What does it profit us to gain the whole world and lose our soul? What a thought provoking question! What does it profit us if we gain prosperity and property but lose our soul in the end? What does it profit us if we gain name and fame and a high social status but lose our soul? What does it profit us if all the people around us are happy with us, and all of them praise us, but we lose our soul? What does it profit us if after we die people remember us and speak wonderful things about us, and make wonderful tombstones for us, but we lose our soul? Now, more than ever before, we need to take time out to ponder those questions.
Jesus asked His disciples that very question. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? (Mark 8:36) and (Matthew 16:26). That question is still relevant today. In other words, He said to his disciples, look guys, what good does it profit you to have land and money? It does not make good ‘business sense’ to attempt to get all the world has to give if doing so causes you to lose your soul. It just does not make any sense at all, and He is saying that to us today as well. You see, most of us do not give careful thought to our lives. We just live day to day, week by week, month by month and year by year, rarely even asking ourselves, ‘What am I living for’? ‘What is the purpose of my life’? We work so hard to make our lives secure that we hardly even think of the reason for our lives. We live as though we would spend eternity on this earth. The challenge we face is that we tend to think only of the here and now. We do not think in terms of eternity.
Our time is spent on having fun and gathering material things. Sometimes we even go to great lengths – no matter what it takes or costs – to accumulate the things we want, regardless of who gets hurt. Our whole focus seems to be centered on this life, all the while neglecting our soul. We assume we will live for many years, and therefore do not prepare for death. In spite of the fact that we go to church, we tend to care little about God and our fellowman. We just live for ourselves and a selected few. We may be rich outwardly yet, inwardly, our souls are poor, miserable, blind and naked.
The time has come for us to stop, think and refocus on what is truly important. So many times we embrace the mindset of investing all our energies in the natural world. We need to come to the realization that our present world and the things of it are just temporary. They will not last. We cannot take any of the material things with us. We should note that what is considered valuable by us is of little or no value in God’s point of view. Think for a moment about what we want: money, property, power and so on. All of these things are either transitory or fading – or can be destroyed in the blink of an eye. All the amassed accolades in God’s eyes are like filthy dung. The writer of Ecclesiastes was cognizant of that. He reminds us that, “All is vanity, chasing wind; wasting time…Everything is meaningless.” You see, when we die we lose it all. Every last dime, all the adoration, all the power and influence.
In the grand scheme of things, those things have no true value. Only what is done for Christ will last. Our bodies one day will die and go to into the ground but our souls will live on because they are eternal. Our souls will last forever, so nothing on this temporary earth is worth more. As Jesus asked, “What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Nothing, absolutely nothing, this world has to offer is equal in value to the soul of man. Everyone – great and small, rich and poor, beautiful and ugly, famous and infamous, wise and foolish – has a common end: DEATH and then the grave. The worms that eat our bodies in the grave will make no distinction between the rich and the poor, beautiful and ugly. So, in the end the only thing that matters is our soul. So let us make the right choice today. Let us turn our focus away from just this life and focus on things of eternal value. We have a glorious future to look ahead to with God if we make the right choice. Let us look to the future and where we will spend eternity.
May God help us to spend some time in deep reflection today on the things that really matter in life.
What shall it profit a man if…
He be a great artist and know not Jesus, the one altogether lovely?
He be a great architect and know not Jesus, the Chief Corner Stone?
He be a great baker and know not Jesus, the Living Bread?
He be a great banker and know not Jesus, the Priceless Possession?
He be a great biologist and know not Jesus, the Life?
He be a great builder and know not Jesus, the Sure Foundation?
He be a great carpenter and know not Jesus, the Door?
He be a great doctor and know not Jesus, the Great Physician?
He be a great educator and knows not Jesus, the Teacher?
He be a great engineer and know not Jesus, the New and Living Way?
He be a great farmer and know not Jesus, the Sower and Lord of Harvests?
He be a great florist and know not Jesus, the Rose of Sharon?
He be a great geologist and know not Jesus, the Rock of Ages?
He be a great astronomer and know not Jesus, the Star of Bethlehem?
He be a great horticulturist and know not Jesus, the True Vine?
He be a great judge and know not Jesus, the Righteous judge?
He be a great jurist and know not Jesus, the True Witness?
He be a great jeweler and know not Jesus, the Pearl of Great Price?
He be a great lawyer and know not Jesus, the Sinner’s Advocate?
He be a great philanthropist and know not Jesus, the Unspeakable Gift?
He be a great philosopher and know not Jesus, the Wisdom of God?
He be a great sculptor and know not Jesus, the Living Stone?
He be a great student and know not Jesus, the Incarnate Truth?
He be a great sinner and know not Jesus, the Lamb of God?
(Dr. R.G. Lee)
About the Author: Mrs. Marilyn Hodge owns and operates the Wellness Centre in the Farrington, Anguilla. The Centre offers Counselling Services by Appointment Only and has now published Positive Living Volume 2. Contact information: 476-3517 or email: marilynb@anguillanet.com. www.facebook.com/axawellnesscentre
