A WORTHWHILE
By
Shelby G. Floyd
Matthew 16:24-27
Then Jesus said to
his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his
soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For
the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then
he will reward each person according to what he has done. NIV
Recently, I read a
little article that just thrilled my soul. The message was so pertinent to our
day and time that I decided that I would lean heavily on the substance of that
article, backing it up with God’s word and share it with you today. The title
of our lesson is, A Worthwhile Life. And really we might give it the
subtitle, What Is
Worthwhile? Many times
the things that we think are worthwhile are not worth a fig, but what God
thinks is worthwhile in our lives is what really matters.
The lady that wrote
this article had an older sister that was thirteen years older than she was and
she said her sister was everything that she wanted to be. She had a beautiful
head of long brown hair; she had friends; she had a good sense of humor; she
was intelligent; she had a family and she was deeply spiritual. In fact, she
said when she was eleven years old she went over to visit with her sister who
was thirteen years older and she said, “I
caught her in the act; I looked through the bedroom door and she had a
beautiful lavender gown and I saw her on her knees praying to God,” and she
said, “I thought ‘now I lay me down to
sleep’ is for children, but not for a grown adult.”
Then she went off to
college. I don’t even know where this college is, it’s called
While she was in college,
her sister unexpectedly died a premature death. This lady said that while she
was at the funeral listening to the words that were spoken all of a sudden it
hit her. What she really envied about her sister was not her laugh, or her
friends or her dark hair. What she really envied in her sister was the faith
that her sister had in immortality and in the door that would open up into
eternity. And she said that in her grief she went to the school library and she
was just paging through the books on the shelves and she ran across a little
book and that’s what I want to talk to you about this morning—what was in this
book. It was written back in the late 1800’s and the title of the book is the
title of the lesson that I have chosen this morning, and that is, What Is Worthwhile? A woman wrote it by the name of Anna Robertson
Brown. It was in print for sixty-seven years. It became a best seller. It was
just a little thin book. But this lady that wrote the article pointed out the
principle points that stood out in this little book, What
Is Worthwhile? The opening sentences of the book will grab your attention.
Here’s what Anna Robertson Brown said in the opening sentences of her book,
“Only
one life to live, why I want to make the most of it.
How can we accomplish
the most with the energies and powers at our command?
What is worthwhile?”
THINGS WE MUST LET
GO TO MAKE
Then she says, “We
cannot possibly grasp the whole of life, what is vital. What may be profitably
let go?” Then she said, finally, “We may let go all things which we
cannot carry into eternal life.” I want you to think about that last
statement. “We may let go all things which we cannot carry into eternal
life.” With those words and those principles as her yardstick, she measured
her values and established her rules. If we don’t want to encumber our lives or
burden our lives, she said that we could let go of these four things. The Bible
talks about putting off certain things and putting on certain things. So we can
say, let go of, drop, and put off, these four things.
Let Go Of Pretense
The first thing that
we can drop, put off, and let go of is pretense. Here’s what Anna Robertson
Brown said, “Eternity is not for shams.” My brother had a good saying
when he described sham, pretense, and hypocrisy. He called it a lot of phoney-bologney and that’s about as good an expression for
our day and time as anything I know. Get rid of the phoney-bologney,
the sham, and the pretense in your spiritual life.
There’s
no doubt that we have in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ many members that
are playing a little game with themselves, with their God, and with their
fellow members in the body of Christ. They think that nobody knows the little
game they are up to, but anybody that has an ounce of intelligence can see
through hypocrisy. Even little children and dogs can see whether you are
genuine or whether your life is spurious. Get rid of the sham, the pretense.
The Bible teaches that we should rid ourselves of all hypocrisy. This is not
just the word of Anna Robertson Brown, but I could see that she had read her
Bible. The apostle Peter said:
1 Pet. 2:1-2
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all
deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave
pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that
you have tasted that the Lord is good.
NIV
That’s the first thing that we can do to make
our lives worthwhile—get rid of all the phoney-bologney
in your church life and in the other areas of your life as well.
