The Folly That Is Lived

There is so much vain living these days. That kind of living that sees the dying regretting. Unfortunately, such regrets find people on their deathbed.

Very few would dare to know why people do regret on their deathbed. Without proper planning here on earth while it is still “today,” it is likely that one will get to know the real reason at their deathbed too. This must be a very hurting experience as that act of regretting can seldom bring anticipated remedies on the table.

People choose to end up focusing on the temporal while neglecting the eternal; they love to care for the material while forgetting the spiritual.

The devil takes advantage of such avoidable spiritual blindness which people often get struck with. This is even evident in the book Top Five Regrets of the Dying by an Australian nurse, Bronnie Ware. In her book, Ware shares the following top five regrets of the dying that she witnessed: I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me; I wish I hadn’t worked so hard; I wish I had the courage to express my feelings; I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends; and, I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I haven’t seen or heard of any right thinking individual who left his home for some distant place to come back after some days without making proper planning or arrangements for his accommodation, transport, food, and even clothing. We all ensure to put all that in order.

But it shocks to imagine the laxity that people often give when it comes to issues of eternity. Our years here on earth are few. None of us can even pass a countable 120 years of life. But the temporal things that we embark on in this life are well calculated. Yet we choose to fail to give the same diligence on what lies after this life. That is very dangerous because what lies after this life is nothing but eternity.

The Bible tells us that ahead of us lies everlasting life for every soul. The only difference is that some will have it in heaven while others it will be in hell—Daniel 12:2.

Some people blindly think it wise to give their lives to God in their old age and not while being young. My friend if you are one of them, please refuse to accommodate that lie from the devil. How sure are you that you will reach old age? Again, in case by grace you reach that old age and, with your weak body you decide to give your life to God, will He be happy that you thought it necessary to give your best (as a youth) to the devil, and throw the remainder of your weak self to Him? Certainly not.

We are daily admonished to walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.—Ephesians 5:15-16.

People fail to live a life true to themselves and opt to live a life expected of them by others. This even fails them to express their inner feelings of what they know to be true and right. Typical of this generation. People fear to be counted off. They don’t want to be classified as backward, uncivilized, even if that means living for Christ. Guided by the Holy Spirit, James foresaw the pressures of our generations and warned us in advance: “…know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God—James 4:4.

Imagine exerting your energies hard on things that are just temporal here on earth and yet having no treasures in heaven. You can surely regret on your deathbed and wish you had never worked such hard. There are two main duties that God desires everyone to fulfill before we go the last mile of the way: to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son and our Lord and Saviour, and to help others become disciples of Jesus Christ. There is no better way of being in touch with friends other than helping them become disciples of Christ and keep edifying one another with the Gospel.

And finally, to be truly happy in life is beyond man’s own making. A soul can scarcely be truly happy in this life minus its healthy connection to its Creator. Christ once told the multitudes, “But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you—Matthew 6:33. Happiness, contentment, joy and whatever is truly good and wonderful are within “all these things” in the verse above.

Any successful search for something has to find it. And for it to be found, it surely must be seen. It is therefore quite important to seriously take to heart what the Lord told Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, that, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”—John 3:3. This is the basic foundation every individual is invited to consider while in this life. Or, will you wait until you become older? But, lovingly and tenderly the Lord announces this to people for their own good, through the Psalmist: “Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts”—Hebrews 4:7.