http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+14:1&version=NIV1984
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+14:12&version=NIVUK
I was traveling down Interstate 90 on my way to Billings Monday when a pickup truck passed me. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it except for a large, vinyl sticker that was prominently displayed on the rear window of the cab. It said, ‘I’m here for a good time, not a long time.’ Interesting. Nothing like advertising your philosophy of life for everyone to see. I had never seen or heard the phrase before. After a little research I found that it was the name of a song recorded in 1977 by a Canadian band named Trooper. Sort of gives you the background for it.
I believe that everyone would like to have a ‘good time’. I certainly would. I take no delight in ‘bad times’. I guess it just depends upon what ‘good time’ means. If it means spending time with people you love, enjoying life, and living for God, I’m all over it. However, if it means getting drunk or stoned, or engaging in immoral activity, I think I’ll pass. I believe that the last part of the phrase really gives the intended meaning. ‘Not a long time’. It’s just a different version of another phrase that I’ve heard before: ‘Live fast. Die young. And leave a good-looking corpse.’ In other words, 'Throw caution to the win. Give in to whatever desires you have. Check-out early'. Excuse me, but doesn’t that sound like a pretty shallow philosophy of life? It’s all about me. And having fun. Too bad about anyone else. I think it’s the very definition of shallow. And stupid. Not to mention tragic.
You see, the Bible says in Hebrews 9:27 that “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” This means that we get one shot at life. I suppose that people who live by the aforementioned phrase already know this. That’s why they want to get as much fun out of life as possible. What they don’t know, or choose to ignore, is the second part of this verse. That judgment’s coming. Before the Big Guy. Almighty, holy, righteous God is going to review their life. And make a judgment on where they will spend ETERNITY! Of course, it goes without saying that people who live only for themselves and the pleasure they can get out of life aren’t going to make it into Heaven. Not by a long shot. Instead they are looking in the face of an eternity in HELL. For me, one of the most sobering verses in the entire Bible is also found in Hebrews, 10:31 - “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
For some reason a lot of people don’t consider this. Or, if they do, they think they can get around it. They can somehow laugh it off. That God is going to wink at them and excuse their behavior. That any good deeds they did are going to offset their selfish and immoral behavior. Wrong! On that day when they stand before God they are going to be ashamed. Speechless. Filled with fear. Fear greater than any they’ve ever known. And when they hear the verdict from God Himself they will realize the folly of their choices. But by then it will be too late. Too late for forgiveness. Too late for mercy. Too late for anything but an eternity of pain. Suffering. Regret.
Talk about foolishness, this is it. Only a fool would trade a few years of ‘good times’ for an eternity of bad ones. Only a fool would ignore God and all His warnings. Only a fool would despise the death of Jesus on the cross and not take advantage of the forgiveness that He offers. Unfortunately there must be an awful lot of fools in this world. For in Matthew 7:13 Jesus said, “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
In the end, I suppose that if a person isn’t going to come to God then they might as well 'live it up'. Live it up as much as they can. For there is no future for them. No happy future, that is. Maybe this is why so many people choose this kind of lifestyle? Even if it is, it is still nothing short of tragic. God offers everything that the human heart secretly longs for. Love. Happiness. Peace. Significance. Eternal life. All available through Jesus. Why would anyone choose anything different? The only reason I can think of is that Satan has blinded their eyes.
The reality is that the ‘good time’ people are all around us. They’re at work. In school. In our neighborhood. Maybe even in our family. Sadly they are on the fast-track to Hell. And most of them don’t even know it. This is why it is so important for us to be salt & light. To pray for them. And witness to them. Eternal destinies are at stake. Let us do all we can to help them understand what a ‘good time’ really is. One that is all about living for God. And spending an eternity with Him.
Lord, my heart is burdened and broken when I see how lost people around me really are. How little they know. How little they care. Use me to be a witness to them. Light. Salt. A vessel of Your love. May You use my life to point them to the only One who can save them. You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I believe that everyone would like to have a ‘good time’. I certainly would. I take no delight in ‘bad times’. I guess it just depends upon what ‘good time’ means. If it means spending time with people you love, enjoying life, and living for God, I’m all over it. However, if it means getting drunk or stoned, or engaging in immoral activity, I think I’ll pass. I believe that the last part of the phrase really gives the intended meaning. ‘Not a long time’. It’s just a different version of another phrase that I’ve heard before: ‘Live fast. Die young. And leave a good-looking corpse.’ In other words, 'Throw caution to the win. Give in to whatever desires you have. Check-out early'. Excuse me, but doesn’t that sound like a pretty shallow philosophy of life? It’s all about me. And having fun. Too bad about anyone else. I think it’s the very definition of shallow. And stupid. Not to mention tragic.
You see, the Bible says in Hebrews 9:27 that “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” This means that we get one shot at life. I suppose that people who live by the aforementioned phrase already know this. That’s why they want to get as much fun out of life as possible. What they don’t know, or choose to ignore, is the second part of this verse. That judgment’s coming. Before the Big Guy. Almighty, holy, righteous God is going to review their life. And make a judgment on where they will spend ETERNITY! Of course, it goes without saying that people who live only for themselves and the pleasure they can get out of life aren’t going to make it into Heaven. Not by a long shot. Instead they are looking in the face of an eternity in HELL. For me, one of the most sobering verses in the entire Bible is also found in Hebrews, 10:31 - “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
For some reason a lot of people don’t consider this. Or, if they do, they think they can get around it. They can somehow laugh it off. That God is going to wink at them and excuse their behavior. That any good deeds they did are going to offset their selfish and immoral behavior. Wrong! On that day when they stand before God they are going to be ashamed. Speechless. Filled with fear. Fear greater than any they’ve ever known. And when they hear the verdict from God Himself they will realize the folly of their choices. But by then it will be too late. Too late for forgiveness. Too late for mercy. Too late for anything but an eternity of pain. Suffering. Regret.
Talk about foolishness, this is it. Only a fool would trade a few years of ‘good times’ for an eternity of bad ones. Only a fool would ignore God and all His warnings. Only a fool would despise the death of Jesus on the cross and not take advantage of the forgiveness that He offers. Unfortunately there must be an awful lot of fools in this world. For in Matthew 7:13 Jesus said, “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
In the end, I suppose that if a person isn’t going to come to God then they might as well 'live it up'. Live it up as much as they can. For there is no future for them. No happy future, that is. Maybe this is why so many people choose this kind of lifestyle? Even if it is, it is still nothing short of tragic. God offers everything that the human heart secretly longs for. Love. Happiness. Peace. Significance. Eternal life. All available through Jesus. Why would anyone choose anything different? The only reason I can think of is that Satan has blinded their eyes.
The reality is that the ‘good time’ people are all around us. They’re at work. In school. In our neighborhood. Maybe even in our family. Sadly they are on the fast-track to Hell. And most of them don’t even know it. This is why it is so important for us to be salt & light. To pray for them. And witness to them. Eternal destinies are at stake. Let us do all we can to help them understand what a ‘good time’ really is. One that is all about living for God. And spending an eternity with Him.
Lord, my heart is burdened and broken when I see how lost people around me really are. How little they know. How little they care. Use me to be a witness to them. Light. Salt. A vessel of Your love. May You use my life to point them to the only One who can save them. You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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