Profit & Loss

Mark 8:34-36 And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man,to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?


I had a friend who used to say that life was much easier before she became a Christian. I always disagreed with her. I have found that my faith has been a constant blessing. I think my friend struggled with her faith because she was stuck on the belief that being a Christian was about what was in it for her. Jesus said for us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. It starts with deny yourself not what's in it for yourself. The journey continues with self sacrifice, which for me is taking up your cross. We can thank God that our cross is not Jesus cross. Some in the world are martyred today for their faith, but my sacrifice is small in comparison. 


I have found that sacrifice, perhaps of time or treasure, always results in profit, while greed results in loss. I watch people who are greedy fight to trust anyone, because they expect everyone else will look to take advantage of them to get more as they would take advantage of others to get more. Generosity especially with no strings attached, makes relationships work. We profit by denying ourselves, while we lose by refusing to deny ourselves. God's economy works differently than the world thinks.