Building an empire

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39
Today’s verse is all about having the right priorities in life. What are you living for? Are you living to please yourself, or are you living to please God? It’s easy to get caught up in the fast pace of the world’s mindset, striving to get ahead, to earn more money, to climb the corporate ladder and have more and more people working underneath you. We can get pulled into this mindset, where life is a contest to see how big an empire you can build for yourself.
But for the Christian, we should not be building our own empire. We should be building the kingdom of God. And this happens through service, and sacrifice. In Jesus’ words here, it is giving up your life – what you could achieve for yourself, through your own strength – in favour of serving God through the power of the Holy Spirit. That doesn’t mean we should give up our secular jobs, but rather we should use them in their proper perspective: working as if working for the Lord, so as to be a witness to the people around us. Whatever empire we build for ourselves will ultimately be destroyed. At the end of the day, no amount of money you make or people working for you, can be payment for your eternal soul. All that matters is what you have done for the Lord. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).