People asked Jesus a lot of questions in His life. I imagine you have a question you’d like to ask Jesus at some point in your life. Get this: there are 183 recorded questions that various people asked Jesus. Yet, we have records that Jesus only answered 8 of the questions He was asked.1 Today, I want us to look at one of the most pressing questions Jesus ever asked.
Find Matthew 16 with me if you will.
Jesus asked some thought-provoking questions in His time. You might be surprised to learn that Jesus posed more than 300 questions in the gospels.2 It seems Jesus was less interested in simply answering our questions and more interested in transforming hearts. When I think of some of Jesus’ famous questions, I think of what He said to His parents when He was just a boy, “Did you know that I was in my Father’s house?”
Jesus asked the Disciples a provocative question at a place called Caesarea Philippi: “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked Mary at the empty tomb, “Why are you weeping?” But there’s one question Jesus poses that is a direct challenge to us Americans. Listen carefully for it.
Today’s Scripture
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (Matthew 16:24-28).
Our church has 5 core values. God matters, truth matters, people matter, evangelism matters, and the last one: generous living matters. Generous living means living a Spirit-filled, joyous life where we are generous to those in need. We give to others because we find joy in making a difference in people’s lives.
Listen to this:
63% of America’s food pantries are run by Christians – again, I said 63%.3 1 out of 5 of all hospital beds is run by Christian agencies.4 And one more, 6 out of every 10 refugee resettlement agencies are run by Christians.5
Did you hear the question Jesus poses? “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” In the moments to come, I want to encourage you to be a generous person. I want to challenge you to “level up” in terms of being generous.
Sermon Preview
1. Why Do I Always Want More?
2. Why is Giving the Cure for Wanting More?
3. How Much Should I Give?
1. Why Do I Always Want More?
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:26).
In the middle of telling us what it means to really be a disciple, Jesus asks us two provocative questions here. Jesus’ question is really a rhetorical question.
1.1 What Will It Profit?
Jesus asks us what profit is worth exchanging our very lives for. Imagine a set of scales in your mind’s eye. If you were to place every possession the world offers on one side of the scales, and then picture your life on the other side. Picture every house, every car, every vacation, every luxurious experience on one side, compared to the stress and toil it takes to earn this wealth, and manage such wealth on the other side. There are no circumstances that you can imagine where it is worth it. When you put your life in the balance against this, your life always wins out.
Jesus is asking you to pause in the middle of a life that is busy paying bills and pursuing whatever the next pretty thing is to really consider how much your life is worth.
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26a). No sooner has Jesus asked this, then it follows it up with a second question: “Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26b).
1.2 Your True Self
The word “soul” in verse 26 is the Greek word “psyche.” Your soul is you; it’s the core of your life. Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase of the New Testament, says, “It’s your true self.”6
We build our lives by thinking we are building our careers. If we are an author, then we think of success in terms of book sales. If I’m a business owner, then I think of success as revenue. If I’m a student, then I think of success in terms of GPA and scholarships. We build our lives like we are in high school when we fill up our letterman jackets with patches, pins, and pride — believing those symbols define who we are.
We often gain our identities from what others think about us.
From applause.
From recognition.
From followers.
From titles.
But here’s the danger: If your identity is stitched to something that can be taken away, then your soul is always at risk.
Grades fade.
Careers shift.
Titles change.
Applause gets quiet.
And Jesus asks the question that cuts through all of it: What if you gain everything the world says matters — and lose your true self in the process? Jesus is telling us that one’s life is more valuable than all physical things you can imagine combined.
1.3 Materialism
“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15b).
“Covetousness” is a big word that means greed. Another word for greed is materialism. Materialism is a dangerous worldview that makes money and possessions more valuable than spiritual and moral values. Materialism is seeing the essence of life to be nothing more than owning stuff.
1.4 Money Blinds Us
Money blinds us. You know when you’re committing adultery, but very few people see when they’re greedy. Why is greed harder to spot in us than something like adultery? Because money blinds us. Oftentimes, we look across the street or inside our social circle and become dissatisfied with our lives because we don’t have the same financial success. And the truth is: there’s always someone who has more.
But you don’t have to go to Dallas to find luxury and an over-the-top lifestyle. You can find materialism anywhere. For golfers, you’ve got to keep up with appearances – it’s where you play, and “Does my clothes and shoes embarrass me?” Even in the charity world, “Is my name or my company’s name on the list of donors? Does everyone in my college’s alumni world know that I gave? Weather its cycling, running, or the women’s Bible study group – we ask ourselves, “Do I have the right shoes, bike, or Pottery Barn couch?”
