WHAT DO WE REGARD AS PROFITABLE

WHAT DO WE REGARD AS PROFITABLE?

The question of "What is profitable?" is asked against the background of not being sure of what is going to happen with the economy following the recent UK decision to leave the European Union (June 2016). One day the Lord Jesus said there was something even more valuable than economic growth, employment, high share prices, money in the Building Society, etc – and that is our soul! He said, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). On another occasion He said, “for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15).

We think of "profit" in terms of economic gain, and that is what is meant in Mark 8:36, but there may be some other things that we might regard as profitable, and yet cannot be compared to the value of a soul:

1. Firstly our health. Think a lot about our health - Gym clubs in all our major towns like, for example in this area at Redcar, Saltburn and Guisborough. We control our diets - drink semi-skimmed milk, use low fat spreads, avoid red meat, eat plenty of bran, take sweeteners instead of sugar in our tea/coffee, etc. So Mark 8:36 could be made to read “What shall it profit a man if he gains perfect health, and lose his own soul? “

2. Many put great emphasis on their religion. They think that's profitable. That's perhaps why you are looking at this web site. Surely God will be well pleased with us for taking an interest in religious things. There must be some value/profit in it. So our text could read, “What shall it profit a man if he gain religion, and lose his own soul?”

But as we look around the world, a lot of its problems are done in the name of religion – e.g. conflicts between Protestant and Catholic, the Jews and the Arab nations, Muslims and Christians, etc.

Some of the old preachers used to warn, “To lose your wealth is much, to lose you health is more, but to lose your soul is such a loss, that no man can restore!”

Strangely enough, comfort, happiness, and, above all, eternal interests, do not depend on the abundance of our goods. The things of this world will not satisfy our souls, nor supply its needs, nor satisfy its desires, nor last so long as it will last. We should not be anxious then about obtaining wealth, for, however much we may obtain, it will not prolong our life. “That” depends on the will of God, and it requires something besides wealth to make us ready to meet Him.

And what is the value of life here on earth anyway? There is a prosperity that is foolish, useless, and fatal. It is the prosperity of those who go through life trying to gain the world. They work hard at being successful; at possessing and enjoying what the world has to offer. Can a fool be a success? Can he be prosperous? Yes, of course! But hold on, there’s another side to this – we are here for perhaps 70 – 80 years, and then that’s the end of life as we know it. The Bible puts it like this: For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away (James 4:14). And we have put all our effort in to feeding it, maintaining it, developing it, enjoying the pleasures it can bring, but at the end of the day it goes to the grave. What have we gained? Nothing! What have we lost? Everything! So, instead of seeking prosperity, the message is that we should seek the Lord while He may be found. Happily He is not very far from anyone of us. We need to admit that there are things wrong in our lives, that we have sinned against a holy God, that we have been putting self interests ahead of any interest in God and His ways, and then we need to repent, have a desire to have our life turned around, so that instead of seeking prosperity on earth, our first desire should be to do what is right before God. Then trust the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, today, and gain what we can never lose. He died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sin, that we through faith in Him might live for evermore; though our bodies will one day go to the grave, the real you and me live on for ever with Him in heaven.