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Then
he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. "If
any of you wants to be my follower," he told them, "you must put
aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you
try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up
your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find
true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own
soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul? If a
person is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful
days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in
the glory of my Father with the holy angels." (Mark 8:34-38 NLV). There
is a possibility of having everything and yet gaining nothing. IN our
reading today, Jesus puts a clear perspective on material things versus
eternal things. The following poem by an unknown author reminded me of
this principle. "We
have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower
viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We
have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time;
we have more degrees, but less common sense; more knowledge, but less
judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less
wellness. We
spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too
quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too
much, and pray too seldom. We
have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We
talk too much, love too seldom and lie too often. We've
learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life,
not life to years. We've
been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the
street to meet the new neighbor. We've
conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but
not better things; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've
split the atom, but not our prejudice; we write more, but learn less; plan
more, but accomplish less. We've
learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower
morals; more food but less appeasement; more acquaintances, but fewer
friends; more effort but less success. We
build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than
ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but
short on quality. These
are the time of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men and short
character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These
are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure and less
fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These
are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken
homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, and throwaway
morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do
everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much
in the show window, and nothing in the stockroom."
Do you need to take stock of what you REALLY have? Is anything worth more than your soul? |
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