turn the diamond

Matthew 16:24-26


Then Jesus said to his disciples,

     “If any of you wants to be my follower,

        you must turn from your selfish ambition,

        take up your cross,

        and follow me.

If you try to hang on to your life,
  
     you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for my sake,

     you will save it.

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

     Is anything worth more than your soul? (NLT)



Then Jesus said to his disciples,

     “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves

      and take up their cross

      and follow me.
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,

     but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (NIV)



Then Jesus said to his disciples,

     “If anyone wants to follow in my footsteps

      he must give up all right to himself,

      take up his cross

      and follow me.

For the man who wants to save his life will lose it;

     but the man who loses his life for my sake will find it.

For what good is it for a man to gain the whole world at the price of his own soul?

What could a man offer to buy back his soul once he had lost it? (J B Phillips)



Then Jesus went to work on his disciples.

“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead.

     You’re not in the driver’s seat;         I am.


Don’t run from suffering;

     embrace it.

Follow me and I’ll show you how.

Self-help is no help at all.

Self-sacrifice is the way,

     my way,

     to finding yourself,

     your true self.

What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself?

What could you ever trade your soul for? (The Message)



Then Jesus said to his followers,

      “If any of you want to be my follower,

      you must stop thinking about yourself and what you want.

     You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me.

Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it.

     But you who give up your life for me will find true life.

It is worth nothing for you to have the whole world if you yourself are lost.

You could never pay enough to buy back your life. (Easy-to-Read Version)



(Jesus said to His disciples)

If you want to follow Me,

     you must deny yourself the things you think you want.

     You must pick up your cross

     and follow Me.
The person who wants to save his life must lose it,

     and she who loses her life for Me will find it.
 Look, does it make sense to truly become successful, but then to hand over your very soul?

     What is your soul really worth? (The Voice)


Then Jesus told his disciples,

     “If anyone would come after me,

      let him deny himself

     and take up his cross

     and follow me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it,

     but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

      Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (ESV)



No matter how we translate it...

No matter how we may paraphrase it...

These words of Jesus are straightforward about what it means to follow Him.

In those words, are there any indicators that our lives will be "a success" if we follow Him?

Can there be anything that would in any way suggest that a life of discipleship is synonymous with "The American Dream"?

And is there any wiggle room in discussing the consequences of not following Him?