Seven Myths Of Death

Our view of death is warped by our limited human understanding. We fail to grasp the truths of God concerning death, and it causes us to fear something that should not be feared. Below are seven myths that we humans often believe.

1. A Good Life is a Long Life. A lot of the times, our focus is on keeping ourselves healthy and living a good, long life. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but that shouldn't be our focus. The point of life is not to live as long as possible, but to fulfill God's plan for your life in the time you are given, whether that's twenty years or a hundred years.
2. A Good Life is a Wealthy Life. Life is not about building up treasures on Earth, but about building up treasures in Heaven. We should be more generous and use our resources for good, instead of simply building up our assets and wasting our wealth on material things.
3. We Deserve Tomorrow. I think this is one of the toughest for us to understand. As we all know, we're all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. The Bible says that we all deserve death. However, it's not that we deserve death in fifty years; we all deserve it now. This may seem like a morbid thought, but we must realize that each day we have is truly a gift from God, and not a right we have. We should be thankful for every day, because for all of us, tomorrow is not guaranteed.
4. Life is Fair. It, of course, is not fair. Some good people die young, and some evil people live long. Some lives are tougher, and some are easier. Life isn't fair, and in reality, it doesn't need to be. Life should not be about complaining that things aren't fair, life is about doing what you can with what God has given you.
5. Our Life is But Our Own. America is a very individualistic country, with the whole "look out for number one" mentality. We're not on this Earth to live as we like; we should be mindful of the needs of others, and more importantly, surrender to the will of God in our lives. It's about His plan, not ours. For each of us, that plan includes different purposes, different places, different times, and different life spans.
6. Good People Go To Heaven. This is also a tough one to understand, but the Bible clearly teaches that salvation is acquired through faith in Christ and not through being a "good" person. Saved through grace, not through works. None of us could ever be "good" enough to earn our way into Heaven.
7. Death is the End. We all fear death, but that's due to a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to die. It is not the end, but merely the beginning of the next (and final) phase in our lives. We must not hold on to our lives so tightly in our fear of death that we never step out of our comfort zones in faith.

The Case for Death

One of the undeniable truths about our human lives is that, eventually, they end. Each of us was born of a woman, our bodies knitted together in her womb. Someday, each of our bodies will lose its vibrancy; blood will no longer flow through our veins, and life will no longer pour out from within our physical selves. Death is simply an inevitability that we must accept.

Even as we accept and understand that our future includes death, it is true that we often fear it, holding on to our lives and our remaining years with all our might. Humans fear their death like nothing else, and that fear stems from the fact that we simply do not fully comprehend the part that death plays in lives. We miss God’s plan for us; His plan for the end and the beginning of each human life. For all things, good or bad in the sight of men, work together for the goodness of God.

Just as a student’s graduation marks the end of a time of schooling, the death of a human marks the end of their time on this Earth. It is a transition; the end of one era, and the beginning of another. A student attends school to learn and ready him or herself for a future career. Those students who do not walk the path of learning will find themselves ill-equipped for the future. Humans who do not walk the path of Christ will find themselves at the end of their life without a savior.

The scriptures tell us not to fear. Once Jesus has become our lord, there is nothing to separate us from Him and the salvation that we now have. Nothing in this world, no powers in the spiritual realms, and not the eventual death that leads from this life into the next.

We must change the way we view death, for it is not the end, but merely a time of change. It is not something to be feared, but something to be understood. As strange a thought as this might be, death is something to look forward to. Not in any depressive or suicidal manner, but in such a way that we long to be with Christ in the world to come. For this world is not our home; we are as aliens in a foreign land, and Heaven is our true home. Our father waits there for us, and we should wait patiently and yet with excitement for the day when we walk those streets of gold. We will no longer be strapped with the problems of this world, but will have all of eternity to be with Christ.

Our time on this Earth is precious, and even while we are young and the years seem to stretch out before us, death is coming for each human, some long before they expect it. We know not what day will be our last, but that is not for us to choose. God has planned each day of our lives, and He knows what day He will call you away from your body and into His presence. Do not fear that hour, for a greater glory awaits us than we could ever experience in these bodies. Live each day as though death was around the corner, for it truly is, even if we do not see it.

God holds your life in His hands, and His timing is perfect. Trust in Him and do not fear the future, and do not fear death, for on the other side of our last day is the first day of a beautiful beginning.

Life's Truths

These are truths that define how I live my life. To me, these are unquestionable absolutes.

There is a God. I can guarantee I would not live my life in the same way if I didn’t believe there was a God. You can still live by a moral code if you don’t believe in God, but that moral compass is set by human standards, not by God. If there was no God, why would I believe that human life is as sacred as it is? If we are not God’s most prized creation, are we not merely as valued as the lilies of the field and the animals of the Earth? If there is no God, there is no sacred reason to do many of the things I do and have done.

