The Best Things in Life Aren't Free

I heard on the radio yesterday that the best things in life are free. Actually, I heard it well before yesterday. In fact, it's one of those sayings that you've heard so early and so often that it's practically something that you've always known.

The trouble is that it's wrong. The best things in life are not free. Sure, they may not cost money, but that doesn't mean they come freely. In reality, the best things in life come at a great and sometimes terrible cost.

For example, I strong family with loving relationships is one of the greatest things a person could have, yet, maintaining strong relationships with family members sometimes takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of patience and forgiving. It takes humility and willingness to compromise and apologize. Even if it took no money at all to support a family, it would still take a great deal of work to maintain one. Families are expensive, in terms of money, time, energy, and emotions, yet they are still one of the best things in the world.

A solid testimony is also something that, while not costing any money, still carries a great cost in time and effort. A testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ often starts small and needs to be nurtured and grown over time. At some points in our lives, our testimonies will be challenged, and we'll need to remind ourselves why we believe what we believe. Over time, our testimonies grow stronger until they become unshakable, and rather than needing us to protect them, they can support us in times of trial. Strong testimonies take time to develop, but they can be great sources of strength.

A strong connection to the Spirit is much like a strong testimony in how we have to nurture it and defend it, and it, too, can be a great blessing in our lives. The Holy Ghost can guide us and protect us, but only after we've put in the effort to develop a sensitivity to the promptings of the Spirit and trust in its directions. A good connection with the Spirit doesn't come easily, let alone freely, but is one of the most important things a person can have.

But the greatest thing of all is the Atonement, and heaven knows that wasn't free! The power of Christ's Atonement came at a horrendous cost, yet it is probably the single greatest blessing in our lives. By accessing the power of the Atonement, which isn't completely free either, we can be forgiven of our sins and cleansed so we can return to live with God again. The Atonement never cost anyone so much as a penny, but it came at a great cost in personal pain and obedience.

So, the best things in life, while not costing much or anything financially, are still not completely free. Most of them take a good deal of time and effort to obtain and maintain. It's true that some things, such as laughter, are good and practically free, but the best things almost always come at some kind of cost. Thankfully, they're worth their costs. After all, they are the best things, even if they aren't really free.