PERSPECTIVE'S POWER
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Mark 8:36 (NKJV)
Perspective is a powerful thing. In fact, a person's perspective is practically everything. It will determine how he spends his time, the associations he makes, and the thoughts he dwells on. In short, perspective dictates the way people live their lives.
Jesus was the Master of providing perspective, which He does by posing this question, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" Translation: Look at your life through an eternal lens, not an earthly lens!
The truth of the matter is that eventually our life here on earth will come to an end. When it does, all the trinkets and toys-absolutely everything we've accrued and acquired here on earth-will forever fade away. The stuff of this world won't be making it into the next, and those who are consumed and committed to the things of this world are in for a rude awakening. It's like fighting over the deckchair with the best view on the Titanic. It just won't matter in the end.
Sadly, too many people spend their years living that way because they lack the perspective Jesus presents in this passage. If everyone lived with eternity in mind, if they made decisions and choices based on the infinite existence that is ahead, things would look a lot different. There'd be more grace than greed, more mercy than materialism, more blessing than burden. They'd look more like Jesus.
The good news is that no matter how long we may have lived for this world, it's not too late to prioritize matters of the soul and begin investing in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus was the Master of providing perspective, which He does by posing this question, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" Translation: Look at your life through an eternal lens, not an earthly lens!
The truth of the matter is that eventually our life here on earth will come to an end. When it does, all the trinkets and toys-absolutely everything we've accrued and acquired here on earth-will forever fade away. The stuff of this world won't be making it into the next, and those who are consumed and committed to the things of this world are in for a rude awakening. It's like fighting over the deckchair with the best view on the Titanic. It just won't matter in the end.
Sadly, too many people spend their years living that way because they lack the perspective Jesus presents in this passage. If everyone lived with eternity in mind, if they made decisions and choices based on the infinite existence that is ahead, things would look a lot different. There'd be more grace than greed, more mercy than materialism, more blessing than burden. They'd look more like Jesus.
The good news is that no matter how long we may have lived for this world, it's not too late to prioritize matters of the soul and begin investing in the Kingdom of God.
Discuss and share something in your life that you pursued with passion and later discovered wasn?t worth as much as you had thought.
How did your perspective change?
Dig into Mark 8:35?37.
Why do you think Jesus shared this with His followers?
What makes this teaching so difficult for us?
In what ways are you trying to gain the world? In what ways do you feel you may be losing your soul?
Decide as a group to pray for your employers.
Ask God to give them an eternal perspective and to use your witness to draw them closer to Christ.
