Upkeep Costs

I haven't played Magic: the Gathering in ages, yet there's one concept from that game that has stuck with me, even though the concept itself barely ever comes up in the game: upkeep costs. All non-land Magic: the Gathering cards can only be played at a cost, but that cost usually only has to be paid once. However, a relatively small number of Magic cards also have an upkeep cost, which you have to pay at the start of each turn, or you lose the card and its effects. But while upkeep costs are rare in Magic: the Gathering, they're common in real life.

For example, becoming a world-class athlete comes at a cost. It takes a significant amount of training and exercise and discipline to become a great athlete. Yet, even once you've achieved that status, you don't get to keep it unless you continue to pay the upkeep cost. You need to keep training, keep exercising, and maintain a healthy diet, or your physical prowess will start to slip, and others, who are paying those upkeep costs, will begin to excel you. To become a world-class athlete, you have to pay the cost, and to stay a world-class athlete, you need to keep paying that cost.

There is a similar effect in spiritual matters. To achieve a certain level of faith and spirituality, we need to develop that faith and spirituality through prayer and study and other Sunday School answer stuff. But, even once we've achieved that level of spirituality, we need to make an effort to maintain it, or we'll start to slip.

That's happened to me more time than I can count. I try to be spiritual, and I sometimes succeed and become spiritual, but I rarely succeed in putting in the daily effort it takes to maintain that level of spirituality. I reach a relatively high point on the celestial mountain we're all climbing, but then I ease up and end up backsliding. Then, galvanized by my failure, I often put in a herculean effort and reach greater heights again, only to later backslide again when I determine that a herculean effort is unsustainable and I stop paying the cost.

Thankfully, the cost of maintaining anything usually isn't as great as the cost of getting it in the first place. It just takes consistent, near constant effort. This can be accomplished fairly simply by establishing good habits, yet, unfortunately, I generally fail to do that.

So, I know what must be done. I must develop a habit of performing the rituals (like prayer and scripture study) that will help me maintain a healthy level of spirituality. If I don't, I'll continue to go through patterns of highs and lows, if I don't give up on the mountain altogether. I need to develop that habits that'll help me maintain and continually improve my progress up this mountain. I need to pay the upkeep costs, because if I don't, I'll lose everything.