My life is an end, in itself; my eternal life, of which, this mortal life is just a blink of an eye. And John Galt seeking and loving his life is no different than the eternal life I seek. Again, obedience affects how happy I am now and later. “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” (Luke 17:33) I believe this scripture refers to losing ourselves in the service of others. That is, sacrificing leisure and other lower pleasures for production. And I believe the scripture indicates that through production, one preserves, seeks, expands and comes to love his life. This is an excellent example of a suggestion or “commandment” given, and the reward immediately mentioned. It speaks of a goal we all have and tells us how to achieve it. I know of no “sacrifice” suggested where no reward is provided.
The word “save” used in the scripture reminds me of the parable of the talents (Mat. 25:14-30). In brief summary, a rich guy needed to travel, so he left some money with each of three guys who worked for him, to produce as they would and should. The two were productive and doubled his money and were allowed to keep it all and were given stewardship over even more. The other of the three buried his in the ground out of fear of his boss, claiming the boss gained from the production of his employees. The money entrusted to him was taken away from him and given to the most productive employee and he who was fearful and covetous was fired, showing that stewards who productively possess, (that is, are aware of, thankful for and productive with blessings) and make capitalistic exchanges with what they have, receive more. To me, the servant who buried the talent given him by the lord sought to “save” it.
Our talents aren’t ours alone to consume. We have them “on loan from God” as Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying. They are meant to be shared, to be used in the service of others to our own gain, our own reward. And when we do so, we retain stewardship over what we have, what we have gained with it and more. This is salvation and life, a life one can love; and it’s true, few there be that achieve it via either subjectivism or religion (including mine); and I would add to that list, atheism. I submit that you and I are both a work in progress when it comes to our shared goals for ourselves.
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