R.O.I.

Mystery's Voice

R.O.I.

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R.O.I.

Cost vs. Value

Cindy MacGregor

Jan 25, 2026

[I had a little trouble with the quality of the recording. Please excuse a few minor garbles.]

R.O.I stands for Return on Investment. This business term considers the financial investment and the income earned from that investment. Businesses invest money producing something they can sell to make more money. Beyond money, how much are we investing in various aspects of our lives, and what is the returned value on those costs?

Note. How much is this camper worth?

My Mysterious Mind

My husband and I just purchased a small camper about four days after I suggested the parameters within which I would consider such a purchase. The length needed to be shorter than that of our F150 used to pull it. The interior space needed a bed big enough for the two of us and our two small dogs. A toilet, air conditioning, and heat were minimum equipment expected.

This is our third camper. The first, a large, used travel trailer, became a pile of debris in a salvage lot north of Kansas City after an accident in August 2018. The second, a used Class A motorhome, decided to live permanently at Mystery Acres due to a mysterious electrical problem rendering it dead where it sits. Our third choice is a brand new 15-foot camper. If it and the truck decide to argue for control on the highway, the truck will win and not flip upside down in the median.

I’ve been pondering our latest investment, especially since we already own a private campground. Mystery Acres has a non-moving motorhome, a cabin, and a large metal garage. When visiting our three children, each has a guest bedroom in which we can sleep. Why did we just buy another place to sleep?

My internal debate is really an analysis of return on investment, or ROI. Purchased as a recreational investment, the ROI should not be anticipated as a monetary one. This camper will only depreciate in its financial value. But a narrow focus on only money invested and money returned misses the larger value of our investments.

Value can be found in the physical, psychological, interpersonal, and intellectual benefits of purchases. Do we feel better? Cope better? Build deeper relationships? Have interesting experiences? Life is hard. Some financial investments make it better, or at least less difficult.

Expanding the ROI analysis of our recent camper purchase reveals substantial value. My husband has been so happy; he has said repeatedly he wonders if he is dreaming. Both of us have enjoyed talking about how we are going to use the camper, imagining camping trips with our grandchildren. Instead of meeting at McDonald’s, we are exploring campgrounds at the halfway point between our homes. We’ve enjoyed brainstorming the possibilities of where and when we might use our new camper.

The little camper cost us some money. That investment won’t grow in monetary value, but we expect it to bring joy and memories, returns for which a dollar value cannot be assigned. What about you? Where are you investing your money? Consider the return on your investments measured beyond dollars.

Message of Mystery Acres

My husband and I have a sizable financial investment in our 17.5 acres and infrastructure at Mystery Acres. In addition, we pay for insurance and property taxes each year. There is no financial return on our investments in the forest. This money, even if just in a money market account, would be returning at least a small amount of annual interest. The good news is that the land value has increased substantially in the seven years since our purchase. Of course, we have no plans to sell so that ROI won’t produce physical cash value.

So, what good is it? If the costs cannot be justified by the financial return on investment, what value does our private campground have? Oh, so much!

Where do I even begin? My love of wildflowers was discovered there, producing a compilation of over a hundred treasures documented with photos and many with pressed flower samples. A passion for the native people of the Osage tribe was prompted by researching the marker trees preserved within our sacred forest. The desire to understand our land, its trees, round rocks, and stone tools, connected me with scientists in archeology, botany, and geology.

A refuge during the pandemic shutdown, Mystery Acres was a place to recover from, and refuel for a return into, craziness. My husband and I stayed there every weekend; usually joined by two or more friends. How can I possibly place a value on the restorative harbor of this patch of forest?

None of that value eclipses the joy of sharing this rough bit of nature with my grandchildren. Whether chasing grasshoppers or searching for fossils, my mind is filled with heartwarming memories of time in the forest shared with children. A huge grin currently on my face as I recall these times is testimony to the priceless value of this place.

