I would ask you to think here on your most prized possession, not one that is alive, so to speak, not your spouse, children, or other relative, nor of any pet, but on a materialistic item, whether it was a gift from another, an heirloom or however it came into your possession. That one item that above all has the most value to you, that cannot be replaced.
Now that this item is firmly fixed in your mind, what would your emotional attachment be to it if you had ten of them, of perhaps one hundred of those prized possessions, would their value increase in your mind, or decrease. Your “pearl of great price,” so to speak on this planet is most generally a useless piece of junk to someone else, and it does not matter what it is, for if it has monetary value, another would simply sell it and purchase their pearl, if no value of the coin of the realm can be attached to it, say as a photograph of a lost loved one, then it is simply garbage to another. The value we place on the items we possess is intrinsic only to us when that value is of no other price than that of our emotional attachment to it, they are, in a sense, the ties that bind us to this world, and can be for many the stone that drags them down.
The more we hold on to something, the more of a possibility that when it departs from us, we will be drug along with it, such is the nature of much mental illness, the loss of an item is more than some can bear, for they have placed far too much of themselves upon that item. Herein is where we could add a person into the mix, if you will, the parents who have lost a child, and will say that they have lost a part of themselves, the spouse left behind that feels torn in half for the rest of their lives, the attachment that we place on anything outside of ourselves is the amount of ourselves that we will lose when that thing, no matter what it is, departs from us.
There is a verse in the Word of God that the individuals who live this type of life, who have placed an enormous emotional attachment to anything outside of themselves have extreme difficulty with, even if they will not admit it to themselves, it is Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” It is quite easy to speak this verse, they are simply words strung together, no different than these words that you are reading in this letter, save for the fact that they come from the mouth of Almighty God, but how many are truly living these words. How many can say with Job, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21) How many have truly left father, mother, every single person they love to follow Christ. (Luke 14:26) How many still hold firmly not only onto that one item, but on all they own, jealously, fervently. But why?
Why will so many sing His praises, yet fret over the things they own, why will they sing on Sunday morning of the glory that awaits us in His kingdom, and then do all they can to keep all they have. Because in reality, Jesus is not enough, is reality they hope deep down that He does not ask them to sacrifice to Him in that manner, for they cannot see themselves as being taken care of then, but only as destitute and living on the street somewhere. Add with these thoughts Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” and you have a group of Christians who are professing with their lips, but whose hearts are far from the Lord.
That one item, every single thing that you believe that you own, every person you love and hold dear to your heart you will someday lose, for they are not yours in the first place. Just because you have been a good steward (Matt. 25:21) of what you have been given does not mean that tomorrow the Lord may take it all away, but how will you not just react at that moment if He does, what will your walk with Christ look like if you have absolutely nothing left, if He decides to take all from you.
This is not the point you should consider occasionally my friends. Those matters should be contemplated in depth by you, especially in the evil days that we are living in, for it is what the new fascist order that is coming is going to attempt to do to all. “You will own nothing, and be happy.” These are words of contentment to a lost world who simply desire to be taken care of, to be enabled, they are not seen by them as what they truly are, Satan attempting to be their lord and master, and they being subjected to his will in complete servitude. We should have expected no less, for in all he does he is no more than a copycat, a myna bird whose words are the exact inverse of our Lords. Here is the point, what you have eventually Satan will take by force, or what you have you can willingly give to Christ, you can exchange everything you own in your heart for the one great pearl that is Jesus, and never look back.
So then, that item, that one special item, can you finally look at it as if it is dung, (Phil. 3:8) can you see it as completely worthless, can you still compare anything or anyone to Jesus? Where truly does your heart lie, can you honestly say to live is Christ.
