In 2018, Forbes magazine listed a record 2,208 billionaires from 72 countries. This elite group is worth $9.1 trillion, up 18% since last year. Their average net worth is a record $4.1 billion. Americans lead the way with a record 585 billionaires, followed by mainland China with 373. Centi-billionaire Jeff Bezos secures the list’s top spot for the first time, becoming the only person to appear in the Forbes ranks with a 12-figure fortune. Bezos’s fortune increased more than $39 billion last year. Even in such a strong year, 121 dropped out due to falling fortunes. These people possess material wealth that staggers the imagination of most of us. However, in spite of their financial prosperity they are not truly the richest people in the land. You see fortunes are made and lost. Material wealth does not make anyone truly rich.
The richest people in the world are those who know Jesus. Those who have seen the kingdom of God and have come to understand the true value of their souls. Jesus said that your soul is worth more than the rest of the world put together. He asked, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). We have difficulty trying to get our minds around what is meant by “the whole world.” For this is not only the physical world or the geographical world, but it includes the business world, the scientific world, the intellectual world, etc. Jesus said that the soul is worth more than ALL the world put together.
Why is your soul so valuable? You see, the value of your soul is measured by its eternal quality. It will never die. You are going to live forever. Your body will die, but your soul, the part of you that is made in the image of God, will never die. Your soul—your spirit—will live forever. It is that part of you that has understanding and wisdom. Many people have knowledge, but they do not have wisdom. They have head knowledge not heart knowledge. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).”
Knowledge without God and without wisdom is very dangerous. That’s one of the problems in the world today. We have a lot of knowledge; we have a lot of learning, but we lack the wisdom to use our knowledge- our application ability is very low.
Your soul is that part of you that has judgment. It makes decisions—moral decisions—what is good and what is bad. Your soul also involves your will. Your will chooses or rejects things that are brought before it. Your soul is that part of you that has emotion, like love and fear. It has memory—the mental capacity for storing up knowledge of ideas and events. There is something down inside us that is beyond the science to know. The Bible calls it our soul, our spirit.
We tend to put all of our emphasis on the body with its pleasures and its physical appetites. But the soul also has appetites. The soul longs for God. Down deep inside every person’s heart is a cry for something, but he doesn’t quite know what it is. Man is a worshiping creature. He instinctively knows that there is something out there somewhere, and he longs to know that something or someone. Your soul longs for vital contact with God. Your soul is valuable because it is eternal—it is forever.
Suppose you had all the gold in the world and all the things you could ever dream of owning. Suppose it was all yours, but you lost your soul. Jesus said it would be a poor bargain. Even if you could get everything you wanted, it wouldn’t give you peace. You would still be searching. Great riches and much pleasure cannot make you happy. Only the peace of God coming into your heart through Jesus Christ can bring peace, joy and happiness.
Make sure of your relationship with Christ. Christ demands more than just churchgoing, more than just baptism, more than just being good. He demands your total surrender—the surrender of your mind, your heart, your body, every part of you—to the Lordship of Christ. If you have a doubt in your heart that you have totally surrendered to Christ, do it now. Make sure of your salvation. Make certain that you know Christ.
Is anything worth more than a soul? The answer, obviously, is no. God values the human soul and so should we. Once you know and understand what your soul is worth; once you know how much God really thinks about you and how much He really loves you; then you will know that you can pile all the wealth of the earth on one side of God’s balance scale and you can stand on the other side and the balance would always tip in your favor. You and I and every one of us individually are more valuable to God than all the wealth and treasures of the world put together. Remember…. God owns it ALL - not even the richest people in the world own that much!
The richest people in the world are those who know Jesus. Those who have seen the kingdom of God and have come to understand the true value of their souls. Jesus said that your soul is worth more than the rest of the world put together. He asked, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). We have difficulty trying to get our minds around what is meant by “the whole world.” For this is not only the physical world or the geographical world, but it includes the business world, the scientific world, the intellectual world, etc. Jesus said that the soul is worth more than ALL the world put together.
Why is your soul so valuable? You see, the value of your soul is measured by its eternal quality. It will never die. You are going to live forever. Your body will die, but your soul, the part of you that is made in the image of God, will never die. Your soul—your spirit—will live forever. It is that part of you that has understanding and wisdom. Many people have knowledge, but they do not have wisdom. They have head knowledge not heart knowledge. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).”
Knowledge without God and without wisdom is very dangerous. That’s one of the problems in the world today. We have a lot of knowledge; we have a lot of learning, but we lack the wisdom to use our knowledge- our application ability is very low.
Your soul is that part of you that has judgment. It makes decisions—moral decisions—what is good and what is bad. Your soul also involves your will. Your will chooses or rejects things that are brought before it. Your soul is that part of you that has emotion, like love and fear. It has memory—the mental capacity for storing up knowledge of ideas and events. There is something down inside us that is beyond the science to know. The Bible calls it our soul, our spirit.
We tend to put all of our emphasis on the body with its pleasures and its physical appetites. But the soul also has appetites. The soul longs for God. Down deep inside every person’s heart is a cry for something, but he doesn’t quite know what it is. Man is a worshiping creature. He instinctively knows that there is something out there somewhere, and he longs to know that something or someone. Your soul longs for vital contact with God. Your soul is valuable because it is eternal—it is forever.
Suppose you had all the gold in the world and all the things you could ever dream of owning. Suppose it was all yours, but you lost your soul. Jesus said it would be a poor bargain. Even if you could get everything you wanted, it wouldn’t give you peace. You would still be searching. Great riches and much pleasure cannot make you happy. Only the peace of God coming into your heart through Jesus Christ can bring peace, joy and happiness.
Make sure of your relationship with Christ. Christ demands more than just churchgoing, more than just baptism, more than just being good. He demands your total surrender—the surrender of your mind, your heart, your body, every part of you—to the Lordship of Christ. If you have a doubt in your heart that you have totally surrendered to Christ, do it now. Make sure of your salvation. Make certain that you know Christ.
Is anything worth more than a soul? The answer, obviously, is no. God values the human soul and so should we. Once you know and understand what your soul is worth; once you know how much God really thinks about you and how much He really loves you; then you will know that you can pile all the wealth of the earth on one side of God’s balance scale and you can stand on the other side and the balance would always tip in your favor. You and I and every one of us individually are more valuable to God than all the wealth and treasures of the world put together. Remember…. God owns it ALL - not even the richest people in the world own that much!
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