What does it cost to believe

I came across some very interesting comments on a gospel YouTube video and a lot of philosophy came to mind. During my undergraduate degree I pursued a minor in Philosophy because it was an easy A in my books. One of the modules I took was Philosophy of Religion. I thought my belief in God could withstand whatever came up in the lectures and tutorials. I survived, but when I got back home and was at church I questioned a lot of things. Strangely enough it wasn't about God's word but rather how the church was being run. I critiqued a lot of things but I eventually let it go because I suppose if I didn't like how things were being done then I could leave and go somewhere else. If that was the case, then I'd be a church hopper. From that, I learnt that it's not about what goes on at church or how things are done but whether the doctrine is right.

There are a lot of people who do not believe in God and are quite quick to down talk Christians. Everyone has their own rules, even groups in society. For example you should not discriminate against homosexuals and if you do, they use the full extent of the law to persecute you. As Christians we have our own mandates and since the law has no jurisdiction over religion (I did Philosophy of Law as well), then people shouldn't discriminate against me and what I have to do, which is

1. Love God first.
2. Listen to His word.
3. Lead others to Christ.
4. Live right everyday.

So what is a belief? According to the Oxford dictionary:

be-lief  Noun  /biˈlēf/

an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof.

What does it cost anyone to believe? Not a damn thing!

If you believe in God and He does not exist, no problem.

If you don't believe in God and He does exist, hell fire!

-Can't remember which philosopher