Concerns of God

https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/25/choose-wisely

“Whoever wants to save their lives will lose it but whoever loses their lives for me and the Gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:35-36).

There will be many times as we walk the journey of faith that we will encounter and be challenged by this issue. Will we put our interests first or that of God first? Will we be preoccupied with human concerns more or the concerns of God? Which comes first, physical or spiritual needs?

One clear example is in the area of our jobs. Will we choose a job for its better prospects and career progression opportunities and deal with church and ministry accordingly or do we take the latter into consideration as we look at a job opportunity? I was twice offered an interview for a senior counsel position in a gaming company but declined as their core business was gaming. I also declined as one of the requirements was that I need to be up at the Hill for management or board meetings two weekends a month. Of course, if we work weekends officially we will have days off but that would also mean not going to church two Sundays a month for as long as I hold that job.

The question today I believe is that do we allow our bread and butter issues to overshadow our spiritual commitments to God in terms of our church and ministry. I think it is extreme to teach that we need to borrow to pay our tithes and offerings and yet if we are financially able to, we must do so faithfully to support the work of God. Different ones of us will face different issues as we progress on in this journey of faith. Do we put God first? Will we put the concerns of God first or will we place a higher priority and importance on our human concerns?

Have a blessed Sunday and have a good Sunday worship today! It will be good if we could make the effort to be on site to worship physically together as a congregation especially now when the pandemic has much abated and has moved on to the endemic stage. Are we putting God first or are we really genuinely afraid of contracting Covid? Are we putting our human concerns first? Remember those who save their lives will lose it while those who lose their lives will save it. It sounds paradoxical but there is much truth to it.