Daily Devotional
Losing Your Soul For Nothing

October 26, 2017

Suppose someone approached you and said, “I have the ability to give you all the wealth, power and pleasure this world has to offer, but there is a price. I want you to give me your little finger. Just get it surgically removed and all this is yours!” Would you do it?

Now let’s suppose that he did not ask for your little finger; suppose he wanted your ability to hear instead. You will never hear another sound, but you can have everything else. Would you give up your hearing to have all the wealth, power, and pleasure of this world?

Well, suppose this person said that he wanted not just your ears, but your eyes and arms as well. Now, you may be thinking, You are crazy! But stay with me—there are some reading this right now who are already giving a whole lot more and getting a whole lot less.

This is the logic behind what Jesus said: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37). Jesus is asking, “How much is your soul worth?” Is it worth your little finger? Your ears? Your eyes? Your arms? What a tragic, foolish transaction to exchange the soul for the things of this world.