Let Go Of Worry
The second thing
that we can get rid of is worry. Are you a worrywart? You know, I have that
problem sometimes. It’s hard to deal with. If you’re intense, you’re sincere
and you’re devoted, you worry about problems and sometimes you worry about
problems that don’t exist. Anna Robertson Brown said, “Worry is spiritual
nearsightedness, a fumbling way of looking at little things and of magnifying
their value.” Not only did Anna say that worry is something that we should
drop, get rid of, put away, get out of our lives, but Jesus and the inspired
apostles said the same thing. In the great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus, laying
down the fundamental principles of the kingdom of God that would later be
established after His death, said, “Therefore, I say unto you” —He was
contrasting what He said with some of the false interpretations that they had
placed on what Moses and the Old Testament prophets had said - “I say unto
you, take no thought for your life,” (Some of the newer translations say, “Be
not anxious for your life”) “what you should eat or what you should drink nor yet for your body what
you should put on, is not the life more than meat and the body more than
raiment?” What is worthwhile? Is it worthwhile to worry about eating food
and wearing clothes and housing ourselves? Jesus said, “The little birds of
the air don’t worry, and yet your Father takes care of them. You’re worth more
than the little birds of the air. You don’t see the lilies of the field
spinning their clothes, even Solomon with all of his vast riches could not
array himself like one of those lilies of the field.”
So get rid of worry, drop it, and put it away. Peter says, “Humble
yourselves therefore unto the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due
time,”—now notice this—“casting all your care upon Him for He careth for you.” (1 Pet. 5:6-7.) Isn’t that what
faith is all about? The deeper and more abiding our faith, the more we put our
trust and our security and our confidence in God, instead of ourselves, instead
of the weak arm of human flesh or the government or our fellow man, the less we
will worry. Let’s trust God and that
will get rid of the worry.
Let Go Of Discontent
The third thing that
we may profitably drop, get rid of, or put away is discontent. So many times we
see people who are discontent about their lives. Anna Robertson Brown said, “Make
a heroic life out of whatever is set before us.” I love that. Whatever
comes our way, let’s be a hero and face it and make the best out of it. That’s all you can do anyway, or you can be discontent
and disgruntled and sad and unhappy. Make the best out of whatever comes into
your life. That’s what the Hebrew writer said to those Christians who had been
Jews and who were converted to Christianity. They were under a heavy
persecution and some of them were discontented and they were ready to go back
to the law of Moses and give up on Christ and His church and the writer wrote
to them and said, “Let your life be without covetousness and be content with
such things as you have for He has said I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee, so that we may boldly say the Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man
shall do unto me.” (Hebrews 13:5-6). The writer there quotes the Old
Testament and applies it to that day and time and so that tells me that it’s
perfectly proper and fitting for us to take God’s word that was applied to
people long ago and apply it to some situations today. “The Lord is my
helper,” he says, “I will not fear what man may do unto me.” He has
promised, “I will never leave nor forsake thee.” If God will never leave
us or forsake us, and He’ll help us in our time of need, why should we be
discontented when life throws us a curve ball or we’re persecuted or we’re
suffering or we’re going through trial or tribulation? Get rid of all the
discontent in your life; it’s not worthwhile.
Let Go Of Self-Seeking
The fourth thing
that we can get rid of in our life is to let go of all self-seeking. That’s
perhaps the most difficult of all. Anna Robertson Brown said it like this, “In
the eternal life there is no greed. One hears of neither mine nor thine. All
things are for all.” That last statement reminds me of what Paul said to
the Corinthians, “Here is Paul, Apollos and Cephas,
and we’re all for you and we’re for Christ. All things are yours.” (cf. 1
Corinthians
Those are the four
things that are not worthwhile and we must get rid of them. I hope you can
remember all of those things—pretense,
worry, discontent, and self-seeking. Let’s get rid of them. Get them out of
our lives because we don’t need them. If we get rid of all those things out of
our lives, we can live the Christian life like God wants us to. But then Anna
Robertson Brown looked at the other side of the coin. You may be getting a
little shook up to see eight points. You know I don’t preach four points and a
poem. But, don’t get shook up too bad. I’ll make them just as brief as I
possibly can. Anna said that not only
must we get rid of, drop, put off, these negative things to make our life
worthwhile, but what are the things that we must put in the place of those
things that we get rid of?
THE
1. Make Good Use of Time
What are the values that
can enhance one’s life? The first thing that we must take on is the wise use of
time. Benjamin Franklin said time is the stuff that life is made of. We all
have the same amount of time, don’t we? A week has gone by, the same number of
hours were for you as were for me. How did we use that time? Anna Robertson
Brown said the question in life is not how much time we have, but the question
is what shall we do with it? We all have the same amount of time, but do we all
do the same thing with it? I have tried to tell young people when you go out
and spend $100, what you’re really spending is your time. When you spend $100,
ask yourself, how many hours do I have to work to make $100? When I spend $100
I am spending that many hours of my time. It will make you think a little bit
more about spending money. But the same thing is true with your life. God gives
you so many hours, but what are you doing with it? Whatever you do with it is
how you are spending it, spending it foolishly or wisely.
