Priorities

       You will probably get a different answer from every person on what is the most important things in their lives. It has been said that two of the most important things to consider are death and taxes. Those two things seem to be inevitable for all of us. In order to be a part of society, it would seem that we all have to pay some sort of tax no matter when you lived or where you lived. I haven't heard of too many people who have no affiliation to any country at ll and who live on their own island and void of any contact with the outside world. It is true that there may be some tribes of people who have been secluded from the rest of the world and perhaps they have not paid any taxes to anyone. Yet, to live in a society is going to involve some sort of cooperation with the total group. Mankind however, has gone much further and many have their own list of things that they cannot live without. To an American, what would life be without coffee and to the Englishman, what would life be like without tea? It is quite obvious that material possessions are vitally important to most of society. We need a place to live and clothes to wear and food to eat. We have gone on and included other things that are important to each of us. 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 Lord Jesus Christ proposed this question to the people around Him and it occurs on Matthew, Mark and Luke. Our value system has been a bit lopsided as we have put many material things in front of those things that are the most important. In this case, the most important issue is "eternal life." Jesus is asking the people in His day and of each and every age through the Scriptures, "What is the most important thing in all the world? When death comes to each and every person, all of the frills of life will vanish. The Egyptians wold bury their dead with items that would seem to be important to them in the afterlife presuming, that is, that they had the right idea about the afterlife. One Egyptian was buried with a jar of honey, another with a canoe in which he would be able to cross the river. Obviously, the items were discovered unused hundreds of years later. Everything that is material will be lost and the haunting question of the Lord Jesus Christ will come to mind, "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" We all have our own priority of things in our lives and 99.99% of them are meaningless in the end. There is only one thing left that is important and that is the preparation for your eternal state. There are but two choices, so it is a simple choice to make. We are not hindered by a hundred different choices as the Scriptures quote Jesus as saying, "I am the way, the truth and the life..." As much as people will argue, in the end, there is only one way to heaven and that is through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you made your reservation? Chocolate, money, cars, houses, taxes, fancy clothes, power, prestige, fame and all the rest are nothing more than chaff in the wind. The haunting question is, "Is your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life?" Praise God that He has made the Way possible for us to spend eternity with Him.