There Is A Price to Pay

Thoughts From Tiffany Cooper

There is a price to pay, everything has a price. People have often commented that everything seems to come easy for Herbert and me. What they don’t see is the price we paid from the very beginning of our marriage to get where we are today. We have always been extremely deliberate about the goals and principles we live by in our daily life.

1. We established extreme boundaries to protect the health and growth of our marriage.
2. We made a commitment to live debt-free (except for our home which we are working to pay off) and maintain a working budget. We have always lived below our means. I remember struggling with the idea of buying a $20 pair of work pants our first year of marriage.
3. We worked hard from day one. I went to school full-time while working part-time, and Herbert worked as a substitute teacher for several months while traveling as an evangelist.
4. Our life seems radical to some, but everything we do is for the purpose of pleasing God and fulfilling what He has called us to do individually and as a family.

But you get what you pay for. I have been married to my best friend for over 10 years, and we are still fierce about protecting our marriage. Living debt-free gives us incredible freedom; it’s enabled us to give more away each year. In fact, living debt-free allowed us to finance the start of People’s Church. And yes, we still work hard!!!