1.5 Three Misconceptions
Materialism comes from three misconceptions that are found in our culture:
1. Having more things will make me more happy.
2. Having more things will make me more important.
3. Having more things will make me more secure.
1.6 Home Sizes
Again, Money blinds us. Despite the average family being smaller today, the size of our homes has increased by about one-third in 33 years.7 The average size of a new single-family home has climbed from a little over 1,600 square feet in 1973 to a little over 2,405 square feet in 2025.8 Yet, you don’t feel like you have all that much. You don’t feel like you live all that well. Nobody feels they spend too much money on themselves. This is materialism. We all know it’s out there. We see the havoc it’s wreaking. But we all say to ourselves, “But it’s not true of me.”
Again, Money blinds us.
1.7 Luxury
There is an interesting verse hidden in Paul’s first letter to Timothy He is writing about some women in the church who were misbehaving. Apparently, some of them were following this wasted lifestyle of pleasure seeking. It’s right here that Paul slips in this observation: “but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives” (1 Timothy 5:6).
The word for “self-indulgent” is a really rare word here.9 It only appears here and in James 5:5, where it is translated “luxury.” The Bible says the person who lives to accumulate more and more possessions and lives a self-centered, self-indulgent life is actually dead. Can you think about someone you know, male or female, who is obsessed with having more and more and more and more? They live for the next big toy, the next big thrill, or the next new experience; know anyone like that? Maybe if you stop and think about it, this is a description of your life.10 The person who wastes his (or her) life lives only to please “me.” This is natural because the default setting for humanity is to be a self-centered, self-pleasing person.
1.8 Jesus’ Warning
Notice Jesus says, “be on your guard” – continually evaluate yourself. Ask yourself the tough questions: Am I expecting more things to make me happier? Am I expecting more things to make me more important? Jesus says for me to be on guard – continually evaluate yourself.11
1. Why Do I Always Want More?
2. Why is Giving the Cure for Wanting More?
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:26).
2.1 The Antidote to Materialism
When it comes to money, we essentially have three options: give it, spend it, and save it. We often think of spending money as the most fun we can have. But the Bible says that giving is the antidote to materialism. Giving is the antidote to greed.
2.2 Pastors and Trust
If you're a guest with us, or if you're not a Christian, we’re not asking you for anything other than your attention. In fact, I invite you to listen carefully for the next few moments. Recent surveys tell us that people don’t trust pastors. And they especially don’t trust pastors on the topic of money. You see the slick guy on TV or YouTube, and he’s a pastor, but he’s really just a fat cat trying to get fatter at your expense. I invite you to watch us believers to see a discrepancy between the Bible’s instructions on how a Christian is handle their finances and how we actually handle our money.
2.3 Directions to the Rich
Materialism sees money as god. One of the tools God gives us to defeat the god of greed is giving.
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
First, he says, “the rich in this present age...” Everybody in this room is rich. In relation to the rest of the world, if you're an American, you're rich. Of all the rights that you have in the United States, one of the best-known rights is automatic citizenship, which is given to everyone born within our borders.12
2.3.1 Benefits of American Citizenship
The benefits of being a United States citizen are tremendous.
Let me list a couple of these for you.
1. You cannot be deported.
2. You have the option to work for the Federal Government
3. You can travel with few restrictions with the protection of U. S. embassies.
4. You have the right to vote.
5. Studies show that American citizens will make between 50% and 70% more than non-citizens.13
In fact, someone has calculated that the monetary value of being an American citizen is at least 2.5 million dollars based on the median household income being over $56,000 and assuming that you can work here for 50 years.
It’s a big deal to be an American citizen.
2.3.2 Tania, from Russia
Tania Luna is five years old and came to the United States from Chornobyl in Russia. Four years earlier, Tania spent nine months in the hospital while black rain was coming down and her sister’s hair falling out in clumps. All of this was a result of the most horrific nuclear disaster in history. After receiving asylum in the US, the five-year-old arrives in the United States, where she expects to arrive in a place that is filled with wonderful things, “like bananas and chocolate and Bazooka.”
