Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.

It is important to remember that the greeks had 8 words for “love” and 4 for “hate”, and understanding which words are being used here is crucial to best understanding what Jesus is actually saying.

First, “loving this life,” the love here is “Phileo” in greek, this is “brotherly love. So to love your life in this way is not referring to people that are content with their lives, who are happy with their families and the friends. The love here is more akin to those people that love their lives, like a dear friend, above everything else. For example, those that love their money or fame so much, that they will do anything to preserve and maintain it.

Second, “hating this life,” the hate here is “Miseo” in greek. This is more closely translated as ‘to despise in a comparative sense,’ or more simply to “love less” than something else. So to hate your life in this way is referring to people that are willing to sacrifice everything they have in this life for the love of God, or for others. If you cannot hate your life in that way, then that life becomes an obstacle that gets in the way of any true relationship with the Lord.

Do you have obstacles in your live that prevent you from true relationship with the Lord? If so, then I suggest that you rearrange your priorities. You don’t have to be like St. Francis and give away everything you have in this world, but you must re-prioritize those things that get in the way of what truly matter, make them less important to you than your relationtionship with God.

If Jesus crossed your path today and said “follow me”, would you be able to follow Him, or is there is something in your life that would prevent you from saying yes, something that you cant walk away from? If so, then that thing might be an obstacle to your salvation, and you must come to terms with that, and put it in its proper place.

This is really hard, but their is great wisdom in this teaching. The good things of this world can easily become overly important to us, they can even become like little idols that we worship. And if we worship idols we are not worshipping God. So take this to prayer, ponder it, and find out what little idols you have in your life, and then work to eliminate them. You salvation depends on it.

Oh lord, help me today to find those things that are in the way of my being in true relationship with you, and give me the courage to put those things in their proper place, let me place you first, and everything else second.