What good will it be for a person if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?

September 20, 2009 - What good will it be for a person if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? - Mark 8:31-38

The economic crisis that we now find ourselves in has brought an interesting phrase into the headlines: toxic assets. Toxic assets are a huge reason why banks are in the trouble that they are in.

You see, assets are loans. Somebody owes the bank money that they pay it back with interest. However, as the economy now stands - especially with the mortgage foreclosure crisis - many of these loans have actually become liabilities.

People are unable to pay back these loans and the houses that secured the loans have decreased in value - below the amount of the loan. So these loans, instead of being assets, have become liabilities. And any asset that is harmful to the bottom line is toxic.

This phenomenon is not just in the banking industry, but in our own lives as well. Often, we consider things to be assets that in the end reveal themselves to be liabilities. Sometimes, like these bankers we invest our lives in things that we think will pay in the end - investments that appear valuable and trustworthy but we find ourselves in the red. We invested in toxic assets.

Jesus’ question today gets to the heart of the matter. He’s asking His disciples - and asking us - to evaluate our portfolio - have we been investing in toxic assets? Has our life been given to things that in the end will actually be shown to be liabilities?

This is what Jesus is getting at when he asks us today:"What good is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a person give in exchange for his soul?"