On her first day in New York City, she finds a penny on the floor in a hotel with lots of rats. Tania is holding this sticky, rusty penny in her hand, and she feels like she is holding a fortune. And she loves this feeling, for she feels like a millionaire. Years later, she and her sister get a knock on her door in their apartment of Brooklyn. In front of them is a deliveryman with a box of pizza they didn’t order. It’s their very first box of pizza, and they devour a slice while the deliveryman stands in the doorway asking for money. Only her family didn’t have money for the pizza, as her mother walked 50 blocks to and from work every day. It’s then that the neighbor pops her head out the door and turns red with rage when she realizes that “those immigrants from downstairs” have somehow gotten their hands on her pizza Tania says, “Everyone was upset. But the pizza is delicious.”
On their tenth anniversary of being in the U.S., the family decided to celebrate by reserving a room at the hotel they had first stayed in when they got to the U.S. The man at the front desk laughs and says, “You cannot reserve a room here. This is a homeless shelter.” Tania was shocked as she thought about her experience many years before holding her penny.14
Tania’s story stood out to me as I listened to her. Because she had so little, a little was a lot. Whether we have little of it or a lot if, money has a powerful impact on our lives.
2.4 True Living Comes from Giving
The Bible says true living comes from giving. The Bible says we ought to be always ready to use our money to do good. Because when you're doing this, when you're giving your money away, you're storing up real treasure in heaven (verse 19). That is the only safe investment for eternity. The Bible is saying the safest place for my money is in God's hands. What this means is this: God is honored when believers see the needs of those on the margins of society and treat them with kindness. God is honored when we adopt unwanted children. God is honored when we pay the electric bill for the needy to keep people cool in the middle of a hot Texas summer. God is honored when we give so others can eat. God is actually worshipped by our acts of generosity. He’s watching and taking note of when we give to those in need. He says that giving your finances away is like putting money in Heaven’s bank.
2.5 Lily Foundation Study
In a 2012 study, the Lily Foundation at Indiana University said religious people give around 3 times as much as non-believers. Plus, the Lily Foundation said they found evidence that believers give more often than non-believers. “In study after study, religious practice is the behavioral variable with the strongest and most consistent association with generous giving. And people with religious motivations don’t give just to faith-based causes—they are also much likelier to give to secular causes than the nonreligious.”15 People are finding that the less of God you have in your life, the less charity you have in your life.
2.6 Giving is Spiritual Victory
If you want to break out of the consumer society, there's only one antidote to materialism. Giving. Giving is the antidote to materialism. Why? Because it’s the exact opposite of getting. That’s what materialism is – get, get, get! The exact opposite of getting is giving. Every time you tithe, every time you do an act of generosity, every time you give, you are winning a spiritual victory over materialism.16 Believers who have experienced the rich grace of God find themselves addicted to giving. Instead of “I’ve got to give,” believers experience “I get to give!”17
2.7 Rationalizing
Be careful not to rationalize when it comes to money.
I saw this on social media a few weeks ago: a pastor was comparing the riches man on earth in 950 BC (Solomon) thinking on wealth, to Elon Musk, the richest man today. We are all very skilled at loading our desires into our need category. It’s the slide from greed to need. And once we have moved desires into the need category, we think it’s our right to have these things.18
It has happened so many times in my life. “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). You are at a dangerous place when “I want” goes unrestrained.19
2.8 Giving is the Antidote
Every time you give, you’re saying, “I’m going to show that my trust is in God and I believe God can pay my debts if I put Him first in my life.” Every time you give, you're saying, “God is my source of supply, and He really is number one in my life. My giving is proof of that.” Every time you write out a check, every time you do an act of generosity in giving, you are winning a spiritual battle, a victory over materialism.
1. Why Do I Always Want More?
2. Why is Giving the Cure for Wanting More?
3. How Much Should I Give?
“On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:2).
This passage identifies 5 habits of how God’s people handle their money.
You are to give cheerfully, give regularly, give proportionately, give generously, and lastly give sacrificially.
3.1 Relieve Suffering
“Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me” (1 Corinthians 16:1-4).
The brothers and sisters in Christ all over the Roman Empire gave to relieve the suffering of the believers in Jerusalem. The Bible says the believers in Jerusalem were persecuted in Acts 8. Like these ancient believers, when you give more than 10% of your gift goes around the world and around the neighborhood to take care of missionaries and people in need. Give cheerfully because you can make a difference in someone’s life. A week ago, 125 teenagers devoted a weekend to growing in Christ. Your giving to the budget paid around half of their weekend’s fees.
3.2 Give Regularly
Notice the Bible says they did this as part of their worship.
