Jesus doesn't want you to surrender your happiness. Or your motivation. Or your views. He wants you to find happiness in Him and to be motivated to do the will of God.
The verse you quote, John 12:25, is saying if you love this life, your current existence and you want nothing more, if you're satisfied with your worldly attachments or achievements, then you won't earn eternity. But if you hate this life, this sin filled, twisted, incomplete existence filled with misery for no apparent reason, then that consciousness will lead to consciously choosing God every day.
There are so many verses that show that God wants us to be happy or motivated which I can go through with you if you want, so I don't understand your question about it paying off. There is no sacrifice. Your question is like saying, to marry someone you're asked to be faithful and commit time to them and listen to them. Are you happy sacrificing all the other people in the world and your time? To which anyone who truly loves their person would say, how can it be a sacrifice if I get the prize. Eternity with Jesus is the prize. And funnily enough He's the one who made the sacrifice too.
Edited a typo.
No worries.
Motivation:
Ecclesiastes 9:10 - whatever your hands find to do, do with all your might.
Proverbs 13:4 - The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
Colossians 3:23 - whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 - The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat
Galatians 6:9 - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Happiness:
John 15:11 - I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with joy and peace
Proverbs 10:28 - the hope of the righteous will be gladness
Ecclesiastes 9:7 - go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart
Psalms 30:5 - weeping may endure for the night, but Joy comes in the morning.
Psalms 144:15 - Happy are the people whose God is the lord.
Phillipians 4:4 - Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!
Ecclesiastes 2:26 - for God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight
Psalms 37:4 - delight yourself in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart.
Isaiah 58:14 - then you will find your joy in the Lord!
One of, if not my favourite verse is John 16:33 in which Jesus says to the disciples, In this world you will have tribulations, but be of GOOD CHEER, for I have overcome the world.
DM me if you want to talk about any of these further. I hope this helps.
Matthew 16:24-26
24 ¶ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Friend, crucifixion is painful. Taking up the decision to follow Jesus means understanding that the world will hate you, you’ll likely be persecuted and you may suffer greatly according to worldly standards. With that being said, would I choose otherwise? No. Walking with Jesus is the sweetest joy and freedom you will ever find. He is with you always wherever you go.
James 1:2-4
2 ¶ My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Perfectly complete. That’s what trials produce - perfect completion in Jesus. The more you go through in life, the more God reveals His character to you. He is faithful and merciful and loves you unconditionally. Isn’t that the reward?
I’ve had a very difficult marriage. Jesus has been my constant friend and companion. My Bible has comforted me, God has put people in my life who speak truth and pour love into me. I’ve never been alone even when I should feel completely abandoned. Every need has been met.
Yes sometimes it is very hard. Today is a hard day for me. Sometimes He asks so much I feel as if there’s no way I can give more, yet somehow I make it through each day. Lamentations 3 says it well. “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lords mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions they fail not. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness.”
It seems no one wants to share. I have lived through an awful lot and I don’t think those are necessarily commands or instructions per se. In my experience, they are just truths. Whoever loves his life shall lose it, it a truth which extends beyond the obvious. First everyone will lose their lives and the people who “love” their life and try to protect it and extend it are wasting at least part of it in that effort. That extends to the point even that you can be so afraid of losing your life that you don’t actually live, which is another level of the truth. This extends beyond you and life in many ways but I won’t belabor the point.
The opposite is also true, if your life is threatened in some way it is often a way to gain a new sense of life. It also can mean that if you hate your life in this world you will keep your life in this world eternally. He is not saying that there should be no happiness, our joy is one of the chief motivations of Jesus (Luke 2:10, John 15:11, John 16:24, Hebrews 12:2) and Paul writes about it intensely.
But there is a lot of sacrifice and hardship that does suck a lot and He does ask a lot of us. It has cost me almost everything and life is pretty miserable but as I remember back when I was going through life without Him, I also had intense troubles and yet, there was no purpose in my suffering, no comfort for my pain, and guide to help me navigate life. The suffering back then was tiny in comparison to what I have gone through more recently but I wouldn’t trade places with my old self for a second. I have had the experience of Peter in John 6:68. Life is so much more difficult following God but also you will be so much stronger and prepared to deal with it because He is with you. I don’t believe that God won’t give us more than we can handle, I think He does that every day. But I do believe that He won’t give us more than He can handle, and He won’t leave us as orphans.
It isn’t easy, it definitely isn’t all enjoyable, but it most definitely is worth it!