What did Paul say to
the Ephesians? These are not just the ideas of Anna Robertson Brown. Paul wrote
to the Ephesians and said, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil,
wherefore ye cannot be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord
is.”(Ephesians 5:15-16). So what he is really saying is that we have to
find out what the will of the Lord is in reference to the use of time. Buy up
the time. Well, I can’t buy up any time. Is that what it means? Queen Elizabeth
1, when she was on her dying bed, said she would give a million dollars for
another minute of time, but she couldn’t buy another minute with all of her
money. She still wanted to live. To buy up the time doesn’t mean that we can
buy more time; it means buy up the opportunities to use that time in a useful,
beneficial way.
2. Work Diligently While It Is Day
The second thing
that we need to enhance our lives is work—works of faith, works of obedience
growing out of faith. Anna Robertson Brown said, “But not any kind of work.
Ask yourself, is the work vital, strengthening my own character or inspiring
others of helping the world.” That’s what we must ask. What kind of work
are we involved in? Will it enhance my character, my spiritual life? Will it
help people? Jesus and the apostles and the Old Testament writers had a lot to
say about work. I love the statement from Solomon when he said,
Eccl 9:10
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all
your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor
planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
NIV
One day we will rest
soon enough when we’re six feet under the clay. I know we have to rest and get
our sleep and rebuild our energies, but many times we rest too much. We’re
going to have plenty of time to rest from our works and our labors. But whatever
we find that we put our hand to doing, let’s do it energetically, sincerely,
devotedly, because we are not going to be able to do that when we go in the
grave. You can’t do any work; you can’t write any articles; you can’t preach
any sermons; you can’t help people when you’re dead—either with a dead faith or
when you are physically dead and you are laid to rest in the grave. I like what
Jesus said in John 9:4. Jesus only lived thirty-three years on the earth, but
look how much He accomplished because He made wise use of His time by working
the works of God. He said, “I must work the works of Him that sent me while
it is day. The night cometh when no man can work.”(John 9:4.) Day is while
we’re alive. Night is when we die. Jesus knew that He was going to die at a
much earlier age than many of us that are in this audience, so He said, “I
must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day.” And the great
apostle Paul in his ringing exhortation said, “Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye therefore steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58.) I know we have to make a living, but are
you abounding in the work of the Lord? That will enhance your life and make
your life worthwhile.
3. Seek Happiness
The third thing we
need to take on is happiness. I think if you’ll look up the origin of the word
“happiness,” it goes back to the idea of happenstance, things that just happen.
Some people cannot be happy in the happenstance of life; things have got to be
perfect, the sea must be without a ripple or they can’t be happy. But that’s
not what happiness is. Anna Robertson Brown said, “If you are not happy
today, you will never be happy. Strive to be patient, unselfish, purposeful,
strong, eager and work mightily. If you do these
things with a grateful heart, you will be happy, at least as happy as it is
given man to be on earth.” Are you really happy? Please notify your face,
some of you. What does the Bible say about happiness? There is a lot of
scripture on it. I only have time for one little brief scripture. Proverbs
4. Put on Love
The fourth thing
that we must put on is love. Cherish love. Anna said, “True love never nags,
it trusts. Love does not have to be tethered either in time or eternity.”
Love is the bond of perfection according to Colossians
"The most important one” answered Jesus,
"is this: 'Hear, O
Love God supremely and you will enhance your
life; it will make your life worthwhile. And then James taught that we must
love our neighbor as our self,
James 2:8
If you really keep the royal law found in
Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.
NIV
In other words, you enhance your life and you
make your life worthwhile. That’s what James is teaching.
5. Value Human Affections—Keep Ambition in
Check
The next thing that
we must put on in making our life of value is affection and we must keep
ambition in check. Anna Robertson Brown said, “There is the great danger of
substituting intellectual ambition for ordinary human affections. Let us keep
it in bounds. Let us seek it that it holds a just proportion in our lives.”
We’ve all seen people who make intellectual pursuits as one of the greatest
things to do in life. It will make you happy to pursue intellectual concepts.
But if we’re not careful, we can have such an ambition in intellectual pursuits
that we don’t care what it does to the feelings and the lives of other people.
We don’t care about the affections and the feelings of other people and that
type of intellectual ambition is not good.
