Vanity

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36

The above passage of the scriptures makes us understand that the whole essence of man is centred on the soul. No wonder the book of Genesis told us that man became a living soul when God breathed life upon him (Gen 2:7). The soul is the hallmark of man's existence. Therefore, effort must be geared towards things that will nourish and enrich the soul.

Unfortunately, what we seek today are the things that glorify the flesh to the detriment of our soul. We attach so much importance to our comfort here on earth without any reckon of what will become of our soul in the eternity to come. The enrichment of our soul in a security for our future in eternity. That was the implication of what Jesus told the young rich man who came to ask him what he could do to make Heaven (Matt 19:16-23).

The encounter of that young rich man also teaches us of the fact that our earthly possessions does not guarantee a place for our soul in eternity. The ecclesiastic sermon of King Solomon, the one that holds the record of the richest man that ever lived, declared to us that all man's possessions, labour and rewards including wisdom, knowledge and understanding are all vanity (Eccl 1). Reason being that they lack any eternal value.

No wonder Apostle John prayed thus for Elder Gaius, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (3John2). The above prayer shows that prosperity of our soul is more paramount than that of our flesh. Therefore, the next time you use that scripture as a prayer point, you must be very sure that your soul is higher in prosperity status than your flesh, otherwise, you are as good as cursing yourself.

Be that as it may, it will be ungodly and unscriptural to say that Christians should mind prosperity; our God is not poor, the whole wide world and everything therein belong to Him and we, as Christians, are joint heirs with Christ in His inheritance of God's possession. The Bible is full of the promises of prosperity and blessings for believers in Christ. And we cannot wish them away for they are our birthright.

Meanwhile, the utmost purpose of man is to bring pleasure to God and this will be impossible if the soul which is the connection between man and God is impoverished. The only access to the kingdom of God is an enriched soul. Seek ye first, the kingdom of God and His righteousness!

May God help us in our pursuit of Heaven in Jesus name. Amen.