Remember to Weigh the Costs and the Benefits of Anything That Comes Easy

Daily writing prompt

The genie grants you a wish. What is it?

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I remember watching I Dream of Jeannie with Barbara Eden, as she conjured things out of the air. As a child, I thought how great it would be to have a genie of one’s own. Just think of endless candy, soft drinks, and toys galore, especially dolls. I thought of not having to do my homework, wishing someone else would do it. But even then, I realized that life could never be that easy, and that there was surely a price to pay. Every time Jeannie “helped” Major Nelson, there were consequences, which weren’t always good.

I learned early that nothing is free. There is a cost for everything. The idea that every action has a reaction meant to me that you had to consider both costs and benefits. Did the benefits outweigh the costs, or vice versa? Most times, the benefits don’t outweigh the costs, or they are not worth the consequences. I told my children that if I told them not to do something and consequences would follow, when they misbehaved, they were informing me that they believed the benefits were greater than the costs of losing privileges or worse.

I believe we all wish a genie could give us our deepest wishes, but it just doesn’t happen. In this life, you must work for what you get to really appreciate it. I found that people who have been given a lot without any expectations of being honorable and decent become some of our greatest criminals. Even Jesus told the twelve disciples to weigh the cost of following Him, because they were required to take up their cross every day, meaning to sacrifice their lives and family time, to become fishers of people.

But if I could ask a genie for one wish, it would be to end all wars, for it is so painful to read the aftermath of bombings and killings of innocent people, with the warmongers never in the line of fire. I don’t believe there are any bad consequences for people when war ends.

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