Praying God's Wisdom: Counting the Cost

 

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.'" Luke 14:28-30

 In Western Washington, if you drive out to the coast, you’ll pass through some beautiful country. About halfway between I-5 and the ocean, you come across the little town of Elma. There are forests and hills, rivers and even giant metal sculptures to keep you entertained. You might drive right past without noticing them during the day, but if you make the drive at night, you’ll notice flashing lights on top of two giant towers up on the hill. These towers, WNP3 and WNP5 collectively known as the Satsop Power Plant, are the stark reminders of one of the biggest failures in our region, really our country. Let me tell you the story.

 Back in the 1950’s and 60’s electricity was booming! It was big business. Everyone wanted it, most people had it, and it was generating tremendous income. At that point in time, public utility districts (PUDs) were seeing a doubling in the demand over 10 years, and they projected that this trend would continue. Doubling the need, doubling the sales of electricity every ten years?!? This was big business! How would they meet this need? Well, back then the cleanest, most cost-effective power production was nuclear. Yep, the Simpsons was based on reality! In the 60’s and 70’s, 253 nuclear power plants were commissioned across our country. It was the wave of the future. Cheap energy that would last forever! As I’m sure you have guessed by now, that’s not how it panned out.

 While nuclear power promised an inexpensive long-term outcome, it was not a small endeavor. No small, local PUD could afford to build one of these at an estimated cost of over a billion dollars (nearly 6 billion in today's dollars), so in 1957 the Washington State Legislature approved the formation of the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS), now pronounced “Whoops.” It was a consortium of public utilities banding together to create the infrastructure for their perceived future power needs. They proposed five major nuclear towers, WNP1-5.  Three of these were to be located at the Hanford nuclear site near Richland, Washington and the other two were at the Satsop site near Elma. How did they get the billions of dollars required to build five massive nuclear power plants? Well of course they had to borrow it, and no bank was going to loan them such a massive amount, so they had to take it to the public. The WPPSS issued municipal bonds. Essentially, they said, “Loan us money and we’ll pay it back with interest.” In fact, they promised interest payments every six months and full repayment of the loan within 30 years. This seemed like a pretty safe investment. Surely, within that time, the power plants will have been operating for decades and the profits will be rolling in. Back then, municipal bonds were seen as one of the safest investments. It was a small but guaranteed return, one that was invested in by public pension funds, insurance companies and individual retirees. Fast forward about fifteen years and everything had fallen apart.

 This major undertaking was fraught with problems from the get-go. In the 70s, inflation was on the rise, and this led to even higher interest rates. The massive accident on Three Mile Island brought nuclear power to the attention of the world and caused the WPPSS projects to experience design changes and safety upgrade requirements. But the biggest problem with the whole project? It had been based on a false expectation. The PUDs believed that the electricity usage would continue to double every ten years based on their very short experience, but that just didn’t happen. New energy-efficiency standards, slower industrial growth, and the high price of electricity all served to slow the increase in usage making it less than half of what was expected. Now this organization sat in the midst of five massive projects, only two of which were ever completed, and they realized that they would never need them. By the early 80's, it was estimated that just the last two towers, WNP4&5, would cost $11.8 billion to finish instead of the original expectation of $2 billion. They had WAY overestimated and now they were sitting there holding the deed to towers that were multiplying in cost and would never see a return value. So, they quit.

 This led to the largest municipal bond default in US history. In 1985, WPPSS said “sorry” to its investors that had given them $2.25 billion dollars. Turns out, those bonds weren’t guaranteed, they weren’t safe at all. Who knew? The public pension funds that had invested in the project served teachers, firefighters, state, county and city employees – 200,000 to 400,000 beneficiaries. But it didn’t end there. Major insurance companies also had bought into this “safe” investment meaning it affected millions. And today, we have the two towers with flashing lights up on the hill to remind us all to count the cost before we start building.

 In Luke 14:27-30, Jesus cautions His disciples to consider the cost before they embark on a project. He says, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.'” I guess the WPPSS has learned that lesson now, but what does it mean to us? In the verse just before this, verse 27, Jesus says, “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” This is the cost Jesus is asking His friends to consider. They didn’t even know yet that Jesus was about to literally carry His cross and hang on it for them. Can you imagine in hindsight when they looked back at that conversation and realized all that He had really meant? When we give our lives to Jesus and ask Him to be our LORD, we’re not signing up for a picnic in a park with sunshine and roses. There will be real costs to pay, high costs. It’s not going to be easy, but it will certainly be worth it. You see, unlike the WPPSS, Jesus can be counted on completely. This investment is a 100% guarantee to pay off in the long run, but it can be a bumpy road along the way. You might struggle with rejection from family and friends, you might be attacked for your faith on various fronts, it could be hard to stay the course, putting one foot in front of the other day after day. You may even experience persecution as millions of Christians have throughout history. But, in the end, your victory is secure because the price wasn’t paid by you, it was already paid by Jesus. We aren’t investing in a flimsy bond scheme, our salvation has already been accomplished. But Jesus doesn’t want us putting one foot into serving Him while keeping our other foot in the world. He’s pointing out to us that the world is watching and, if we were to quit part way, they would see it. Just like those shameful towers on the hill, it is so sad when a public figure who had professed Jesus turns their back on Him.

Here’s the Thing: Following Jesus has a cost. Are you ready and willing to pay it? It’s an important consideration before you set out on this journey!