What Good is it?

One of the most effective ways to make a point is to ask a rhetorical question--a question that begs an obvious answer. Accordingly, we can find rhetorical questions in the Bible that effectively point out something that on the surface appears to have great benefit, but in reality amounts to nothing.

Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, not of our own works. Yet notice how James 2:14 tells us how works are still important: "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?" For those who put their emphasis on material things, Mark 8:36 asks: "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

Scripture continues to identify things that seem important, but have no lasting eternal value. Good deeds (Galatians 5:2), physical fitness (1 Timothy 4:8), hard work (Ecclesiastes 2:11) and self-sacrifice without love (1 Corinthians 13:3) are all worthless in the economy of God's Kingdom apart from a relationship and a desire to please and glorify Him.

At the end of the day, if we want to be able to answer the question, "What Good is it?" in a way that has eternal significance, let's make sure the glory is pointed in the right direction---upward and not inward.