“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your
body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and
body in hell.” Matthew
10:28 New Living Translation
Do
you ever have a seemingly random thought intrude on your sleep? Last night that
happened to me. While sleeping, the thought occurred to me that we often are
concerned about things related to our health and happiness, when we need to
give more attention to the condition of our soul. Matthew 10:28 (see above) was
part of this nighttime thought process. Recently I have been thinking about what
I perceive to be a lack of conversation about and focus upon eternity or
eternal things. In our rapid paced world, the emphasis is often placed on what
will make us happy in the moment or how can we experience the next adventure.
This attitude and approach to life may be as common among professed followers
of Jesus, as the general population. Whether we are focused on what we fear (“…those
who want to kill your body”) or what is fun, we are often consumed by the ‘now.’
Driven by the desire to live the moment, we make decisions that we think will help
us avoid those things we fear and steps towards acquiring what is fun. Concerns
about the condition of our soul are given very little attention, if any at all.
Jesus
chooses to use words, in Matthew 10:28, that are alarming: afraid, kill, soul, fear, destroy, and hell. If those listening to Jesus, when he first spoke these words,
were drifting off to sleep or distracted by other thoughts, he likely regained
their full attention.
As
you go through your day or week, do you consider the impact your decisions will
have on your soul? Our SOUL is the part of us that lives on in eternity. It is
our soul that is the residence of our
emotions, desires, affections, and dislikes. The Bible sometimes uses the word,
HEART, when referring to our soul.
Our best
decisions come from having a proper reverence and respect for God. In the
Bible, this is referred to as the fear of
God. If we are lacking in the fear of God, we will live recklessly
[thoughtlessly] and make decisions that will be detrimental to our soul.
When
making decisions, the highest consideration should be given to how the choice
will impact the condition of our soul. In some respects, this is a long-term
view, by considering the eternal impact made by a choice, but it will also lead
to the greatest short-term benefits. We may think that the path to what we want
is by doing what we want; we, more than our Creator God, know what is best and
how to acquire it. I think there are many people who think they are smarter
than God. God, save us from this self-deception! We should keep in mind that a
prideful person is so proud, they are usually blind to the extent of their
blindness.
If
you and I will “fear only God” we will make decisions that will lead to our
best life now and in eternity; our soul will thank us. May the Lord help each
of us today!
“Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of
the Holy One results in good judgment.”
Proverbs 9:10 New Living Translation
