Articles
Less is More
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)
It is ironic that when we choose to let go of objects in this life that we actually gain a great deal in the next. When asked what the benefit of self-denial was, Jesus demonstrated this counter-intuitive truth (Matt. 19:27-30).
Yet there is a level to which we are perhaps too “conservative” with this thought. Opposition to idolatry is a chief element of discipleship, but a refusal to enjoy the physical blessings afforded mankind is just as dangerous as any idol. Solomon verbalized this truth well when he said, “…it is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage” (Ecclesiastes 5:18). The danger comes when we make these enjoyable temporal things into gods.
We need to keep our eyes fixed on things above but we should also take the time to appreciate God’s earthly blessings. In the words of C.S. Lewis, “Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”
