For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?
Mark 8:36-37 ESV
A common term in business is “return on investment (ROI)”. It is defined as, “A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments.” ROI looks at what output you receive based on your input. Jesus is looking at Spiritual ROI in this verse in Mark 8. Jesus suggests that we need to consider the ROI of our actions, the impact of our lives and relationships. In Matthew 7 Jesus tells his disciples that you can understand a great deal about a person based on the fruit of their life, based on the outcomes, not simply the appearances, and we should be conscious of the fruit of one’s own actions also.
Try to think about your life from the perspective of ROI for a day. Before you post to Facebook or twitter, think to yourself, what is the ROI on this? Is this profitable or positively impactful? Trust me, your latest rant about the opposing political party, candidate, or pet issue are not profitable, that much I know, few if any people like to read those. Before you speak around the water cooler, the board room table, the dinner table, or at the store, stop and think, what is the ROI of my speech? Will these words help and build up, or am I just venting or yelling, instead of seeking understanding? We have a great calling to be thoughtful about our words and actions, and have the opportunity to build others up, share about Christ’s love, and show what faith in a variety of circumstances can look like. If we are not careful our words and actions will have little ROI, and may even detract from our witness about our great God who sent his Son to die for us, although we have done nothing to earn or deserve it. Choose to live in such a way that your life bears great fruit, your words build up and your actions have great ROI in God’s Kingdom.
Pastor Bill