The Cost of the Castle
"For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?" – Matthew 16:26
There is a story about Lord Castlereagh, who once owned one of the most beautiful castles in all of Ireland. After years of abandonment, he returned to find the walls of his castle picked apart by locals who had scavenged the stones to build with. Hoping to protect what was left, he hired a mason to build a wall around it.
Years later, when he came back, he discovered the castle was completely gone. The mason had used the castle stones to build the wall. What had once been a magnificent estate was now nothing more than a barrier surrounding empty ground. Castlereagh simply sighed and walked away, having exchanged something priceless for something pointless.
Jesus presents us with a similar challenge in Matthew 16. What good is it if you gain everything the world has to offer but lose your soul in the process? What benefit is there in trading what is eternal for what is temporary? Many of us are building walls in our lives. Walls of success, wealth, comfort, and recognition, using up the stones meant for something greater.
We chase after gain, thinking it will satisfy us. But when the dust settles and the wall is built, we often realize that we sacrificed the castle for something far less. Just like Castlereagh, we may look back and wonder what could have been if we had built something lasting instead of settling for something convenient.
The truth is, godliness always costs something. It might cost popularity, comfort, or financial success. But it builds something far greater. It builds character. It builds faith. It builds a legacy that reaches beyond our time here.
What are you exchanging? Are you chasing gain at the cost of godliness? Or are you willing to lay down what fades and build something that lasts?
There is a story about Lord Castlereagh, who once owned one of the most beautiful castles in all of Ireland. After years of abandonment, he returned to find the walls of his castle picked apart by locals who had scavenged the stones to build with. Hoping to protect what was left, he hired a mason to build a wall around it.
Years later, when he came back, he discovered the castle was completely gone. The mason had used the castle stones to build the wall. What had once been a magnificent estate was now nothing more than a barrier surrounding empty ground. Castlereagh simply sighed and walked away, having exchanged something priceless for something pointless.
Jesus presents us with a similar challenge in Matthew 16. What good is it if you gain everything the world has to offer but lose your soul in the process? What benefit is there in trading what is eternal for what is temporary? Many of us are building walls in our lives. Walls of success, wealth, comfort, and recognition, using up the stones meant for something greater.
We chase after gain, thinking it will satisfy us. But when the dust settles and the wall is built, we often realize that we sacrificed the castle for something far less. Just like Castlereagh, we may look back and wonder what could have been if we had built something lasting instead of settling for something convenient.
The truth is, godliness always costs something. It might cost popularity, comfort, or financial success. But it builds something far greater. It builds character. It builds faith. It builds a legacy that reaches beyond our time here.
What are you exchanging? Are you chasing gain at the cost of godliness? Or are you willing to lay down what fades and build something that lasts?
Subscribe Now for Daily Devotionals
Recent
Archive
2025
July
What Are You Hiding From?Where Worry GrowsWhere Security Really Comes FromChange What You’re Looking AtAnswer the Right QuestionsWhere Are You Looking?Go to the Right WellLet Go of the GripQuit Trying to Outmuscle WorryRunning on EmptyWhen “Lord” is Just a WordDig Deeper Before the StormWhen the Work Feels Too HardThe Slow Work That LastsWhat Were You ThinkingDo You Trust Him?Not Everything Sweet is SafeSay It or Show ItMore Than a NameThe Weight Behind the WordsThe Cost of CommitmentMore Than Good IntentionsThe Neighbor You’re BecomingWhat Are You Known ForSlow Down and See ThemEyes to See, Time to StopWhat Comes FirstMercy MovesWho Are You Really After?The Right Name, the Wrong HeartPower Matters
August
Living a Life That Makes People Ask WhyWhen Your Life Makes No SenseWhen Normal Isn’t the GoalThe Right Kind of QuestionableWhen Motives Get MisunderstoodThere’s a Bigger Story at WorkWhen They Question Your WhyWhen Your Way Gets QuestionedWhen Obedience Breaks ExpectationsWhose Glory Are You Seeking?When the Cross Seems QuestionableBless Someone TodayA Little Can Bless a LotThe Power in Just Showing UpWhen Obedience Doesn’t Make SenseMore Than EnoughThe Beauty of Broken ThingsProtecting the Wrong ThingThe Danger of Misplaced EffortWhat Are You Trading?The First Trade You Must MakePick Up What Matters MostLet Go to GainThe Cost of the CastleTrade the Gavel for GraceThe Exchange That Changes EverythingThe Bold AskWhat Do You Want?Ask With the Right HeartDesire Isn’t EnoughTotal Dependence
September
The Gospel at the TableKnow Him to Show HimSent People Live Sent LivesConnection at the TableWhen the Word Comes BackSent for a ReasonWhen the Word is FoundThe Power of the TableSent but Still SittingA Table That Changes EverythingOne Day Can Change EverythingWhen Obedience is UncomfortableRunning Never WorksSing AnywayGod RenewsUndeniableThe Power of PresenceThe Word RenewsTime for a Heart CheckWhere Renewal BeginsThe Mind You FeedGod Relates to YouWhen Jesus Comes to the TableUnashamedForged in the OrdinaryLet It Challenge YouHold On Without WaveringThe Narrow DoorGod RescuesUnafraid
No Comments