through. And when the resistance comes—and it always comes—they are overwhelmed.
The stakes of underpreparing are not abstract. History makes them vivid.
Dieppe, 1942: The Cost of Unpreparedness
Two years before D-Day, the Allies attempted an amphibious assault on the French coast at Dieppe. It became one of the darkest chapters of the war.
On August 19, 1942, over 6,000 soldiers—predominantly Canadian—launched Operation Jubilee against the German-occupied port. The operation was plagued from the start: inadequate intelligence, insufficient naval and air support, a flawed assumption that they could seize a fortified port by frontal assault, and a loss of surprise when the convoy encountered a German patrol in the darkness before dawn.
In just nine hours, the raid was over. Over 900 Canadian soldiers were killed, 2,460 wounded, and nearly 2,000 taken prisoner. Tanks became trapped on the shingle beach. Men were pinned down by withering fire from cliffs they had underestimated. One historian called it "an object lesson on how not to mount an amphibious assault." Another described it simply as "an unmitigated disaster."
The goal was the same as it would be two years later: land on occupied France. The forces were capable. The courage was real. But the cost had not been counted. The preparation had not been done. And thousands paid the price.
Normandy, 1944: The Cost Counted, the Victory Won
The Allies did not repeat the mistake. When they returned to the coast of France two years later, they came having counted the cost.
D-Day was the culmination of two full years of meticulous preparation—shaped in part by the blood-bought lessons of Dieppe. Over one million soldiers were shipped to the United Kingdom, equipped, trained, and fed before a single boot touched French sand. Planners analyzed tides, terrain, and German fortifications. They coordinated logistics across continents. They conducted extensive amphibious training exercises. They built artificial harbors to be towed across the Channel. They studied meteorological records, tidal patterns, and lunar cycles to identify the narrow windows when invasion was possible.
On June 6, 1944, over 7,000 naval vessels crossed the English Channel. Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed that single day. The outcome was far from certain—General Eisenhower prepared two statements before giving the order, one announcing success, the other accepting full responsibility for failure. But the preparation held. The cost had been counted. And the invasion succeeded.
Same war. Same forces. Same goal. Radically different outcomes—because one operation rushed forward without counting the cost, and the other prepared relentlessly to finish what it started.
Scripture affirms this principle:
"For by wise guidance you will wage your war, and in the abundance of counselors there is victory."
— Proverbs 24:6 (WEB)
Spiritually, many people fail not because of rebellion, but because they never prepared for the resistance they would face.
When the Tower Stood Unfinished: The Ryugyong Hotel
Jesus warned that the man who lays a foundation without counting the cost becomes a mockery. History offers a sobering illustration.
In 1987, North Korea began constructing the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang—a 105-story pyramid-shaped tower intended to be the tallest hotel in the world, completed in time for the 80th birthday of Kim Il Sung in 1992. The project consumed an estimated 2% of North Korea's GDP.
Then the Soviet Union collapsed. Funding evaporated. Construction halted in 1992 with the building topped out but entirely unfinished—no windows, no fixtures, no interior. For over a decade, a massive concrete shell loomed over the capital, a rusting crane still perched at the top.
When asked why it was never completed, a North Korean official gave a strikingly simple answer: "Because we ran out of money."
The BBC called it "a reminder of the totalitarian state's thwarted ambition." Some engineers who later inspected the structure concluded it was structurally irreparable. Decades later, LED screens now cover parts of the facade—broadcasting propaganda over a building that remains hollow inside.
The foundation was laid. The tower was never finished. And everyone who sees it knows.
Building What Lasts: The Empire State Building
The contrast with the Empire State Building could not be sharper.
Rising 1,250 feet into the Manhattan skyline, it was completed during the darkest days of the Great Depression—in just 410 days of construction, ahead of schedule and under budget.
How was such speed possible? Extraordinary preparation.
The builders employed what we'd now call "fast-track" methods. They began foundation work before demolition of the previous building was complete. They designed lower floors while upper floors were still being finalized. At peak construction, 3,400 workers manned the site daily, achieving four and a half stories per week. Every logistical detail was planned—miniature railroad tracks moved materials inside the building, cafeterias were set up on five different floors so workers wouldn't waste time descending to street level.
The builders knew the end before the foundation was laid. They counted the cost, prepared relentlessly, and finished what they started—during the worst economic crisis in American history. Nearly a century later, it still stands.
"Through wisdom a house is built; by understanding it is established."
— Proverbs 24:3 (WEB)
Lives collapse not because of weak intentions, but because of weak foundations.
Why This Matters: You Are in a Battle and Building a Life
Jesus didn't tell these parables to discourage us from following Him. He told them so we would follow Him well—with eyes open, resolve firm, and foundations deep.
We are not drifting through neutral territory. We are walking out a spiritual battle, and the enemy opposes every step toward faithfulness. Scripture is clear:
"For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
— Ephesians 6:12 (WEB)
The king who didn't count his soldiers lost the war. The builder who didn't count the cost became a mockery. But the one who prepared—who understood what was required and resolved to pay it—stood firm when the test came.
As you look toward this year, consider honestly:
What will finishing well actually require? Not what you hope. What it demands—in time, discipline, sacrifice, and endurance.
Have you prepared for opposition? The enemy doesn't wait for you to feel ready. Are you building with materials that will hold?
What foundations still need to be laid? The Empire State Building rose quickly because the groundwork was done first. What groundwork have you neglected?
Scripture urges us to live with awareness of the end:
"So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
— Psalm 90:12 (WEB)
The question isn't whether following Christ costs something. It does. The question is whether you've counted that cost and resolved—not flippantly, but thoughtfully—to pay it so you can finish what you've begun.
That kind of life doesn't start later. It starts now, by beginning with the end clearly in mind.
Part 2: "Sell All for the Unseen" explores Jesus' parables of hidden treasure and the pearl of great price—and why what seems invisible may be the most valuable thing you'll ever find.
