Mt 16:24-28 Denying Ourselves, Not God“What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?”
What profit is there in denying God? Will fewer commandments, less rules make life any easier and less painful? Will denying God help me to believe more in myself? Will my fears cease to disturb me? Will I no longer care about what others say or do? Will I be able to get along with everyone? Will the world come together and join hands with me in my emerging confidence? Will the world join me in my new found freedom? Will I treat others as I would like to be treated? Will others treat me as I would like to be treated? In denying God, we deny our very dignity, for if the dignity of man comes from the fact that others give it to me, then it means, as we have seen throughout history, that that dignity can quickly be taken away.
What profit is there in denying Judgment Day? Will it not make a person think less, just once rather than twice? Will their thoughts and actions turn bolder and less heroic, less sensational but ever more menacing, less traumatic but still terrorizing? Will I breathe a deeper sigh of relief by labeling all mass murderers, drug dealers, and child rapists not as sinners but as insane - unworthy to stand before any jury or judge? Once upon a time, a man’s thoughts and actions were judged by whether they tended to make him lose his soul. Now, he can no longer be judged because his actions have cost him his brains, his will, his freedom. But denying Judgment Day denies the right of the worthy man to be rewarded and compensated for his insane unconditional love for Christ and his neighbor! We lose more than we could possibly gain when we deny a man an audience before the judge of Kings.
What profit is there in denying Hell? Will evil thoughts, evil actions and evil men disappear? Will I end up denying the most undeniable: that evil exists? Men may deny Hell, but not, as yet, Supermax! The last thing a city wishes to build is a prison. The last thing the City of God wished to build was an isolation chamber. “…Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
What profit is there in denying Heaven? Will I be more inclined to call earth my home? Will I have a stronger urge to get out of bed and work harder? Will I become a humanitarian to the world? Men may deny Heaven, but as yet, they have not been able to deny Saints. Although they may not be able to understand them, they can still recognize them. The Saints are not humanitarians, they are saviors! They do not work long hours; rather, they give their life. They, and only they, make the narcissists go away. They, and only they, make the agnostics find their way. They, and only they, put the atheists to shame. Those who deny Heaven are at a crossroad, for either the Saint is stupid or is an alien - a pilgrim from another world.
What profit is there in denying myself? “Jesus said to his disciples. ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay each according to his conduct. Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.’”
Sounds good to me!
