Some things in life seem backwards.

Little kids hate naps and they want to stay up late. When those kids grow up to be adults, they just want to take naps all the time and go to bed early.

You have to go to college so you can get a good-paying job. But you can’t afford to go to college unless you already have a good-paying job (or know someone else who does).

Golf is backwards—the person with the lowest score wins.

You can buy brand-new jeans that look like someone else wore them for 2 years of hard labor. Brand-new, faded-out jeans with holes.

In order to get a good job, you need experience. But you can’t get experience unless you find a good job.

Backwards.

Jesus told us that following Him would sometimes seem backwards, too.

“If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life.”

There’s something about following Jesus that seems to go against all of our natural tendencies. We feel like we’re losing, and nobody likes to lose. But Jesus reveals that we’re worried about losing the wrong things.

“And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world, but lose your soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?”

Jesus reveals that we are the ones that are backwards. We place value on things that don’t last-on things that don’t matter in the long run. Jesus doesn’t tell us not to think about ourselves, He tells us to care for the part of ourselves that will last—our souls.

So the next time life seems backwards—when you’re looking for a job or adding up your score on the golf course or (who knows?) buying faded jeans—remember that Jesus told us to live backwards.