“For What Shall It Profit A Man, If He Shall Gain The Whole World, And Lose His Own Soul?”

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, Ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? Or thirty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: A was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or a thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matthew 25: 31-46)

We as Americans have the world that most people through-out time only dreamt of. Innovation, Architecture, Travel, Wealth, Opportunity, Resources, and Entertainment are a few of the blessings bestowed upon the American Empire. The United States has a unique history which brings great pride upon its citizens.  Through American ingenuity we have created a world that many would have never thought was possible.

Our soul was the reason that America became what it did. Our founders, and this includes those not in the history books, brought light into the darkness of the world. They shone so brightly that the United States became the beacon of hope for the entire world.  Everyone knew they could come to the United States and be accepted and have the ability to prosper. This is what our founders dreamt of and we Americans were able to achieve this goal.

The problem with every advanced civilization is that they become complacent and soon that society digresses. The peak has been achieved and then the fall occurs. The society forgets its history and what made it great to begin with. Sadly, this is what is happening to the modern American Empire.

Our modern American society is filled with depictions of hate and despair.  The homeless population is skyrocketing and the cost of living continues to rise. Mass shootings are becoming a daily occurrence and heart-retching stories are part of the Nightly News.  We now take our lives in our own hands anytime we want to go bowling or to the movies. We have lost our love for our neighbor while manipulation and deceit are rewarded with large corporation boardmanship.

Our society has become so polarized that many Americans no longer can have a conversation with someone who has a different point of view. Politics and its divisive culture have torn this country in two and many fear it cannot be repaired.  This divisiveness is leading many to become emboldened with their belief which can easily lead to aggressive behaviors against those not in agreement to their way of thinking. This is quickly becoming the definition of a terrorist: someone who acts aggressively against another due to polarized belief differences.

The most mind numbing aspect associated to Biblical prophecy is that a large portion of the population that believes we are living in the end times, are the ones that are showing the most hate.  We are instructed to love one another and to treat others as we want to be treated.  Unfortunately, a large portion of the Christian community believes that they have the right to limit the help of those in need due to their status.

We constantly hear Americans complain about the use of tax money on programs that help the needy or that those from other countries are not entitled to any assistance as they are not citizens. There are numerous other excuses being used but the fact of the matter is that we should not have any issues with helping those in need. That is what our country was founded on.  And if you want to debate that America was not founded on helping those in need then you cannot deny that this is the vision the United States sold to the entire world.

We sold this package or illusion to the entire world. We told them that we would be here to help them if they ever needed us and we have become better at turning our back to our allies then helping them. This includes our assistance to both individual and country.

How are we Americans doing what we were instructed by our King to do?  Are we acting in accordance to his instruction and desires for us?  The answer is no! We as Americans are failing to live our lives according to God’s instruction.  We are not helping those trying to escape persecution on our southern border. We are not helping our fellow Americans who are so burdened by our corporate capitalistic society, but instead make them beg for food.  And to add salt to the wound, our latest gesture was to remove the ability to provide for families of those that work to help make our glorious lives possible.

Many within the Church are saying that we have the ability to change what is happening to our society.  They understand the times but they continue to state that if we continue to pray, that America will get better and we will all be happy and prosperous.  Besides this teaching not being Biblical, it is a misguided approach to create a false reality that the trajectory of our decent can be changed.

Where we are headed has been determined a long time ago. We were warned about this time and what would happen to mankind during the end of the age. We are told that we must be made pure to be accepted into His kingdom, but we continue to sin against the Most High. He provided specific instructions on what we were to do.  Those that do unto the least of us will be exhausted while the opposite will be tormented. Even though our nation and society are unable to change the direction we are headed, we as believers can change our individual direction.  We can make sure that we do everything we can for those in need, with or without the help of our leaders.

“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in his adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8: 34-38)

 

Clinton Kowach

1/8/2019