We have all seen bumper stickers or at the very least heard someone say, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” However do you know the origin of the phrase? Well if you don’t know where it all started let me take just a moment and share it with you. Malcolm Forbes, know as the man who had everything, took a motorcycle “road trip” with his team through Egypt in 1984.. After Mr. Forbes had toured the tomb of King Tut, but afterwards seemed in a reflective mood about his own life. He asked one of the team members, “Do you think I’ll be remembered after I die?” For sure and for certain Forbes is remembered, because he is the one that coined the phrase we started with. However, it was not just a passing phrase, it became Mr. Forbes ambition in life. He managed to collect numerous motorcycles; a collection envied by biking enthusiasts world wide. He would pay over a million dollars for a “Faberge egg,” of which he owned ten. Mr. Forbes owned castles, hot air balloons and countless other “toys” that he can no longer access. Mr. Forbes died in 1990 of a heart attack, at his home in Far Hills, New Jersey. So did he win? Is he remembered?
Jesus gave us words of wisdom about Mr. Malcolm Forbes wisdom of life; “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul.” Our sermon text today is also from wise words of Jesus; “So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.” To hear what Jesus says about material blessings and then understand and apply that wisdom to your life will make you a winner in the full sense of the word. All we have in this world is given by God. Every material thing is a blessing from His hand to yours. Therefore, we should never envy someone’s blessings, because God is blessing us with our own material gifts too. Jesus just wants us to know that will all the generous gifts from heaven, He is the greatest and He deserves or better yet, demands that He be placed above all things in this world. This is true wisdom. This is the way to be the winner. So, “he who dies with Jesus as the most in his/her life wins.”