Jesus emphasizes the choice between clinging to our former lives or letting go and entrusting our new lives to His care. He points out that all the riches of the world mean nothing without a spiritual life, a life that will not be held captive by the grave. We might have some years of glorious living in a physical sense, but inevitably, the same event happens to us all. Jesus warns of the tremendous waste of squandering the opportunity for eternal life in exchange for a little more fun or comfort today. He reminds His followers that He will return to reward people for the choices they made, whether they valued Him and sought Him, or were ashamed of Him and sought the dead things of this world.

The Laodiceans have more love for material things than for Him. They do not reject God entirely, but neither do they commit to Him wholeheartedly because that would cost more than they are willing to pay. Perhaps they pay lip-service by saying things like God is the most important thing in their life, but their actions reveal something else. They are still clinging to their lives because surrendering would require too much. Part of preparing for baptism is counting the cost. Whether fully understood ahead of time or not, a commitment is made to a life of self-denial and complete self-sacrifice. When God calls, He bids one to come to Christ and then die over and over again. Signs must be observed that commitment, resolve, or dedication to God may be slipping. Indicators must be watched for that show one has become tired of His work in life or that the world's bowl of stew is more enticing than life with the Creator God. His main focus is not giving the life that one wants. His focus is giving the life He wants, which may be hard to accept. One must walk by faith, trusting that what God is doing will turn out better. When delighting in the Lord, the desires of the heart change. Being in His presence changes what is important and what is desired. When God is the object of life, the application of righteousness and justice will entirely overshadow the love of the world. The siren song of the world is to seek first the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and God becomes an afterthought. The question is which life one is actually most interested in right now.