By Joe Slater
“Whoever desires to follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:34-37).
We usually look at profit in terms of money or other material wealth. Jesus indicates that we need to look far beyond that! Everything material, including our fleshly body, is temporary. You can accumulate vast earthly wealth, but you can’t keep it. Don’t believe me? Stick around a hundred years and see!
Of infinitely surpassing importance and value is that spiritual part of you called your soul. Jesus teaches three things relative to it:
First, each and every person has a soul. Sometimes “soul” refers to the entire person, body and spirit. But Jesus uses the term specifically of the inner spiritual person. “Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell” (Matthew 10:28).
Second, that soul can become lost. Jesus’ parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son illustrate this sad fact.
Finally, even if you amass every bit of the world’s wealth, but you exchange it for your soul, you have made a horrible, disastrous bargain. Surely the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16) highlights this.
Business people like to make a profit. Christians should too! “Godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).
“Whoever desires to follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:34-37).
We usually look at profit in terms of money or other material wealth. Jesus indicates that we need to look far beyond that! Everything material, including our fleshly body, is temporary. You can accumulate vast earthly wealth, but you can’t keep it. Don’t believe me? Stick around a hundred years and see!
Of infinitely surpassing importance and value is that spiritual part of you called your soul. Jesus teaches three things relative to it:
First, each and every person has a soul. Sometimes “soul” refers to the entire person, body and spirit. But Jesus uses the term specifically of the inner spiritual person. “Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell” (Matthew 10:28).
Second, that soul can become lost. Jesus’ parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son illustrate this sad fact.
Finally, even if you amass every bit of the world’s wealth, but you exchange it for your soul, you have made a horrible, disastrous bargain. Surely the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16) highlights this.
Business people like to make a profit. Christians should too! “Godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).
- Joe Slater serves as minister of the Church of Christ in
Justin, TX. He may be contacted through the congregation's
website: http://justinchurchofchrist.com
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