A Most Lopsided Exchange

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

 - Luke 9:23 (NIV)

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

-Philippians 3:8-12 (NIV)

    The choice is on the table : gain what you can in this world or follow Jesus Christ. Both cannot be attained, just as you cannot have two masters. Trading the good life for Jesus Christ is the most lopsided exchange ever. It's like trading in garbage for gold.