How Valuable is Your Phone?

         How much value to you put on the material things in your life? The summer months have been especially warm and people are being continually warned about leaving children in a closed car. In order for a person to avoid doing this, some have suggested that if you put something valuable in the back seat, like your phone, you will not forget your child. Do you see something wrong with that thinking? Which is more valuable, your child or your phone? Apparently in this society, in this sin cursed culture, a mobile phone is more valuable than your child. It should be reversed. If you want to remember where your phone is, put it next to your child. That is not the case today. Stories flood the news about another child found dead in a locked car while the adult is doing something else probably with their phone in their hand. People today have misplaced values on their personal possessions. The child seems to be of much lesser value to a parent today than many of their frivolous possessions such as a phone, computer, car or even their dry cleaning. It is no surprise then to notice that man has even less regard for his own soul. Matthew 16:26 says, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” 

        The question posed by the Lord Jesus Christ so many years ago is relevant today in so many ways. It points out that people certainly have misplaced priorities when placing value on the items in their own lives. Sure, a lot of old people die, but so do a lot of young people. We hear of those who are athletes that pass away on the court or mysteriously in a hotel room. God is not a respecter of age. We would think that there would be an age priority on death, but that is not the case. When God calls, you go. There is not opportunity to say, “Could you wait a moment?” Why, even rich people pass away. Their massive amount of money cannot buy them one more second. In the passage above, Jesus points out that the comparison of the possession of the whole world, would not be compared to a soul. The misplaced values of today's “earth dweller” is upside down. They think that the soul is way down on the list, somewhere after money, possessions, power, prestige and so on. Then comes the soul. What is the most important thing in your life? You might want to replace your phone with your Bible. People will say, “Oh, I have the Bible on my phone” but that only gets turned on during church service in between checking their text messages. Start a list of those things that are important and put the most valuable at the top and the least valuable at the bottom. The things that absolutely cannot be replaced should be on the top such as your soul then your relationship with God and then your relationship with your family. Your phone, which some people seem to think would be the perfect way to remember where your children are, should be way down on the list, perhaps at the bottom. Even if you could win Publisher's Clearing house, it will not be sufficient to exchange for your soul. Praise God that He has reminded us of that which is the most important thing in our lives, our own soul.