“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
1 Timothy 6:17
The Bible contains several paradoxes that our secular world just cannot accept. These paradoxes are like the following: To be considered great in the Kingdom of God we must be the least here on earth (Luke 9:48). Not many in our culture would ever agree with allowing themselves to be servants of others. Or how about loving our enemies (Matthew 5:44)? How many people treat their enemies kindly, let alone go near them? Or what about turning the other cheek when someone strikes us (Matthew 5:39)? Our human reaction is to strike back, not allow them to hit us again!
But perhaps the greatest paradox of all is that we get more when we give away. Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” This just goes against all logic! When we give away what we have, we end up with less, right? At least, that’s the reasoning. But God uses a different kind of math. He says that when we give to others, we receive much more in return!
I believe that these paradoxes are given to us to understand the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. Jesus is letting us know that following Him has a cost, and that cost is in exact opposition to our secular world. We can either follow the ways of the world, or God’s way! As the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:8, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” Like Paul, we must desire Christ more than any earthly treasure. To truly follow Christ, we must let go of the things of this earthly life and put our complete faith and trust in Him for all that we need. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things we be given to you as well.” Having faith in Christ and being His disciple means trusting in Him to deliver on His promises!
So, the question is, when we choose to follow Jesus, what have we got to lose? When we follow Christ, we often must give up (lose) our wealth, our status, some of our relationships, our possessions, our comfort, and our desires. That is often very difficult for us to do and is what keeps many people from following Jesus. It is like the rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to give all his possessions to the poor, but he could not do it because he had great wealth (Matthew 9:22). But to be truly blessed in this life, we need to let go of the earthly things that we are holding onto so that we might receive the abundant and truly valuable gifts of God. To the world this would seem ridiculous because they only see things from a worldly perspective.
But when we know Christ and trust in Him, we see things spiritually. When we follow Christ, what we actually lose is greed, worry, impatience, anger, fear, envy, and selfishness. And what do we receive in return? According to Galatians 5:22, we receive the fruit of the Spirit, which is “love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control!” And we also receive God’s blessings in our earthly lives, whether they be financial, material, or emotional, according to His purposes. These are not gifts given to us to use as we want, but are gifts given to us to bless others and give glory to God!
The key for us is to trust in Jesus and know that God is always faithful, and that He will provide for us, care for us, and walk with us through whatever we face in this life! This allows us to live lives free from the worries of this world, and to live abundantly (John 10:10) and give generously (Proverbs 22:9)!
So, it’s not about what we lose, it’s about what we gain in Christ! Can I get an Amen!