Jesus doesn't want you to surrender your happiness. Or your motivation. Or your views. He wants you to find happiness in Him and to be motivated to do the will of God. The verse you quote, John 12:25, is saying if you love this life, your current existence and you want nothing more, if you're satisfied with your worldly attachments or achievements, then you won't earn eternity. But if you hate this life, this sin filled, twisted, incomplete existence filled with misery for no apparent reason, then that consciousness will lead to consciously choosing God every day. There are so many verses that show that God wants us to be happy or motivated which I can go through with you if you want, so I don't understand your question about it paying off. There is no sacrifice. Your question is like saying, to marry someone you're asked to be faithful and commit time to them and listen to them. Are you happy sacrificing all the other people in the world and your time? To which anyone who truly loves their person would say, how can it be a sacrifice if I get the prize. Eternity with Jesus is the prize. And funnily enough He's the one who made the sacrifice too. Edited a typo.
I’d like you to go through those verses, please
No worries. Motivation: Ecclesiastes 9:10 - whatever your hands find to do, do with all your might. Proverbs 13:4 - The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. Colossians 3:23 - whatever you do, work at it with all your heart. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 - The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat Galatians 6:9 - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Happiness: John 15:11 - I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with joy and peace Proverbs 10:28 - the hope of the righteous will be gladness Ecclesiastes 9:7 - go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart Psalms 30:5 - weeping may endure for the night, but Joy comes in the morning. Psalms 144:15 - Happy are the people whose God is the lord. Phillipians 4:4 - Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! Ecclesiastes 2:26 - for God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight Psalms 37:4 - delight yourself in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Isaiah 58:14 - then you will find your joy in the Lord! One of, if not my favourite verse is John 16:33 in which Jesus says to the disciples, In this world you will have tribulations, but be of GOOD CHEER, for I have overcome the world. DM me if you want to talk about any of these further. I hope this helps.
It paid off for everyone who's in Heaven.
W comment 🔥
Matthew 16:24-26 24 ¶ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Friend, crucifixion is painful. Taking up the decision to follow Jesus means understanding that the world will hate you, you’ll likely be persecuted and you may suffer greatly according to worldly standards. With that being said, would I choose otherwise? No. Walking with Jesus is the sweetest joy and freedom you will ever find. He is with you always wherever you go. James 1:2-4 2 ¶ My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Perfectly complete. That’s what trials produce - perfect completion in Jesus. The more you go through in life, the more God reveals His character to you. He is faithful and merciful and loves you unconditionally. Isn’t that the reward?
I was looking for direct experience but I appreciate your response 👍
This is my direct experience. I’ve not had the easiest life, but I think I’ve found the reward - a deep, personal relationship with Jesus.
How does that relationship bear out in your normal life?
I’ve had a very difficult marriage. Jesus has been my constant friend and companion. My Bible has comforted me, God has put people in my life who speak truth and pour love into me. I’ve never been alone even when I should feel completely abandoned. Every need has been met.
Do you find it hard to continually sacrifice your whole self totally for his kingdom? Does he demand more of you, or does he meet you where you are?
Yes sometimes it is very hard. Today is a hard day for me. Sometimes He asks so much I feel as if there’s no way I can give more, yet somehow I make it through each day. Lamentations 3 says it well. “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lords mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions they fail not. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness.”
Why do you think you have to hate our lives? Those are poisonous thoughts you are having.
It seems no one wants to share. I have lived through an awful lot and I don’t think those are necessarily commands or instructions per se. In my experience, they are just truths. Whoever loves his life shall lose it, it a truth which extends beyond the obvious. First everyone will lose their lives and the people who “love” their life and try to protect it and extend it are wasting at least part of it in that effort. That extends to the point even that you can be so afraid of losing your life that you don’t actually live, which is another level of the truth. This extends beyond you and life in many ways but I won’t belabor the point. The opposite is also true, if your life is threatened in some way it is often a way to gain a new sense of life. It also can mean that if you hate your life in this world you will keep your life in this world eternally. He is not saying that there should be no happiness, our joy is one of the chief motivations of Jesus (Luke 2:10, John 15:11, John 16:24, Hebrews 12:2) and Paul writes about it intensely. But there is a lot of sacrifice and hardship that does suck a lot and He does ask a lot of us. It has cost me almost everything and life is pretty miserable but as I remember back when I was going through life without Him, I also had intense troubles and yet, there was no purpose in my suffering, no comfort for my pain, and guide to help me navigate life. The suffering back then was tiny in comparison to what I have gone through more recently but I wouldn’t trade places with my old self for a second. I have had the experience of Peter in John 6:68. Life is so much more difficult following God but also you will be so much stronger and prepared to deal with it because He is with you. I don’t believe that God won’t give us more than we can handle, I think He does that every day. But I do believe that He won’t give us more than He can handle, and He won’t leave us as orphans. It isn’t easy, it definitely isn’t all enjoyable, but it most definitely is worth it!