Article September 2, 2019 ISSUE

Getting beyond greed

Lyle Young

A version of this article was published in The Christian Science Monitor’s Christian Science Perspective column, May 16, 2019.

One of my brothers tells of seeing how our father, a farmer with six children, treated a man from whom he was buying a farm implement. After the dealer proposed a price, our father double-checked with him whether that would really be a fair price—for the dealer.

In finance, “opportunity cost” refers to the loss of potential gain when a different alternative is chosen. So, for example, if you choose not to invest your money, the investment income that you forgo as a result of that choice constitutes your opportunity cost.

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