What Does It Profit A Man?

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? – Mark 8:36 (KJV)

This past month has been filled with news about one celebrity death after another. Keith Carradine. Ed MacMahon. Farrah Fawcett. Michael Jackson. Billy Mays. Karl Malden. Steve McNair.

Sure, the death of Michael Jackson seems to have eclipsed the news about everyone else combined, given his much larger than life presence. But, each of the people who recently died had one or more talents which seems to have set them apart from the rest of us mere mortals – athletes, actors, singers and entertainers who at some point in their lives appeared to have had the world by its tail.

Giving An Account For Our Lives

None of us can possibly follow God unless he calls and empowers us. The lives of so many celebrities run contrary to how Jesus lived, but redemption remains open for anyone who will turn to God while they yet live.

Yet, each of these people has now left this world and must stand before God to give account for their lives. I refuse to speculate what the eternal position of anyone who died is, but for the person who rejects God then his or her soul has been lost and they will remain apart from God forever. I might add that this is of their own choice, not God’s.

For the Christian, power, fame and fortune sometimes beckons us and to the point where we may need to make a critical decision – do we go on with God or do we turn away from Him? Allow me say this: believers whose lives include positions of power, worldly fame and earthly fortune are often blessed with these attributes after surrendering their lives to the Lord. King Solomon is an example of a biblical figure who sought wisdom but was given great wealth (which nearly destroyed him).

You may know of a contemporary figure who loves the Lord and seems to have much in the way of earthly blessings. Regardless, the wealthy follower of Christ must always hold his riches loosely and remember who the giver of the blessing is – God.

But let us remember what is most important – it is certainly better to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than to dwell in the tents of the wicked (Psalm 84:10). There is something to be said for the humble life lived before the Lord whereby the Christian trusts God for his sustenance and doesn’t crave the approval of a fickle world that puts its own idols on pedestals only to dash them later on. People who possess great riches or an important position in this life also have to deal with the headaches and heartaches that come along with their portion in life.

God Searches The Heart

Quite often, the world will remember a fallen idol by focusing on a certain segment of their lives, perhaps when they were at the peak of their success. God not only sees their lives from conception to death, but He searches their hearts. Thankfully, if anyone chooses to follow God He’ll give them the right kind of heart needed to follow him:

And I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart – Jeremiah 24:7 (NIV)

Once in awhile we do learn of a famous person who later committed their lives to the Lord. These people aren’t of any greater value to God (who isn’t a respecter of persons) than the obscure poppy farmer in Afghanistan who commits his life to Jesus Christ too. But, every life that comes to the Lord is a blessing to God so let us remember to pray for the great and humble alike so that God’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Photo Credit: Kriss Szkurlatowski

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