Opening illustration: Video of Chiune Sugihara’s Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppCEta8I4UA
Introduction: The power to obtain money is derived from God and as such all belongs to him; “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” (Deuteronomy 8:18). Jesus’ discussion with the rich young ruler and the illustration with the disciples afterward show the difficulty of those who seek riches instead of God to enter heaven. The accumulation of wealth does not exclude those from heaven as Job, Abraham, Joseph and David were all extremely wealthy and were certainly devoted to God, although they had sin that was dealt with (Job 31:25, Genesis 22:16-18, Genesis 39:2, 2 Samuel 2:4). As Job shows, the Lord takes priority over all earthy things and devotion to Him is essential regardless of the accumulation or loss of wealth (Job 1:21). The heart of the illustration is that wealth detracts those from complete devotion to God (Kulikovsky, 1999) and therefore illustrates the difficulty of those who follow money to enter heaven. The Lord requires total and utter obedience to Him regardless of anything earthly, as Jesus expects individuals to follow God above riches, job, family or other earthly concerns (Matthew 16:24).
Matthew 6:33 commands us, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (NASB). The command is to be able to give up wealth, power, stature and family to follow God, as he will take care of the individual’s needs. An individual must be completely committed to God above anything else and that those who follow other gods, such as riches cannot enter heaven as they do not understand the proper hierarchy in their lives. One must not attempt to accumulate wealth as they have lost the proper focus; Luke 12:21 states, “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (NASB). The parable of the rich man theological significance illustrates the importance of God in our lives; God comes before anything else and to follow Him is a rich and rewarding call that certainly has eternal implications as Matthew 19:30 states “But many {who are} first will be last; and {the} last, first” (NASB).
What really matters in life?
1. When A Man Gains the Whole World
What comes to your mind when the bible says “if he gains the whole world”? I know nobody exactly gains the whole world. Even the richest man on earth can’t possibly gain the whole world, you know what I am saying?
So, my guess is very simple. The terms probably refer to the worldly pleasures like control, power and riches. You and I know very well that there are people on earth who pretty much enjoy this kind of worldly pleasures. Even some Christians enjoy worldly pleasures like greed and power.
Can Christians actually enjoy worldly power, control, riches and pleasures (I am not talking about lusts)?
I do think they are okay. To me, these things are neutral and they do not actually carry any meaning with them.
Take money for example. Money is neutral and it is how we use money that matters. The bible says in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil ...” and if we love money to the extend where we can sacrifice things that matter to us like family, friends and values, then it is not going to be worth it.
Having said so, I also think that being rich is not evil. In fact, I believe if Christians are rich, they can be a channel to bless others on earth. If God is our King of kings, that means we are His princes and princesses. If you are a prince or a princess, do you know what you will inherit from your king father? Apart from his wealth and assets, you are also inheriting his throne in some cases. In other words, you will be given power and control which you can use to rule over the kingdom.
At this point, I would love to take a moment to talk about power (and control). If you are a Christian and a CEO of a multi-national company, you know you have the power to make huge difference in the company. However, it is how you use the power that matters. If you use your power to do good causes to the company or the community, then you are making a positive impact for the Lord. If you are abusing your power so that you can swallow more illegitimate money for yourself, then you will have to give account to the Lord by yourself.
I want you to know, having such power at your workplace, church, organization or family is not a bad thing, provided if you use it for a good cause. There are certain things only people with power can do. For example, if I am someone who has no power in the company, I will not be able to make a huge impact in the company. I doubt anyone would want to pay attention to me. I know we shouldn’t have social statuses as we are all equal, but whether you like it or not, the world works like that. Human beings are not God, who looks into the hearts of the people.
If you want to see people with power who are not believers to come to Christ, then we are going to need people like the CEOs to approach them. Of course, there are some cases these people with power come to know Christ in the most humbled ways, but I am just trying to illustrate to you that having power on earth is not always a bad thing.
If you ask me, I would love to see more Christian leaders to rise up not only in churches, but in the marketplace such as in companies, politics, banks, businesses, entertainments and every part of the world. Just to be sure, if you are one of them, you don’t lose your own soul like Matthew puts it in the bible, “For what profit it is to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?”
2. When A Man Loses His Own Soul
Let me give you some examples of how a man gains the whole world and loses his own soul. It is more than just a rich man who does not believe in Jesus Christ.
• A CEO who use the company’s resources for his own benefits such as corruption and abused power.
• A manager who pleases his immediate boss and abuses his subordinates.
