NOTHING IS FREE
A sunny afternoon, I was going to a friend’s place, then I heard a man shouting “play raffle draw for free and get a chance to win yourself a brand new car” I was moved by the man’s sweet words and the thought of winning a car ‘gingered’ me and I moved closer to get the raffle ticket. After about three hours of waiting in line, it got to my turn and I played the game. Well, against my luck I lost but I didn’t feel much pain, After all it was free in the first place. I checked my time and discovered I’ve been in queue for the past four hours! Therefore wouldn’t be able to visit my friend again. Then I remembered the saying “there’s no free lunch in free town” or even anywhere in the world.
We’ve all had an illusion of one free thing or the other at different times in our life. Like in the case of building a reputation, we all feel it’s free but then what about the things you loved doing but would otherwise not do in order to build the reputation. Now, let’s talk about breathing. It is absolutely free, ain’t it? Well, breathing is actually not free as you have to give up carbon dioxide which is very vital for plant’s growth in order to breathe in oxygen. Therefore breathing is actually the exchange of air between plants and animals needed by man, and this will automatically lead to the end of either or both.
Salvation is another item on the free-items list. Everybody believes that salvation is free. Quite alright it is free but I’m just thinking about those things I have to stop doing in order to get the “free salvation” like lying, drinking, fornication, and all those things that make life interesting. Then I conclude that salvation is not actually free!
The fact that something doesn’t have a monetary value doesn’t mean it is free. And also, the fact that one doesn’t pay the price for a thing doesn’t mean it is free because the price might have been paid by someone else. A good example of this is the good family name that has been paid and worked for by one’s parent or forefathers. The truth is Nothing-not even rainfall and sunshine is free. And as economists, we believe that there is nothing such as free lunch and that explains the real cost of an item as against the money cost.
Some price tags are physical while some are emotional. So, before doing anything, consider the price you will have to pay and think to yourself “can I afford it?”
I wrote this piece a little long while ago and it has been featured on https://infiniteiandc.wordpress.com