What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? (NIV)
Most of us seem willing to forfeit our souls for much less. We neglect to tend our souls while in pursuit of academic or athletic trophies that sit on a shelf and gather dust. We compromise the integrity of our souls to sell more widgets in business or to gain the attention of an attractive person whose name we do not even know. Why do we do it?
There is not a lot of talk about souls these days. We focus exclusively on what can be seen, even in church sometimes. Yet there used to be a way of talking about people that referred to them as souls. A ship captain would say that he had two hundred souls on board under his care. Such a figure of speech kept the focus on the fact that we are a duality, neither pure spirit nor pure flesh, but a combination of the two. As surely as we tend the one, we must tend the other.
Father, Who sent Your Son, the eternal Word, into the world to take on human flesh, help me to remember that I am both a spiritual and physical person, created in Your image. May I not neglect to care for one part of Your creation in the pursuit of another. In the name of Christ, my Lord, amen.
Copyright © 2010 by Steven R. Perkins
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