“For what profits a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?”Matthew 16:26, Mark 8:36, Luke 9:25
This is a simple yet profound question.
To gain the whole world is to receive all the world has to offer—money, fame, pleasure, power, prestige, etc.
To lose our soul means to trade/ forfeit our soul by giving it to Satan and doing evil/ harm to gain the riches that the world has to offer.
“Do not be misled. Bad company corrupts good character.”1 Corinthian 15:33
“But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.”1 Corinthian 5:11
We are truly free when we are able to choose with wisdom and measure our choices by their spiritual benefit. If our freedom creates negative consequences in our relationship with God, our pure conscience, the lives of our loved ones and the people of the world, then we need to take this into consideration.
“Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial…. I shall not be mastered by anything” 1 Corinthian 10:23
It’s not how we start but how well we finish. We need to focus our vision on where we are going in 2021. We all need clarity so that we can run. When we have a focus, we are more likely to put up with hardship and not to give up. We need to be discerning and to choose wholesome goals, not goals that the world tells us that we need: fame, power, money. We need to focus on renewing our mind so that we do not conform to the ways of this world. When we focus, we will be aligned with what is truly important in our lives.
The twelve days of Christmas have traditionally ended with the Feast of Epiphany also called “The Adoration of the Magi” on the 6th of January. It is also known as the day of the Three Kings (or wise men/magi). It is the day when the the three wise men arrived in Bethlehem and gave their gifts to the baby Jesus.