Eternal Things Are Superior to Temporal Things

In our lives we must constantly remind ourselves to not let the temporal become more important to us than the eternal.  It’s so easy to become more concerned with the temporal things of life.  But the eternal things are superior to temporal things.  Therefore, we must always prioritize the eternal.

The words of His mouth are superior to food in your mouth – Job 23:12.  Job said, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food”.  Don’t let food diminish your appetite for the Bible.  Stay hungry for the words of God.

Some Christians today are health conscious, and that’s a good thing.  However, don’t become more concerned with the quality and quantity of the food you eat than with the quality and quantity of Bible you read.  Modern bibles are like processed food.  Insufficient Bible reading is like being malnourished.

The Bible will nourish your spirit and your body. In Jn 6:63, Jesus said, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”. See also Prov 4:20-22 where Solomon wrote about these words, “they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh”.  Food you eat can’t compare with his words.  This is because eternal things are superior to temporal things.

Wisdom and understanding in your heart are superior to gold and silver in your pocket – Prov 16:16.  Solomon wrote, “How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver”!

It takes time to accumulate wealth.  You have to work hard and budget.  You can’t spend more than you make.  And you have to put in extra time and invest wisely if you’re going to build wealth.

It also takes time to get wisdom and understanding.  You have to invest your time in study and meditation upon the words of God.  You must listen to excellent sermons and read good books.  And you must apply what you’re learning to what you know and how you live so that wisdom and understanding dwell in your heart.

If you spend all your time making money, you will have no time left for wisdom and understanding.  However, if you spend time acquiring wisdom and understanding, you will develop a wise and understanding heart.  This is something money can’t buy.  And you will be wealthier than the person with the gold and silver.  You will come to understand that eternal things are superior to temporal things.

Seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness are superior to taking thought for your life and tomorrow – Matt 6:24-24.  Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness… take no thought for your life… take therefore no thought for the morrow”.

When we deal with souls about salvation, either publicly, like on the seawall, or privately, like at their homes or in our daily conversations, people will often say, “I don’t have time right now or I’m too busy to talk”.  Their thoughts are on their lives and their plans not on the kingdom of God.  Thus, they spend little to no time seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

If this is you, then stop the merry-go-round you’re going round on  or the rat race you’re running and consider that the kingdom of God is superior to the pursuits of your life and your plans.  His righteousness is worth seeking more than your plans are worth completing.

Many Christians don’t get on with God’s plans for their lives because they don’t have any idea how God will take care of them. They end up serving mammon down here rather than God because they don’t learn to trust that what he said is true.

We had no idea how God was going to take care of us when we went to Bible college.  With four young children and no job lined up, we just had to trust that he would provide.  And he did.  I ended up working all day pouring concrete and going to school four nights a week.  We were doing what God wanted and he was taking care of our necessities.  That’s how it works.  You take care of God’s business first and he takes care of yours.

The things that be of God are superior to the the things that be of men – Mk 8:33.  Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “… thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men”.

Jesus rebuked Peter because Peter thought it was better for Jesus to begin sitting on David’s throne to rule during his earthly ministry than it was for Jesus to die to save our souls.  The things of men were more important to Peter than the things of God.

How like us today was Peter back then.  Look how much men are doing in the name of Jesus nowadays that has nothing with what God wants us to do.  The worldliness in churches is so common that Christians hardly realize that most of these things are by mens’ design rather than God’s.

Get away from the philosophy, vain deceit, tradition of men, and rudiments of the world, Col 2:8.  None of these things are of God.  They are all man made and things that be of men.  They look good because they seem to be working.

Measuring the success of a ministry by the number of buildings on the campus, the number of bodies in the chairs, and the amount of bucks in the bank looks a lot more like Rev 3:17 than the blessing of the Lord.  God still wants his work done with his words, and his wisdom, and in his way.  Not our way.  This is because eternal things are superior to temporal things.

The eternal soul of man is superior to the temporal life of man – Mk 8:35-36.  Jesus said, “… whosoever will 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”?

There are two things we need to consider here.  First, social programs organized and provided by churches to deal with the temporal necessities of life should never take the place of gospel preaching to bring lost souls to salvation in Jesus Christ.  I have been in churches where the Christian school, the day care center, and the food bank became the principal ministries of the church and the gospel was completely neglected.  Never forget, the eternal soul of man is superior to his temporal life.

Second, our temporal lives are inferior to our eternal souls.  If it costs us our life like it cost Jesus his to reach people with the gospel, then so be it.  Their souls are superior to our temporal lives and the Lord will be more interested in saving them than in keeping you and me alive.  Never lose sight of this.

Our inheritance is yet to come.  Now is the time to suffer with Christ, Rom 8:17-18.  “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him”, 2 Tim 2:12.  Modern Christianity doesn’t look like this.  But our Christianity should.

Conclusion: Constantly remind yourself that eternal things are superior to temporal things.  Always keep eternal tings higher on your list than temporal things.  If you don’t, then you will spend all of your time on temporal things and you will eventually neglect the eternal things entirely.  This has apparently happened to others; don’t let it happen to you.