The message of Mystery Acres encourages us to look beyond the monetary for what is of greater value. The return on our monetary investment in this bit of untamed forest is more than money can buy. Hobbies discovered, hearts expanded, and relationships nurtured – the investment has returned in ways that cannot be assessed or inventoried.

Ancient Mystery’s Voice

‘Jesus said, “You are worth much more than many sparrows.”’ (see Luke 12:7)

How much is a person worth? Jesus, when teaching about the value of a person, drew a comparison to birds. Typically translated as sparrows, the full quote includes the price of two sparrows for one penny. Jesus told His listener, “You are worth much more than many sparrows.”

I don’t know about you, but that price tag doesn’t make me feel super good. If Jesus were talking specifically to me, He would be saying, “Cindy, don’t worry about how much God loves you – you are worth a lot more than a bunch of birds.” Gee, thanks, Jesus.

Can’t Jesus do better than that? Isn’t there a way He could give me a sense of value greater than a flock of cheap sparrows?

There is, and He has.

Humans were headed for the trash heap because of their rebellion against their Creator, God. The cost of buying them back was extremely expensive. The price? One perfect human sacrifice.

Jesus, when asked “how much is a person worth?” answered with His own death. He died to buy back people, each one of us, and all of us.

How much more than a bunch of birds is a person worth? A lot more.

Ancient Mystery’s Voice compels us to consider what saving our lives cost Jesus. The value of a person restored to God cannot be measured in money; it can’t be measured in sparrows either. The return on investment of Jesus’ death was the saving of all people. The cost was steep, the value, measured beyond sparrows, is great. The relationship of every person to their Creator can be restored through the price paid by just one death, but only the perfect death of Jesus.

Living in Mystery

What does it mean to live in the mystery of ROI, pondering costs versus value? First, it involves focusing on your personal mission. For businesses, their mission always includes a bottom line of profitability; without it, they cannot survive. For people, their mission doesn’t have to include fiscal benefit. The “bottom line” may not be making money from investments of money.

What is your bottom line? How do your monetary investments produce increased value in that bottom line?

For me, I value relationships above all, therefore my bottom line is people. My mission is to glorify God by ministering to people. The measure of success for investments of my money is determined by the positive impact on others. When I spend money, does anyone’s life improve? Does my relationship with them strengthen? Can they experience the love of God through my investment of money in something that benefits them?

Reflecting on the financial investment in our new camper, what is the anticipated value returned? I have already experienced an increase of joy in my husband, myself, and our marriage. We enjoy having some type of “project” we can do together. It’s also fun to brainstorm possible adventures we might have in it. We discovered a campground between here and Indiana we are confident our Hoosier grandsons would enjoy more than the play-place at the McDonald’s in Troy, Illinois. Stopping there on our recent return, we imagined the boys playing in the swimming pool, shooting hoops in the basketball ball, or fishing with us in the adjacent lake. And we have so much more we imagine this camper will add to our relationships!

Beyond the necessities, where is your money going? What return are you receiving on your investments? I’m not talking about your retirement savings or stock purchases. Are the ways you are spending your money advancing your personal mission?

I invest considerable amounts of my discretionary money in travel to be with the people I love. Producing these messages required the purchase of a quality laptop and a podcast microphone. I enjoy randomly buying clothes for the small people in my world, they receive surprise packages of new things to wear. I could put this money in CDs or at least the money market; but I get a better returned value when I invest in people.

When considering the broad possibilities of ROI, sometimes the cost delivers what no amount of money ever could. For me, I enjoy watching my investments grow in the lives of people.

Connecting with Mystery

Dear Lord of All Mystery, I confess to sometimes being overly concerned about the monetary return on the money I invest. Forgive me for focusing selfishly on how money makes more money. Help me shift my focus on investments in people, watching for returned value in their improved lives. Thank You for paying a price beyond my comprehension in rescuing me. May my life provide a beautiful return on your investment. Amen.