If you studied economics, you know about the TANSTAAFL theory.  It you didn’t study economics, you know this instinctively.  TANSTAAFL: There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.  Somebody is paying.  If someone is receiving food stamps, they are not free.  The government does not “make” money.  It does not “earn” money.  It takes money away from someone to give it to someone else.  Someone is paying taxes.  And, if someone is receiving something for “free,” they are paying whether they know it or not.  At the very least, they owe a “thank you.”  Perhaps they owe their vote.  Perhaps they are paying with their independence and their self-respect.  But in every transaction, there is an exchange.  Something is received, and something is given.

There are, of course, gifts given freely.  In order to be generous, however, the giver must first earn the money to provide the gift.  The giver must work, produce something of value.  Once money is earned, it can be spent.  Work is exchanged for money.  Money is exchanged for a gift for someone else.

There is one free gift that anyone can receive, the gift of eternal life.  It is genuinely free to us.  There is nothing we can do to earn it.  In “Choosing Life,” I told you about realizing that God’s love is free.  There is nothing we can do to make Him love us more.  There is nothing we can do to make Him love us less.  Love is just who He is.  Well, there is one thing we can do.  We can accept it.  And we can say “thank you.”  But truth be told, Someone did pay the price for us to have this free gift.  Jesus died on the Cross to pay for us with His life.  A very expensive gift.