“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Mark 8:36
Interestingly enough, the very first time I heard this phrase, it was not attributed to Jesus. In my early twenties, I had an older friend who, at the time, I believed was a very wise and helpful individual. He always had some great stories for me about his own experiences in Hollywood, and would very commonly drop some names of some VERY significant stars from past generations that he claimed to know well. With all he appeared to have going for him, for some reason, he wasn’t willing to attribute this quote to the most significant person I would EVER come to know.
What Jesus is saying here is pretty clear, and I think any one of us could come up with multiple examples of individuals who seemed to have it all, but were losing out on the ONE THING that gives us true significance and success: a personal relationship with Jesus himself.
In the business marketplace, in the entertainment industry, even within the walls of church leadership, there are those who seem to have it all together and are striving for their dreams, but have allowed their pursuit of that dream get in the way off EVERYTHING else, at the COST of everything else. While taking those risks may result in their lives being broken, their financial accounts bankrupt, their families destroyed, and their legacy corrupt… How much worse is it for them to end up never truly finding Christ and experiencing his redemption at the cross in their own personal lives?
That is the greatest tragedy, to gain everything that can be gained in a life of prosperity and comfort, only to miss out on the one thing that could truly transform your life and the lives of those around you. Certainly there are many individuals with a strong personal faith and a prosperous life, and I’m not saying that the one excludes the possibility of the other… we just have to be sure that we have the one well in focus while we pursue the other.
So, to put into now infamous terms, are you “WINNING!!!”? …at what cost?
What Does Jesus Say to You? 