Eternal Priorities

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”    

—Matthew 16:26

November 19, 2012 is a date that will go down in infamy for the Bain household. I apologize to Franklin Delano Roosevelt for misquoting the opening line of the speech he gave the day after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. On Monday, November 19, my wife fell off a three-step ladder, broke, and dislocated her ankle. She is just now learning to walk with a cane. Although we believe God will completely heal her, it has been a long journey.

Just as the attack on Pearl Harbor and more recent attacks on our nation have strengthened the determination and will of the American people, so Darlene’s accident and subsequent recovery have caused me to become more committed to certain priorities in my life. Immediately, I was reminded of my love for, commitment to, and importance of my spouse and family. Suddenly, the things of this world: pleasures, possessions, and prominence meant very little.

When things are going well, you are happy and healthy and the future looks bright, it is easy to measure your life by worldly standards of success. When the rug gets pulled out from under you and you find yourself lying flat on your back with your wind knocked out, a more eternal measuring stick begins to be used. What is most important in life? What relationships and possessions will last?

Immediately after blessing Peter for confessing Him as the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus rebuked Peter for thinking of the Kingdom of God from this world’s viewpoint. “What will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” Jesus’ question to Peter and the Disciples challenges us to reconsider our priorities. John emphasizes the same idea in different and possibly stronger terms. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them” (1 John 2:15). 

Jesus told Peter, “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:23). John gives two reasons why having merely human concerns is so wrong: source and longevity. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:16-17). The sinful allurements of this world are not from God, and even the best things of life are temporary.

As my wife recovers and we get back to a more normal life in terms of physical health, I believe our priorities and goals will not return to normal worldly ones. The things of this earth that really count come from God. The things in your life that will last forever are measured in relationships and souls. Our most treasured possessions will be those that last forever. We will continually seek to build up people and relationships so that they will last eternally.

I pray that none of you wait too long to realize that the things that really matter in this life cannot be stored in a bank, an IRA, or a storage locker. The blessings of loved ones, relationships with others, and the presence of the Lord in your life are eternal joys that require eternal priorities. What are you living for, today? Will it last tomorrow? For eternity?