Temporal or Eternal?

“And what do you benefit if your gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:26 NLT)

Being human beings, having flesh and blood, having appetites and longings that draw us to the world and the things of the world, create a hard sell when it comes to wanting Jesus more than the world. For most humans losing their soul is a no brainer if it means giving up what they most desire – pleasing themselves!

The majority of people alive today give little consideration to what’s temporal or eternal. Their concern is more focused on themselves and what pleases them. Their favorite radio station is WIIFM – “What’s in it for me!” The world teaches “Religion is for those who can’t make it on their own or who are too weak to fight for what’s ‘theirs.'”

Most of us were completely self-focused at some point and the shift to understanding what eternity is and what it means took a while to grasp. Even spirit-filled people who have walked with the Lord for many years still let “self” get in the way more often than we’d care to admit. We still want “our” brand of Christianity, our “style” of worship, our “doctrinal preferences,” our way in most things.

We want the eternal, we just like it with a twist of temporal. John Piper brings clarity when he writes: “The greatest issues are not temporal, but eternal. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” What are the “greatest issues” in your mind?

When we’re honest sometimes our greatest issue is getting our infant child to stop crying or training the dog to stop doing its business on the carpet. Sometimes the “temporal” is so in-our-face we hardly have time to consider the eternal. What are we to do? How do we get off the merry-go-round of routine and find balance in the eternal?

The only way I’m aware of training ourselves to think eternal thoughts, with application to our temporal “duties,” is prayer. Grounding our mind in Scripture by daily spending time reading or listening to God’s Word and carving out quality time to speak to the Lord in focused prayer. Initially, I wrote out long lists of requests and “prayed” those needs and people to the Lord.

You have to tailor your requests to the time you have, but that doesn’t mean you have to pray everything in one sitting. Pray throughout the day. If you get 45 minutes for lunch, eat in 20 minutes and pray for 20 minutes. If it’s a pretty day, take a 15-20 minute “prayer” walk. Put a verse of Scripture on a card or note on your desk or at your work station with something that will remind you why you’re working is to honor the Lord, not simply to do a job.

Turn it so it faces you, it doesn’t have to be an advertisement of how spiritual you are. You can even keep it in a drawer, so you see it when you open that drawer. It’s a reminder for you to keep your thoughts on Jesus even when you’re doing other things.

Pray when you’re driving (keep your eyes open 😊), when having conversations, working, playing, eating, even watching TV. Our thoughts are the playground of Satan, so, we can’t let him have a foothold. I’m praying as I’m typing this message, asking the Lord to use it to bless and challenge you to determine to become more like Him. We must think of Him and think like Him before we can begin to be like Him.

There’s nothing this world can offer that compares with freedom from sin and hope for eternal life in Jesus. NOTHING!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