Jesus had a lot to
say about keeping our ambitions in check. In the text that was read just a
moment ago, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world
and lose his own soul?”(Matthew
16:24-26.) I think people ought to be ambitious. The Bible doesn’t give any
backing to sloth and laziness and indifference, but on the other hand, some
people are so ambitious, they don’t care who they trample on, who they try to
pull down the ladder as they go up. Just remember you can come down the ladder
of success a lot faster that you go up. Keep ambition in check. Jesus had to
deal with this with the apostles. He was on the road to Jerusalem facing the
cross of Calvary and He looked back over His shoulder and the twelve apostles
were back there arguing and fussing over who was going to be the greatest in
the kingdom of God. Two of them, James and John, Sons of thunder, were so
ambitious, they even sent their mother up to Jesus and put their mother up to
asking Jesus if one of them could have the right hand and the other the left
hand in the
6. Make True Friendships
In the sixth place,
we need friendship. Anna Robertson Brown said, “Embrace friendship. It takes
a great soul to be true friend. One must forgive much, forget much, forebear
much.” Most of us, if we’ll look back on our lives, we haven’t had too many
friends, have we? You can probably count them on your fingers. And many times
the friends you had when you were teenagers are not your close friends today.
The circumstances of life have changed all of that. Maybe neither one of you
intended for your friendship to be broken, but many times it is. Friendship is
a wonderful thing, but the Bible says in Proverbs 18:24, “A man that hath
friends must show himself to be friendly.” And there is a friend that
sticks closer than a brother. Isn’t it wonderful to have a friend that you can
confide in, that you can pour out your heart to and will never disappoint you,
will forgive you, understand your weaknesses, your foibles, your shortcomings?
A true friend is something that will make your life worthwhile. A lot of times
people don’t have very many friends and you can see why. They want to be by
themselves all the time and be a hermit. If you want to have friends, then you
have to take the initiative and you’ve got to show yourself to be friendly. If
you want friends, you cannot go out of the auditorium on Sunday morning and
say, “not a single soul spoke to me.” Well, did you go up and speak to a single
soul? How hard is it to walk out with a smile on your face, shake somebody’s
hand, introduce yourself, start a conversation, and get to know that person, or
invite somebody into your house for a meal or ask somebody to go with you on a
camping trip or something? If you want to have friends, take the initiative and
show yourself to be a friend.
7. Overcome Sorrow and Disappointment
In the seventh
place, if we’re going to enhance our life, we must not fear sorrow. Sorrow will
come to all of us at some time or another. It is the common lot of human
beings. Anna Robertson Brown said, “Disappointment in life is inevitable.
Pain is the common lot. Sorrow is not given to us alone that we may mourn; it
is given us that having felt, suffered, wept, we may be able to understand love
and bless.” That idea didn’t originate with Anna Robertson Brown. The apostle
Paul wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonians,
1 Thess 4:13-18
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant
about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no
hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will
bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's
own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming
of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the
Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of
the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will
rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be
with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
NIV
Notice how he closes out that chapter, “Therefore,
comfort one another with these words.” When you go through something in
life that was great sorrow it should qualify you and equip you and
prepare you to go over and help somebody else who’s going through sorrow and
distress and pain and hurt. That’s what we’re here for—to help one another over
the rough places in the road of life.
8. Strengthen Your Faith
Finally, and it is
the most important of all, we must put on faith. Anna Robertson Brown said, “Strong,
serene, unquenchable faith in the loving kindness of God will enable us to look
fearlessly toward the end of the temporal existence and the beginning of the
eternal and will make it possible for us to live our lives effectively,
grandly.” Faith that is alive is faith that has action and deeds and works.
Faith that is alone, by itself, is dead, it doesn’t help anybody, it doesn’t
save us, it doesn’t enhance our lives, it doesn’t
bless us. So James says, “You see then that how by works a man is justified
and not by faith only.” (Jas.2:24.) Not works alone, not faith alone, but
faith plus works equal salvation. It’s just that simple.
EXHORTATION
What in life is
worthwhile? I looked up the word “worthwhile,” in the dictionary. Webster says,
“important or valuable enough to repay time or effort spent, of true value, merit
and importance; that which is worthy of the effort of time given.” What in
life is really worthwhile? What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world
and lose his own soul? What will you give in exchange for your soul? Is your
soul worthwhile? In Luke, the rich farmer thought his life was worthwhile, but
Jesus said,
Luke 12:20-21
"But God said to him, `You fool! This very
night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have
prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up
things for himself but is not rich toward God."
NIV
Let each one of us
make sure that the life we are living is really worthwhile! No life is worthwhile without God and Christ
being the center and circumference of that life. Christ is the author of
eternal life unto all that obey him.
(Heb. 5:8-9.) *
*Shelby G. Floyd
delivered this sermon