What Shall it Profit?

The majority of people in the world are seeking for happiness through the pleasures and attractions that Satan is offering. He leads people to think that they will be happy if they amass great wealth for themselves or waste their lives in the pleasures of this world. He is leading people to believe that true happiness has nothing to do with a connection with Jesus and is striving with all his cunning wiles to cut the connection that people may have with Jesus. Some think of religion as a round of ceremonies that they must occasionally perform to appease an angry God so that after the end of this life they will not end up burning in the fires of hell, while their human nature is still craving the things of this world.
One of the worst deceptions is when people honestly believe that this to be God’s church, but that the rules are not meant to be as strict as some may teach. It is ok, to occasionally step off the standard just for a short while, or to just take a short step off. Or to even put one foot off the standard while the rest of the person remains on top.

Is there any bending of the rules with God? No, but while He is a strict God, He is also a very merciful God.
“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry. But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So [is] he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke12:16-21.

This man may have been a very pious worshipper of God. He may have kept all 10 commandments as the rich young ruler claimed to. However his downfall was in not having pity upon the poor. He was living for himself only. Notice how he talks about himself. He says, “my fruits,” “my barns,” “my goods,” “my soul.” His thoughts were all of self. He had made his fortune and was ready to retire. He then plans on consuming the good things of life with no further thought of producing. He feels certain that he has enough to last the rest of his life, and will spend his days in living for himself. However this man lacked heavenly treasure. Any man who thinks and plans exclusively for himself, lacks good sense in the sight of God. The gospel of the kingdom is designed to take men’s thoughts away from self and direct them upward toward God and outward toward their fellow men. What will this man profit when his soul is required of him that night? It will profit him nothing since he has lost what is most important – the heavenly treasure.

“You may devote your entire existence to laying up treasures upon earth, but what will they advantage you when your life here closes, or when Christ makes His appearance? Not a farthing can you take with you. And just as high as your worldly honours and riches have exalted you here to the neglect of your spiritual life, just so much lower will you sink in moral worth before the great tribunal of God’s judgment.” 4T 53.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36, 37.

“No scheme of business or plan of life can be sound or complete that embraces only the brief years of this present life and makes no provision for the unending future.” Ed 145.

“If you devote your lifetime to securing earthly treasures, and lose the heavenly, you will find that you have made a terrible mistake. You cannot have both worlds.” 1T 706.

“Can we not understand that the most costly thing in the world is sin? It is at the expense of purity of conscience, at the cost of losing the favour of God and separating the soul from Him, and at last losing heaven. The sin of grieving the Holy Spirit of God and walking contrary to Him has cost many a one the loss of his soul.” Faith And Works, p. 17.

“That which is highly esteemed among men is abhorrent in the sight of God.” COL 267.

Achan thought he was gaining a little wealth. What did it profit him? He ended up losing, not only his earthly life, but also his heavenly, eternal life. “When the records of heaven shall be opened, the Judge will not in words declare to man his guilt, but will cast one penetrating, convicting glance, and every deed, every transaction of life, will be vividly impressed upon the memory of the wrongdoer. The person will not, as in Joshua’s day, need to be hunted out from tribe to family, but his own lips will confess his shame. The sins hidden from the knowledge of men will then be proclaimed to the whole world.” PP 498. Achan lost everything in the end.

Annanias and Sapphira thought they were gaining a little by keeping back a portion for themselves, what did it profit them?

“Ananias and Sapphira had made a pledge to give to the Lord the proceeds from the sale of certain property.
“Afterward, Ananias and Sapphira grieved the Holy Spirit by yielding to feelings of covetousness. They began to regret their promise and soon lost the sweet influence of the blessing that had warmed their hearts with a desire to do large things in behalf of the cause of Christ. They thought they had been too hasty, that they ought to reconsider their decision. They talked the matter over, and decided not to fulfill their pledge. They saw, however, that those who parted with their possessions to supply the needs of their poorer brethren, were held in high esteem among the believers; and ashamed to have their brethren know that their selfish souls grudged that which they had solemnly dedicated to God, they deliberately decided to sell their property and pretend to give all the proceeds into the general fund, but really to keep a large share for themselves. Thus they would secure their living from the common store and at the same time gain the high esteem of their brethren.” AA 72. Again, while they thought they were gaining, they lost everything.

Gehazi thought he was gaining something by taking a few of the gifts from Naaman that had originally been offered to, but refused by, his master, Elisha.

“Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, had had opportunity during the years to develop the spirit of self-denial characterizing his master’s lifework. It had been his privilege to become a noble standard-bearer in the army of the Lord. The best gifts of Heaven had long been within his reach; yet, turning from these, he had coveted instead the base alloy of worldly wealth. And now the hidden longings of his avaricious spirit led him to yield to an overmastering temptation. “Behold,” he reasoned within himself, “my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but . . . I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.” And thus it came about that in secrecy “Gehazi followed after Naaman.” PK 250. He thought that he could hide the truth from Elisha, but forgot that he could hide nothing from God.
Ahab thought he was gaining a beautiful vineyard, but he met a horrible death in battle.

