Life’s Greatest Investment
Sermon Series: The Winning Way
36. “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
37. “Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
Mark 8:36-37
Valuable Things
We all have things that we consider to be valuable. One person may consider works of art to be treasures whereas another person may consider them to be worthless. What’s valuable to some investors may not be appealing to others. Public Television produces a show called the Antique Road Show. As you can imagine, people will bring their antiques and other artifacts to have them appraised by the experts. While some participants are pleased with the estimations placed on their collectible items, others may be shocked to find that their treasure is worth very little. Some have even discovered that what they thought was a “good collectors’ item” turned out to be a rare masterpiece. At the end of the program they invite others to come out and have their treasures appraised to see if they are storing any items of value.
While the Antique Road Show makes for good wholesome entertainment, there is another assessment that may help you to determine if you are in possession of the greatest treasure of your life. Indeed, if you are to be a winner in this journey of what we call life, you would probably need to check on this major investment. It is your soul.
Please consider Jesus’ powerful Word. There are two specific questions that every person will need to answer regarding your life’s greatest investment. Question 1: what good would it be to gain the world and lose your soul? Question 2: What can you give in exchange for your soul? These questions are critical to helping us all understand that silver, gold, diamonds, oil, and other treasures are not the greatest investments. Jesus argues that your soul is the most precious thing that you will ever possess and it will extend beyond your earthly existence. Your soul is so precious that according to John 3:16, God gave His Only Begotten Son to die for it. Your soul is so precious that life has no meaning to you if you don’t have a soul to delight in beauty and splendor, pain and sorrow, and the deeper meaning of life. Unless your soul is engaged, life becomes meaningless and mere existence. Your soul is so precious that nothing on this earth can destroy, but you can give it away on the frivolous things of this world. Yes, your soul is precious because you only have one. Your soul is precious because it is the breath of God that was breathed into you. When you came into this world, you were given a body; you were given a mind; and you were given a soul. Now, you are being asked by Jesus to do something. You and I are being asked by Jesus to take an inventory or an assessment on the value of your soul. Your soul is more than your existence in life. Your soul is that part of you that gives you meaning, purpose, vitality, and even your relationship with both God and man. You need to value your soul.
Check Your Investment
Jesus raised the question of your soul to get you to understand that this is one investment that you need to take very seriously. By asking you to consider first the value of your soul, our Lord is stressing that not even the entire world and all its resources are to be compared with your ONE life or inner self. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? There are a lot of things in this world, but all of them combined cannot measure up to the value of ONE soul. Sadly, many have given their soul for things as frivolous as cars, clothes, and good times. In other words, we have all made some bad investments on things that we thought would satisfy the soul but we ended up paying the price with our life.
A classic example of exchanging your soul (inner self) for the things of the world is found in the passage of the rich man and his barns. According to Luke 12:16-21, this wealthy land owner had an abundant year of crops so much so that he did not know where he would store all of his possessions. He came up with a scheme to build bigger barns and then he would be able to store the goods and live the life of ease for the rest of his days. He did not realize that he inadvertently traded his inner self in the process. Verse 20 gives the chilling consequences of his actions. But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your soul will be demanded from you … then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” The King James Bible says, “your soul shall be required.” The rich man got his possessions but ended up paying with the price of his soul. Sadly, many repeat that same transaction every day thinking that they are winning but really losing something far more valuable.
Jesus also raises the question of what can be given in exchange for the soul. That is an even more telling question. If you sell your soul, can you get it back. What can anyone give in exchange for their soul? The world uses three common themes to sell its investments to unsuspecting people. The world uses materialism to tell people, “here is how you can be a winner.” Measure your value by your possessions or what we might call “materialism.” That is not only the belief that the more you have the better you are, but also the belief that what you have will make you happy. Why do you think there are so many commercials on television and now social media. They are trying to tell you that your life will not be complete unless you get their product. Then after you get it, you will need the latest version to really be ahead of the crowd. The bottom line is that people even borrow money in the attempt to buy happiness. In the end, they pay with their soul.
The second exchange system of the world is based on pleasing people. This popularity route is the exchange for people selling their inner self by thinking that if they made everyone else happy, they would be happy. Just get everybody in the world to like you and that will satisfy your life. The Prodigal in Luke 15 took that same approach when he left home with his family inheritance. He spent his money of friends, folly, and good times and ended up in the hog pen wishing that he could be like one of his father’s servants. The funny thing is, when we have traded our soul for the life of popularity, we end up regretting our life in the long run. Thus, life’s greatest investment is spent on people who didn’t really like you in the first place. All you have to show for trying to make others happy is the fact that your life was one big joke.
Jesus offered the challenge to also get people to realize that the powerful exchange of influence also leads to the loss you the inner self. Materialism failed. Popularity failed. But some would argue that becoming powerful and having influence over people is the way to go. If you want to be really happy, you need to be in control of things. So people head out to find happiness in being the “boss” or master of one’s own fate. Interestingly, the writer of Ecclesiastes tried that approach to life. Here is the conclusion he came up with. Ecclesiastes 2:9-11, I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me … I denied myself nothing that my eyes desired … yet when I surveyed all that my hands had labored for and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind, nothing was gained. King Solomon would have been the one to say that power and influence worked because he had achieved it. Yet, when he assessed what he had accomplished, it was all vanity.
There is some good news to this message, but it does not come from your investment outcome. The good news comes from God’s investment in you. As we have argued, the “soul” is the most important investment you or I will ever make in life. That is the whole point to Jesus statement. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? The soul is valuable because it is God’s breath in humans. As the breath of God, it can never die but it can become tarnished, devalued, and even forfeited as Jesus said. The only One who can destroy the soul is God Almighty. Therefore the Lord says that we should not be afraid of anyone or anything else that might destroy the body but cannot destroy the soul. (Matthew 10:38)
Soul Security
Based on the fact that your inner being is the most valuable investment that you will ever have in life, I strongly recommend that you get full coverage. The problem is that insurance companies only cover certain things and they certainly do not cover everything in the world. By definition, your inner self is worth more than all the things in the world combined. Where will you find that amount of coverage?
Secondly, something so valuable as the soul or inner being should be kept safe from harm and danger. Even though it cannot be destroyed, it can face perils that will cause great distress. Where would you go to find such a safe haven? To give you an idea of how serious the matter of security really is, do you know that you face risks far greater than accidents, or health, or loss of property. You face the risks of losing your identity and the potential of cyber criminals gaining access to your personal data. Yes, while there are resources to help minimize these risks, there is no guarantee that such resources are even capable of removing all threats.
God gives the complete assurance for the soul. First, God claims that all souls belong to Him. Ezekiel 18:4. Not only that, but God has also provided a ransom for the soul. John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Not only that, but God has also provided something else for the security of the soul. God has sent the Holy Spirit to keep and guide us through this journey of life. When the Holy Spirit has come, He will guide you into all truth. John 16:13. Here’s the bottom line. While we may not fully grasp the value of our soul, God certainly does and has given His Best to preserve our inner being for all eternity. With that in mind, you and I can rest assured that our souls are in God’s Great Hands.Amen!