Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone 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, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
Matthew 16:24-26
A life aimed at being entertained is a form of death. Always filling, never full. Have you ever paid attention to how you feel after a day of self-indulgence or an evening of Netflix bingeing? Try it sometime. Check in with yourself. Do you feel energized, satisfied, excited? Odds are, no. You most likely feel even more tired, bored, lethargic, and dissatisfied than you did when you first sat down.
Humanity was created to work – to spend ourselves for something outside ourselves. We were given bodies to use the muscles in them, hearts to engage in the hard work of spending ourselves in physical and relational labor. From the outset God gave Adam and Eve work to do. They were to spend themselves for the taming and beautifying of the earth and the hard work of raising a family.
Just like if you were to eat and never move you’d get larger and heavier and over time it would get even harder to move, so it is with our souls. The more we indulge ourselves and don’t spend ourselves the more stuck we get.
Are you feeling tired, foggy, or disconnected today? Maybe you don’t need a day off for self care. Maybe what you need is a day of “other-care” – to spend yourself for the sake of someone in need. Maybe you need to sit down and ask a good friend some real questions. Maybe you need to go serve at a local homeless shelter. Maybe you just need to get off your ass and go for a walk.
As Paul said to the Philippians, ”Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” (2:17). Jesus spent himself in ministry and gave up his life for the sake of “the joy before him,” following the principle that he outlines in the parable of the seed; “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24
It’s a biblical principle that the cost of keeping your life is death, but those who lay down their lives will gain them back something even greater. The cost of not spending yourself isn’t worth it. Follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Paul, and so many others who have given their lives to the Kingdom and discover the love, joy, peace, and so much more that is found when we lose our life for Jesus’ sake. You won’t regret it.
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