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Volume. XXIII, No. 16 It Pays To LoseNobody likes to be a loser. We all want to be winners. As far as possible, we see that we don’t lose anything that we possess, whether it be money or any personal belongings, our job, or our health, or our reputation or whatever that we think belongs to us. We don’t want to lose out on a good deal. As far as possible, we see that we can get the most and the best for the least. And so, many people get carried away by catchy slogans like – “Buy now and Save”, “Everything under half price”, “Huge Discount sale!”, only to find themselves losing more at the bargain counters. So even though we all like to win, very often in life, it actually pays to lose certain things. For example it pays to lose body weight, in order to maintain physical fitness. But such loss does not hit us. Loss of certain things can hit us, like losing a job. But that can also be good sometimes so that we can be led towards a more satisfying and profitable career. Sometimes it can be good to lose out in a relationship as that could perhaps have led into unknown complications. It can be good to lose some friends who could be a stumbling block to your Christian life. Sometimes God may cause you to lose certain precious personal items dear to you, in order to show you the futility of getting attached to worldly things.
The Apostle Paul was glad to suffer the loss of many things he held very dear to himself before he followed the Lord. He said in his letter to the Philippians, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” (Philippians 3:7,8). He suffered the loss of his prestigious role of a Pharisee, as a very learned Jew from one of the renowned tribes of Israel - Benjamin and his reputation as a zealot of the Jewish law. He was glad to suffer the loss of all these as He found something beyond comparison – knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. He had found the Pearl of great price, more precious than all that He ever had. All throughout His career after He met the Lord, he suffered the loss of many material possessions. He says to the Corinthians – “Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; …we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.” (1 Corinthians 4:13). He was regarded as filth or the scum of the earth by unbelievers – a very degradable state in the eyes of the world. Yet he counted it profitable to lose everything the world desires, so that possessing nothing, he could make many rich by giving them the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He rebuked the carnal Corinthians who wanted to be on the winning side as far as material things are considered. They wanted to make sure that they didn’t lose out on anything and were even prepared to sue their own brethren if they felt they were being cheated. He rebukes them on account of this and tells them “Why do ye not rather take wrong? (or why not rather suffer loss) why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?” (1Corinthians 6:7). He was basically telling them it is more profitable for them to lose some material things and win the Lord’s approval, rather than gain some material benefits and in the process lose fellowship from a believer and consequently suffer the Lord’s disapproval of their doings. Very often among Christians, there can be a war of words. There can be disputes over the interpretation of the Bible, as both sides will claim that they have the right understanding through the Holy Ghost. It pays to lose out in such disputes, as long as the fundamental truths of God’s Word are not put aside. It is better in such cases to lose the battle of words rather than to lose out on having a loving fellowship with a fellow child of God just because he or she is having slightly different opinions. It sometimes pays to let your opponent win. Beloved, God has called us to be winners, to lead victorious lives. He told the Israelites that they would be the head and not the tail, but on condition that they would be obedient to God’s laws. Similarly Christians can also achieve victory provided they are prepared to lose certain things. We need to let go of our attachment to the things of this world. All our carnal desires and ambitions have to be crucified on the cross with Jesus Christ. We need to suffer the loss of all things that can hinder our relationship with our God. That way we shall be able to know Him more and more, and experience His resurrection power in our own lives. When we are prepared to lay down our lives for Him, which is not necessarily a physical death, but rather a life of self denial, then He shall raise us up to new heights, in which we cannot be overcome by trials and temptations, sickness and poverty, disappointments and afflictions, for He will make us more than conquerors in all these things. In all the Gospels, it is recorded that Jesus said to His disciples - “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 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?” (Matthew 16:25,26; Mark 8:35,36; Luke 9:24,25) Dear Friends, it certainly pays to lose our life or lay down our life for His sake, as we shall reap eternal dividends. God’s stock market will never crash. His share prices will never plummet. The riches that have been laid up for us can never be compared to the riches of this temporal world. The greatest fool is the person who lays up treasure for his life in this world at the expense of his soul, because when the treasure is gone or money has lost it’s value, his world collapses as he has nothing else to look forward to. Material things cannot buy eternal things. Eternal things are received by losing our pride and our self-dependency and submitting our selves totally to God, relying upon Him alone. It is dying to ourself. Just as Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24). We shall never bear fruit for the Lord if we only live for ourselves, only seeking things for ourselves. We need to be like the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and its outer nature dies in order that a full fruit bearing plant will emerge out from within its inner kernel. So too should we subject our outward carnal nature to death, so that the Holy Spirit can work in our inner being and bear fruit for the Lord. As long as we are subject to our fleshly desires, no good fruit shall emerge from within us. Many millions of Christians from all generations have seen the futility of winning temporal things and have therefore suffered the loss of all things for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel. To them Jesus has assured – “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matthew 19:29). So beloved it definitely pays to be losers in this temporal world. Deacon Edwin D’Mello |
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