Gaining The Whole World

"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" ~Jesus recorded in Luke 9:25

We normally associate profit with gain. After all, profit is gain is it not? Jesus is teaching us something here about long term profitability, as well as true and false profitability.

What is true profitability? True profitability is profit that is gained to the "man himself." It is gain to the heart and soul of creatures made in God's image. False profitability then is profit that comes to the flesh of man. It is gain to the outward desires of man. True profitability is also profit in the long run. False profitability is profit in the short term.

We live and breath in a society where we can get almost anything we desire with free shipping. If we order enough fleshly profit from Amazon, we can get it to our homes in 2-3 business days. The driver who brings it to us will rush it to our home seemingly free of charge. Lets say I continue to order stuff upon stuff from Amazon. I order everything they either have, or can get into their warehouse. I build a massive pole barn. I keep accumulating product and wealth from everywhere until I have purchased the entire world. I have gained it all. As I walk toward my pole barn carrying the last box that was just delivered to my home (brought to me from the currier company that I own), I hear for a brief moment the sound of the spring break that holds the garage door in place. The door falls upon my neck, as I am crushed to death by the weight.

I open my eyes as I find myself on my knees in the throne room of God. None of my stuff is there with me. All of my stuff is now being dispersed among other humans. They have received all of my profit. Jesus asks "what profit did you bring?" I tell him that I gained the entire world on earth. I ask him if that is enough for me to enter heaven. He tells me that true profit can not be purchased by money, but by faith. He tells me that he is the true profit. I could have gained forgiveness for my sin of covetousness, and free entrance into the glories of heaven. I could have purchased it all free of charge. But now, in the end, I have lost…I have lost my soul. What I thought was gain is now loss; and what I thought was loss on earth, would have been to me eternal gain.