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If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late,
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
While browsing the Internet I came across this Nickelback song, “If Today Was Your Last Day” from their Dark Horse album, and realized it raises some real interesting questions:
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?
What if, what if, if today was your last day?
Against the grain should be a way of life.
What’s worth the price is always worth the fight.
Every second counts ’cause there’s no second try.
So live like you’re never living twice;
Don’t take the free ride in your own life.
Suppose today was your last day. Would you be happy with where everything stands? Have you accomplished everything you wanted to? Are you the person you want to be? And how about your relationships with others? With God?
It can be a scary thought, honestly. If today was our last day, our next waking moment would find us face-to-face with our Creator. Are you prepared for that? Or are there things in your life you were still hoping to get around to fixing “sometime later”?
The truth is, none of us have the luxury of knowing when our last day is. Life is not like studying for a test. You can’t put important things off and then hope to cram them all in at the last minute because we have no idea when that last minute is. For all we know, today is our last day.
But that doesn’t mean hope is gone. It’s just a matter of choosing to live every day as if it is your last, which for us means several things:
- It means living against the grain of society as a way of life.
- It means knowing that living God’s way may carry a price tag, but that the cost is easily worth it.
- It means that if God is working with us now, we don’t get a second life—only the seconds we have now.
- It means not taking the path of least resistance, but putting our might into the things we do.
The writer of Ecclesiastes spent much of his life trying to find the most satisfying, rewarding way to live life. In the end, he admonished his readers to “rejoice…in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment” (Ecclesiastes 11:9).
Then he finished the inspired book with these words, “Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). To understand that conclusion even better, take a moment to also read “Ecclesiastes: The Thinking Young Adult’s Guide to Life.”
In other words: God has an amazing life prepared for you and for me. He has given you a guidebook filled with wisdom and truth so that you will know how to get the absolute most out of it. He has also given you this day.
So what are we waiting for? Let’s get out there and live it! VT
- About the Author -
Jeremy Lallier has just graduated from the Ambassador Bible Center in Milford, Ohio, and plans to resume his education this fall.
Failure is in the air!
Banks, businesses, jobs, family mortgages, states—so much of America and elsewhere teeters on the brink of collapse.
In your own life maybe you’ve made some bad decisions and “have fallen flat on your face” sometimes too. During these awful moments of failure we can reach clarity, find motivation and catapult ourselves to success.
Fear of failure
But we live in a society that fears failure. Let’s face it, when our efforts aren’t good enough or we’re facing the negative consequences of our actions, it can hurt. Our egos take a hit, our so-called “self-esteem” wavers and times can get tough.
To avoid the pain, “experts” develop all types of practices and policies including these:
- Not using red ink to correct school papers.
- Awarding trophies to everyone, even last place.
- Passing students to the next level without skill mastery.
- Spending money to fix problems caused by overspending.
Does avoidance really help?
Pain beats the alternative—more pain later!
Consider the General Motors Corporation. A few months ago it was inconceivable to let GM go into bankruptcy. “They’re too big to fail.” However equity analyst Dan Greenhaus told FOX Business his blunt opinion of the company. “It’s run poorly. They don’t know how to make money. They’re not competitive…”
Yet, in the U.S. federal bailout frenzy, the government loaned billions of dollars of taxpayer money (that future kids/grandkids haven’t even earned yet) to avoid the consequences of such a large company failing—without fixing any of the root problems.
Now GM still has to go bankrupt (which will allow the company to address the issues and restructure), but has the added burden of being billions of dollars more in the hole.
It’s like a student being depressed because she can never seem to get passing grade on an exam, so she drinks alcohol to cope. It only dulls the pain of failure for a short time and makes future success more difficult. She still has to deal with the root causes of the original problem (missing class, not enough studying, lack of sleep, etc.) and now deal with all the effects of the alcohol too.
When weak is strong
The sting of failure presents a great opportunity to find clarity and the motivation to do better. If we never felt unsuccessful, would we truly desire to push ourselves to improve? We must understand our strengths and weaknessesin order to succeed.
When we feel totally in control in life, it’s easy to think that we don’t need help or guidance. But when failure weakens us, we’re in an open state of mind that God can work with to help us. Then when we are weak, we are strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
As our loving Creator, God is always there to forgive us and strengthen us, no matter how many bad decisions or failures. We can pray for God to help us do better tomorrow and avoid settling for mediocrity. He wants us to succeed!
Turning failure into success can become a good habit. Read how in “The Power of Habits.”
Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Walt Disney and numerous others all failed repeatedly, even experiencing bankruptcy before they ever made it big. Failure and success are unavoidably linked.
May we learn from others’ mistakes, accept divine guidance and pray for wisdom. Then as vertical thinkers we can make the most out of failing moments and maximize the successes! VT
- About the Author -
Keri Sanders, her husband, Adam, and four young children attend the United Church of God in Columbus, Ohio.