In verse 2, they gave on the first day of the week – Sunday. Then the Bible commands us this way: “each of you is to put something aside.” Every one of you should give something. Every Person Gave, Every Sunday.
3.3 Give Proportionately
Verses two and three talk about giving in keeping with your income. In other words, your giving should be proportional. Those who make more should give more. God says in the book of Malachi that if I’m giving a tithe, I‘m robbing God. That’s powerful and provocative.
A tithe is literally 10%. So, if you have an income of $50,000, God expects you to give away at least $5,000. God’s minimum standard of generosity is 10%.
3.4 Tax Contribution Statement
Imagine if you had all the records of your giving for 2019 in front of you right now. Just this past week, I looked at my contribution statement for my giving to our church this past year. Imagine if yours were in front of you right now. Plus, we put all the giving of all your charities – everything you’d given to every ministry, every missionary, and every dollar you gave to those in need. Now add it all up for me and let me ask you a searching question. If I multiplied this by 10, would you be happy with your 2019 income? Would 2019 have been a good year for you if you multiplied everything you gave by the factor of 10?20
3.5 God’s Cash Register
Imagine applying for a job this week to work the cash register at Chick-fil-A. Instead of paying you near minimum wage, the managers tell you they're going to pay you 90% of everything you take in that day. Your pay is 90% of everything you make in your shift. Just before you close, you settle up with the manager. The two of you look over everything you have made, and he says, “Ok, I’ll keep 10% and here’s your 90%.” You walk out of the restaurant day after day with 90% of everything – WOW! But then one day, you walk out the door and past your manager – you don’t stop. He says, “Hang on a minute. I need my 10%.” You say, “No, I need all of it today. I earned it, and I’m keeping it.”
3.6 David’s Prayer at the Temple
Over in 1 Chronicles 28–29, King David and the children of Israel raise a bunch of money to build a temple in Jerusalem. Then David prays over the offering like a preacher would in church. At one point, David prays to God and says something like this, “Everything in heaven and earth is yours, Lord. Wealth and honor come from you. Everything comes from you, and we have only given you what comes from your hand.” David is saying that giving is really returning what God gives us back to God.
Jesus says, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”
EndNotes
1 J. R. Briggs, The Art of Asking Better Questions: Pursuing Stronger Relationships, Healthier Leadership, and Deeper Faith (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2025), 86–88.
2 Andy Bannister and Lee Strobel, How to Talk about Jesus without Looking like an Idiot: A Panic-Free Guide to Having Natural Conversations about Your Faith (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Elevate, 2023), 77.
3 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8929468/; accessed February 22, 2026.
4 https://www.ansirh.org/research/ongoing/research-religious-healthcare-institutions; accessed February 22, 2026.
5 https://x.com/J_K_Wood/status/2023847054599241981; ; accessed February 22, 2026. Thanks to Josh Wood for calling attention to Christians’ charity.
6 Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005).
7 https://fee.org/articles/new-homes-today-have-twice-the-square-feet-per-person-as-in-1973; accessed February 17, 2026.
8 https://eyeonhousing.org/2026/01/new-single-family-home-size-trends-third-quarter-2025/; accessed February 18, 2026.
9 Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, The New American Commentary. (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 147.
10 https://gabc-archive.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/s101710.pdf; accessed February 17, 2026.
11 https://sermons.logos.com/sermons/35208-rick-warren-escaping-materialism?sso=false; accessed February 17, 2026.
12 I am grateful for James Merritt for this point in his sermon, “Birth Right.”
13 https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/economic-value-citizenship-immigrants-united-states; accessed February 17, 2026.
14 http://www.ted.com/talks/tania_luna_how_a_penny_made_me_feel_like_a_millionaire/transcript?language=en; accessed February 17, 2026.
15 https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/magazine/less-god-less-giving/#:~:text=Philanthropic%20studies%20show%20that%20people,secular%20causes%20than%20the%20nonreligious; accessed February 22, 2026.
16 https://sermons.logos.com/sermons/35208-rick-warren-escaping-materialism?sso=false; accessed February 17, 2026.
17 https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/generous-giving/; accessed February 22, 2026.
18 Paul David Tripp, Sex and Money: Pleasures That Leave You Empty and Grace That Satisfies (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), Kindle Locations 2058-2059.
19 Tripp, Kindle location 2509-2526.
20 I am grateful for Pastor Danny Roberts for this idea.