“The men of his city, even the elders and the nobles, . . . did as Jezebel had . . . written in the letters which she had sent unto them.” Then Jezebel went to the king and bade him arise and take the vineyard. And Ahab, heedless of the consequences, blindly followed her counsel and went down to take possession of the coveted property.
“The king was not allowed to enjoy unrebuked that which he had gained by fraud and bloodshed. “The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?” And the Lord further instructed Elijah to pronounce upon Ahab a terrible judgment.

“It was less than three years later that King Ahab met his death at the hands of the Syrians.” PK 206/7.
Adam and Eve thought they were gaining something by eating the forbidden fruit. They thought they would reach a higher level of existence; they would ‘be as gods knowing, good and evil.’ Gen. 3:5.

King Saul thought he was gaining something when he let his men keep the animals that he was supposed to destroy when God sent him to destroy the Amelakites. He thought he was gaining the support and approval of his soldiers because he allowed them to take all this wealth for themselves. He lost his kingdom to David and lost his salvation in the end.

All these people thought they were gaining something by being disobedient, justifying in their minds that in some cases it was only a slight disobedience. In reality they all were losing something. Except for the case of Adam and Eve, no record of true repentance is recorded in the Bible. In the judgment they will have to give an account for their disobedience, no matter how small it may be. Every sin will keep a person out of heaven.

TODAY

There are people who think they are gaining if they don’t pay their tithes and offerings faithfully, but are they really gaining? They argue that they can’t afford to feed their families if they give too much to God. Are they not robbing God and bringing a curse to themselves? Would it not be better to be honest with your money and have God’s blessing? No one may know your true income. This is a trust between you and God. He knows if you are being like Annanias and Sapphira and bringing in only a partial tithe and offering.

Today there are so many ways in this day and time that people use to try to gain something – to get ahead. What about things like cheating on taxes? You gain more money for yourself? I met one Christian who felt it was his religious duty to be dishonest with his taxes because the government was corrupt and was not using his money correctly. He would rather give more to the church. What government could have been more corrupt than the Roman Empire in the time of Christ and Jesus taught the importance of paying an honest tax to the government?

Then some working just slightly into the Sabbath hours, feeling it is not so important to keep Sabbath to the exact minute. They may gain a few more dollars, but what does all this profit a person on the judgment day when they have to meet their maker face to face? They are really losing very much in the way of heaven, although it may appear that they are gaining something in this world.

Or then on Friday, those wanting to get in as much work as possible before the Sabbath may not work into the Sabbath hours, but walk off the job one minute before Sabbath begins. What are they gaining? They still have to travel home, they still have to clean up and take a shower. Are these activities in keeping with the Sabbath commandment? No, they are not gaining anything.

There are so many other areas where Satan leads members to feel they need not be so strict, in areas such as diet. They reason that little indulgence now and then is ok in order to please the appetite. Is a little sin now and then really ok? Jesus is our perfect example. We must pattern our lives after Him if we ever wish to be in heaven with Him. Did He ever indulge in the least bit?

In the eyes of the world some of these people may appear to be gaining something, whether monetary wealth, or pleasure, but in the eyes of God, they are sustaining a terrible loss. To ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit and to wound your conscience, even in little matters, leads to a terrible loss.

Heaven and earth are complete opposites. What is gain on earth is loss in heaven. Paul said, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.” Phil. 3:7.

“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.” Proverbs 11:24, 25.

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” 1 Cor. 1:17.

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1Cor. 1:18.

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” 1 Cor. 3:19.

The world and heaven are at the opposite ends of the scale. There is no in between. We need to ask ourselves which side we are on. Are we seeking the wisdom of God, or are we seeking the wisdom of the world? Do we want to live the lifestyle of heaven, or the lifestyle of earth? They are complete opposites and we have to decide where we will be. The choice is ours – God will help us to live the lifestyle of heaven if we should choose that side of the scale. We can’t do it alone – it’s impossible.

Abraham recognized this fact. He dwelt in a tent although he was a rich man.
“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10.

Being a rich man, Abraham did not strive for worldly greatness. He happily spent his life living in a tent because he knew that all things on this earth will pass away some day and God has a better home prepared for the faithful souls which He will give to them when He comes again.

In everything that we do on this earth we need to ask ourselves the question, “is this bringing me closer to God? or is it taking me further away?” Each day ask yourself what it will profit you, before you do or say anything. Don’t exchange heaven for even the smallest sinful indulgence that Satan offers in this world. Don’t give up your salvation for sin – even the smallest sin carries a high price – the cost of your salvation.

May God help each one of us to make a firm decision to follow Jesus all the way; to give ourselves 100% to Him, trusting Him to take care of all our needs. Great is our reward in heaven should we decide to hold on to the promises He has made to us. And one of the greatest promises is that He made is that He will be with us until the end. He will help us to live the lifestyle of heaven. It is not an impossibility for those who believe. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Phil. 4:13.
AMEN

Wendy Eaton