SO WHAT profit is there in gaining the world but losing your soul? Christ’s question might resonate for some people but others would struggle with the meaning of the word soul. It is not a word that is widely understood.
The tradition of Christians to describe it as a counterpart of body has perhaps restricted our understanding. Sadly, it is not that there is a simple dictionary definition either. Is it simply the thing that gives life to the body? Does it live in the intellect? Does it define our personality? Does it do anything at all? Is it that people who describe themselves as spiritual are seeking their soul, and that people who describe themselves as religious have found it? Are prayer and contemplation mere conversations within the intellect or are they actions of the soul? There are far more questions than answers to this word soul, despite its continual use.
One thing certain is that the practical concerns of the body draw people away from their souls (whatever that means). The demands to be sheltered, fed and befriended consume most of our waking hours. Worries, concerns, bills and security detract our thoughts from higher considerations. Christ’s question was rhetorical. Individually many of us are concerned for our souls but collectively we are not so good. There are even some who deny its existence rather than answer the prompting whispers of conscience, hope and peace within them.
Cynicism takes a lot of work in the early stages but ignoring conscience can become second nature quite quickly.
Gaining the world entails losing your soul.
One sign of our collective abandonment of the soul is to be found in the way we address problems in our society. Every time a scandal breaks we draft new legislation and consider that as the great solution. Legislation has its uses but it cannot solve everything. Murder has been forbidden in every society for as long as we know but it still happens. It happens now with greater frequency than in the past so is new legislation the answer? Legislation and watchdogs, supervision and inspections have all failed in the past, and they continue to fail to this day.
The reason for their failure lies in the loss of the quest for the soul. As the members of a society abandon the search, it is not too long before the society itself shows the effects. Laws work when people appreciate the ideal they protect. With no respect for the ideal, there will be no respect for the law.
Delegating every responsibility to the Government provides an answer but not a solution.
The mission of Christ, for all Christians, was to call society to a law of love. To seek noble principles and to change our behaviour so as to make the world a better place. He called it the Kingdom of God. Not a place where we would be happy when we died, but as a place where we could live happily. The so-called traditional values of family and friends were the foundations of the earliest Christian communities. These lived faithfully under the law but inspired by the experience of love rather than the lures of prestige, wealth and domination. Gadgets and prohibitive rules cannot build a safe society. A change of attitude has to come first.
So when Christ asked his question, he challenges our attitudes. His question is neither more nor less relevant today than it has been in any other time. If we think collectively that the answer is somebody else's responsibility, available in the supermarket or solved by an honorary degree, we are likely to get the answer wrong! – FERGAL Mac EOINÍN