Text verse
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Mark 8:36-37
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Mark 8:36-37
How much do you want for your soul this
evening? What do you want in exchange
for your soul?
Ahab’s soul had a price…just one vineyard.
So he answers the
king, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my
fathers.”
You might remember that she was a foreign
princess, probably from a culture where all the land belonged to the King and
was only leased to the people. She
either did not know or refused to accept the Law of Israel that clearly stated
that “the king must not consider himself better than his brothers.” [Deuteronomy 17:18-20]
Jezebel and Ahab stand for that class of
people who believe that power and authority give licence to treat others
abusively; to exploit them.
Apartheid was based on the abuse of power
and the exploitation of people........
The
corruption in our nation today is based on the abuse of power and the
exploitation of people.
Jezebel has Naboth murdered while her
husband does nothing and says nothing.
His silence lends his full support to her abusive, exploitative
actions. Your and my silence often lends
our support to the abusive, exploitative powers that be........family members remain silent,..............neighbours “mind
their own business”.....and keep silent…................people in the workplace “mind their own
business”........and keep silent… People in
nations keep silent.......................Silence has a price!
How much for your soul?
God calls His prophet to confront the
king. This is called “speaking truth to
power” and it happens many times in Scripture…just one other example will
suffice: The prophet Nathan confronts
another king, David, “a man after God’s own heart” after David commits
adultery, steals another man’s wife and murders her husband.
Speaking truth to power…it is scary and
dangerous, and seldom makes one popular.
When Ahab saw Elijah approaching, he cried:
“Have you found me, O my enemy?” To a
guilty conscience, a prophet of God always looks like an enemy. “I have found you” he answered, “because you
have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
Remember, Ahab had actually done nothing…all
he has done is…remain silent while someone else did
evil.
But in his silence he sold his
soul............... for a vineyard.
How much for your soul?
We can lose possession of our souls without
selling them outright. We may gradually
lose possession of our souls by mortgaging them. Somebody “gets something” on us and it gives
them a hold over us. We cannot be our
true self in their presence because they will “tell-on” and then I might lose
my job…or not be considered for promotion.........my soul is mortgaged to the person who "has something over me".
How often do we sell our souls, just so that
people will like us? I won’t speak for
your line of work, but for my “line of work” it is so easy to think, “I’m
pastor of a congregation and mustn’t I seek to give the message in a way that
people will accept?” Our concern for
acceptability can lead us to soften the truth.
To be a servant of one’s congregation and also a prophet of one’s God is
no easy task. But this applies in all situations:
Remember, we are all called to be God’s prophets, God’s representatives, God’s spokesperson, wherever we find ourselves, so......
To be a servant of one’s parents or
children and a prophet of God is no easy task.....
To be a servant of one’s boss and also a
prophet of God is no easy task......
To be a
servant of one’s teachers & principal and also a prophet of God is no easy
task...... To be a servant of one’s nation, a
good citizen, and a prophet of God is no easy task.
In ethics this "problem" is called the problem of dual loyalties and it can tempt us to sell our souls.
How much for your soul…how much for
mine?
What will we pay, what are we paying to keep our jobs;......to keep
our spouse?
What are we paying to “keep
the peace?” ........ There are so many ways we
sell our soul.
Ahab sold his soul by keeping silent in the midst of his wife's abuse of her power.
Some of our politicians know how to be silent in 3 or 4 different
languages. Another way we sell our souls
is by claiming to have the interests of others at heart. “I have a wife and children to think about.”
Most of us are members of families. How can we follow our own clear line of duty
without sacrificing the interests of those who lean on us? How can big businesses be loyal to employees,
stockholders and the general public? How
can we be loyal to the country that protects us and yet not sell our souls by
participating in government programs that seem wrong to us?
What good
is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or
what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Mark 8:36-37
Our guiding principle is to have a sovereign
loyalty which heads the hierarchy of our other loyalties. Jesus insisted that His followers put Him and
His Kingdom first.
“He that loves father or mother more than Me is not
worthy of me; and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of
Me.”
Matthew 10:37
There may be times when our loyalty to Christ seems
to cause hardship on members of our families.
There may come times (and many of us have lived through such times in South Africa) when
the conscientious follower of Christ seems to run counter to what the majority
of our countrymen think is good citizenship.
But in the long run, the person who uses their best
ability in being loyal to Jesus, will never be a bad father or mother, a
bad spouse, or a bad patriot.