• A businessman who has no problems doing illegitimate business in exchange of lucrative money such as prostitution, gambling, drug and child trafficking.
• An influential man who has a few wives.
If you look at the examples above, they are the people who are influential and with power. Sadly, on the other side of them, it is just not so glamorous to brag about. They can brag about their riches and power, but their life values are definitely not something we should look up to. These are the people who feed their own life with what seems to be the best things yet starved their souls with the worst things.
So, what, if you are making bucket loads of money and laughing to the bank every single day of your life but you are a husband of seven wives? So, what, if you are a CEO of a huge company but you have a huge sum of money which cannot be reported to the taxation office? So, what, if you are a church leader but you won’t even smile to the people around you? So, what, if you are a very famous chef but you hit your wife and children with your own hands at home? Your life is well-fed, but your soul is starved. Don’t fall into this.
Illustration: When someone visits an exhibit of relics from the infamous Titanic voyage, they are given a replica ticket with the name of an actual passenger or crew member who, decades earlier, had embarked on the trip of a lifetime. After the tour group walked through the exhibit viewing pieces of silver dinnerware and other artifacts, the tour ended with an unforgettable twist.
A large board listed the names of all the passengers, including their status—first class, second class, crew. As my friend looked for the name of the person whose ticket he was holding, he noticed a line across the board dividing the names. Above the line were the names of those who were “saved” and below the line all those who were “lost.”
The parallel to our life on earth is profound. It really doesn’t make any difference how the world ranks your status. The only thing that ultimately matters is whether you are “saved” or “lost.” As Jesus said, “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Perhaps you’ve already trusted in Christ for your salvation. But what about your fellow-passengers? Instead of sizing them up by the externals, talk to them about their ultimate destination. (Joe Stowell, ODB, 02/24/11)
3. What Will A Man Give In Exchange for His Soul?
Now that you know even you are a person with power, you may not have well fed your own soul. What can you do to feed your soul or what will you give in exchange for your soul?
It’s really simple. Feed your soul and don’t lose it.
If you have been a powerful person all this while but you have lost your own soul, you will need to start picking it up, feeding it and make it live again. If you are like the chef who beats his wife and children with his own hands, you must stop beating them and start loving. I know most of us has that little dark area where we wouldn’t want to expose to others or even confront. I am not sure what your problem is, but God knows. If there is something you would like to change in your life, you will need to ask God to come and help you to get you through so that God can claim victory out of it through you.
If you have been a youth leader and you are suffering from pornography addiction, then you will need to replace that kind of addition with something healthier like playing football or go out for a walk. This is the thing you will give in exchange for your soul.
Another powerful weapon you can always use when it comes to feeding your soul is the bible. If you have not been reading enough bible, let me encourage you to start. It may be just a verse a day.
Most people do not reflect on this great question Jesus asked. However, many do know the feel of questions similar to it. For instance:
• "I worked day and night to get ahead. But now my children are grown, and I barely know them. Was it really worth it?"
• "I had to step on a lot of toes to get elected to office. Now that I am here it is lonely. If I could do it all over again, would I do the same thing?"
• "I always put career ahead of anything else. Yet, I've done nothing for the Lord or His kingdom. All I am left with is regrets."
• "I spent so much time on sports and recreation I had no time left for church."
Now there are things people trade their souls for: -
• In their quest for riches, they neglect their service to God.
• Exchange, it for the "passing pleasures of sin."
• Allow their souls to be sold for some convenient false doctrine.
• Many will trade their souls through simple laziness!
My hope and prayer is that none of us fall into this trap; that none of us gain the world and forfeit our soul.
Illustration: William Whiting Borden was born into affluence in Chicago in 1887, a missionary to Muslims in Northern China and the heir of the Borden, inc. family fortune, a graduate of Yale and Princeton Theological Seminary, a follower of Jesus Christ.
He died of meningitis in Egypt on his way to China, at the age of 25, never made it to China. His family gave $1 million to the China Inland Mission in His name. At the Borden Memorial Hospital a little chapel is decorated with his life story and pictures printed on the walls. His famous saying, "No Reserves. No Retreat, and No Regrets" is a summary of his life. At his dying bed, he added the final words, No Regrets.
No only Borden, there were stories of many who came to serve in the hospital. Top doctors, Dr. King, Dr. Rand ... all died for Christ before they turned 40. Their lives are testimonies of those who take up their cross, deny themselves and follow Jesus.
Application: Considering eternity, what one believes is far more important than what one achieves.
At the same time, are we also thinking about our neighbors and reaching out to them?
