“What Does It Profit A Man to Gain the Whole World and Lose His Soul?”

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

You really do need to soberly reflect on this question… What does it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul?  [Matthew 16:26]…. I tell you, you can be like [Baby D – I’m Bout Money] if you want too… “Chasing for that paper…. Die for the cheddar …” Echoing “Money Money Money” [feat. Diddy & Fabolous] [Diddy:] Wake up in the morning take a money shower now I’m smelling like money got the money and the power….” [Fabolous:]…..Married to the money….Faithful to the millions….Got my money up….Safe as in the ceiling….” I tell you, the nature of man is a fool!  I can just image the rich man in Hades [Luke 16:22-24] screaming NOOOOOOOOO! You got it all wrong….. NOOOOOOOOO! One’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions” [Luke 12:15] it is in God.  It is your heart and soul that makes you valuable not stuff.  Joy, happiness, and fulfillment are found in the invisible things of life: love, hope, peace, and relationships….. NOOOOOOOOOO! Don’t do it! Don’t trade your most valuable possession [your soul] for the trinkets of this world… It’s not worth it I tell you… 

You see, I am the rich man in [Luke 16:19-31] who dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At my gate was a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from my table…  Then the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. I also died and was buried. In Hell, I looked up one day and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  I called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’  “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony…” NOOOOOOOOO! Don’t do it! Don’t trade your soul for the trinkets of this world. Hell is for eternity! Hell is real!

You know [Martin Luther King Jr.,] said in a sermon that the rich man was a fool because he permitted the ends for which he lived to become confused with the means by which he lived…. Don’t let that be said about you. To spend the days, months, and years of your life in a quest for riches, possessions, and prominence will only leave you disappointed. Jesus warned us about this when He said “Do not store up for yourselves treasurers on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. [Matthew 6: 19-20].  Perhaps the greatest lesson to learn from this story is that when death comes knocking on your door there is only one thing that will matter: your relationship with Jesus Christ. “What good will it be for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul?” (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36]. Don’t do it!  Don’t trade your most valuable possession [your soul] for the trinkets of this world. Sounding the Warning!

“Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” [Deuteronomy 30:19]

Author: Lou Coleman