Nothing in This World Is Worth Our Soul

Note from today’s Bible reading: Matthew 16-17

In emphasizing the serious nature of discipleship, Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). To take up our cross means that we must be willing to sacrifice our lives for Christ, putting Him and His ways first in everything.

How far are we to take this? Jesus continued, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). Life here are only temporary. The only way to truly preserve it is to give ourselves completely to the Lord.

Unfortunately, many are not willing to do this. They want to continue in sin or pursue the things of this life over the things of Christ. Many fool themselves into thinking that it is better to focus on things that are physical and temporal rather than those that are spiritual and eternal. Yet Jesus explained the folly of this: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Even if we have everything we could ever dream of in this life, it will do nothing to save our soul for eternity.

So remember that nothing in this world is worth our soul. We cannot neglect earthly responsibilities, and must diligently carry out the work that God had given us to do here. At the same time, we must make sure our priorities are in order and put spiritual things first.