What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Matthew 16:26 NIVUK
Before Covid, I used to take monthly trips to London on business. My hotel was a short walk from the Tower of London. That building, so steeped in history, contains something so precious that it is beyond valuation and is completely and utterly priceless:
The Crown Jewels.
And they are very well guarded: they are in bulletproof and shatterproof glass cases, watched over by security cameras and security guards, and the tower itself is guarded by the world famous Beefeater guards (although they might have to change their name if veganism becomes more popular).
Every one of us possesses something utterly priceless. Yet, as Jesus stated in the previous sentence, we allow it to become damaged, suffer loss or be handed over to another ao cheaply.
We are like the ancient Incas, who did not comprehend the value of gold and handed it over to the Conquistadors for trivial goods Ike woollen blankets.
We are like people who hand over paintings or antiques for sale to charity shops, without realising that they are worth a fortune.
In every city there are pawnbrokers. In fact, along with gambling shops and loan sharks, their frequency is a good measure of how poor a neighbourhood is. A friend of ours got a job working in one. Why she took the job I really don’t know.
She quickly realised that they were a magnet for the poor, who came with their belongings to get much-needed money.
But pawnbrokers are largely a merciless scam. They buy goods from the needy at a low price and sell them on for a much higher price, while they pocket the difference.
Our friend realised the blatant immorality pf this when a needy old man came into her store with his dead wife’s engagement ring – something of great sentimental value. She gave him a valuation according to her store’s criteria and her heart sank.
It was well below what it was worth.
She knew her company would earn much know when it was sold.
Jesus comes here with a very stark warning. Having used the language of business in the previous sentence, He now states that if your soul suffers damage or loss, you can’t get it back.
It’s gone. Gone forever.
This reminds me of the chilling conversation between Heaven and Hell in the Parable od the Rich Man and Lazarus:
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”
Luke 16:26 NIVUK
When we treat our soul with such contempt we find ourselves in the same position as Esau, who treated his birthright with the same level of contempt:
Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, ‘Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!’ (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ ‘Look, I am about to die,’ Esau said. ‘What good is the birthright to me?’ But Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.’ So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 25:29-34 NIVUK
Afterwards, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
Hebrews 12:17 NIVUK
Yet many are perfectly willing for their soul – for their nature and temperament and sense of right and wrong – to be handed over glibly for the momentary, fleeting pleasures of sin, power and wealth.
This is a startling warning.
If we are willing to treat our souls with such contempt, we need to understand that the damage cannot be undone; the loss cannot be recovered; nothing we could do, say or repay could ever ransom our souls from this terrible fate.
No-one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them – the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough – so that they should live on for ever and not see decay.
Psalms 49:7-9 NIVUK
None except Jesus:
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalms 103:1-5 NIVUK
‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
Luke 1:68 NIVUK
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
1 Peter 1:18-19 NIVUK
If you have given your soul away for the worthless things of this world, there is only one way back: to surrender to Jesus Christ and repent. Only He can repair the damage. Only He can get back what you have lost.
Only He and no other.
So take heed, friend. Don’t give your priceless soul for things that are here today and gone tomorrow. Give it to Jesus Christ, and no-one and nothing else.
Questions
1. Your soul is priceless. Why is this?
2. How can you give it away cheaply? What temptations do you face that affect the way you think, feel and act?
3. Why is Jesus the only way we can repair our broken soul?
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