Life is not that serious. I'm one of those people that can find humor in almost anything. We seem to get worked up about things that don't really matter. Worrying about and getting upset over the little things does nothing to help anything. Pick your fights; and make sure they're worth fighting for. Take a step back and realize what is important and what isn't. And have a good laugh.

Life is not a joke. It may be a fine line to tread, but while life is not that serious, it's not a joke either. Do not waste your life on Earthly things. Live your life to the best of your potential, and walk God's path, but do it with a smile on your face.

Life is fragile. I am not afraid of death. I try to live my life according to the plan of Christ, and I do not know all that plan holds. Whether my life ends tomorrow or when I'm a hundred years old, I know that my life is fully held within God's hands, and that His purpose will be done.

Life is eternal. After we leave this planet, Heaven is waiting, and there we shall live forever. I know that our Earthly deaths are not the end; there is a much greater and more glorious future ahead of us.

Life is not unscripted. God is in control of everything. The Bible says each of our days were planned far before we were even thought of by human minds. It is not our place to worry about everything in this life, for God has already figured it all out.

Life is imperfect. At least, we humans are imperfect. This leads to imperfect relationships and situations, and to pain and hardships. The fact is that each of us has suffering. While some may have it worse than others, we all must fight against it, for through God, any hardships of this world can be overcome. There is nothing that this world can throw at you that, through Jesus, you can't handle.

Life is absolute. One of the world's most popular attitudes is "Find your own truth." While we all must find the path that God has made uniquely for us, there is still only One God, One Jesus, and One way to Heaven. You cannot get to Heaven through good works alone, or any other way besides belief in Jesus Christ. It can't be done, and that's the way it is.

Life's worth is not measured in years. I would rather die tomorrow but have walked God's path than live a hundred years separated from Christ. We all have the same amount of eternity ahead of us.

Life's worth is not measured in dollars. Money and other Earthly things will not get you into Heaven. As the saying goes, "He who dies with the most toys, still dies."

Life's worth is not measured by the opinions of others. Do not let others bring you down or tell you that you are less than what you are. The truth is, that you are an amazing creation of an amazing God, nothing less. You are uniquely created to be just the person that God intended. He will use your strengths – and your weakness – to achieve His purposes in your life.

Life's true worth is not measured on this planet. The race we run does not have its finish line on this side of Heaven. When we leave this world and enter the next, then the race will reach its finish, and we will then have eternity to celebrate it.

Life's guidebook is the Bible. The Bible is absolute truth; authored by God and simply inked by men.

The Sin Paradox

Sin is a paradox.

I know I am a sinner, and that sin is inevitable, yet I hate it when it happens.

It is unavoidable, yet intolerable.

It separates me from God, yet learning from them makes me stronger and brings us closer.

I know something is a sin, yet I do it anyway. I know something is good, yet I fail to do it.

I look down at others who do things I know to be sin, and yet I also do things I know to be sin. I find fault in the mistakes of others, yet make excuses for why my faults aren't as bad.

I sin because of my human nature, yet it is my weakness that makes me human.

Sin is what I hate, yet my desire for it is strong.

I try to hide my sins from the one who sees everything, yet I fully reveal my faults to the blind world.

I seek to be perfect, yet I know it is unobtainable. I have no desire to die, yet I know that perfection will only be reached after my last breath.

I sin in full knowledge of its wickedness because I long for its pleasure, yet even my sinful nature cannot enjoy it because of the guilt I feel.

I regret today what I did yesterday, yet my flesh already has its sights on the sins of tomorrow.

I wish I could change the sins of my past, yet those sins are part of who God created me to be today.

God forgave my sins before they were committed, and saw into my eternity before I was born. He loved me, though he knew I would betray him; he wrote my name in the book of life, though he already knew I would deserve death. He is eternal, yet died for the mortal; he is perfect, yet was slain for the wicked.

I love him with all my heart, though my heart is impure and stained. I learn from him, though I cannot comprehend him. I need him, though I cannot touch him. I follow him, though I cannot see him. I live for him, though he already died for me.

The Path You Follow

You need to stop basing everything you do on what the world thinks.

The world is like a flower; here today and gone tomorrow. If we live our life to gain such temporary approval, what have we really gained? We should not base our decisions on such things. God calls us to holy lives. We must live with an eternal perspective with our eyes fixed on Christ. The world cannot offer what God can offer. Living for this life is living without purpose and is not really living; only through God can a life be real and fulfilled.

Being human, I know this is harder said than done, for we have limited minds, weak morals, and mortal bodies. It is hard for us to live for eternity, for we cannot comprehend eternity. We can see the pleasures of this life that are right in front of us, and they are easily attainable. Only through God’s intervention and with His strength can we truly begin to live as we are meant to live. We will still certainly stumble and sin, but that isn’t really the point anymore. We are saved by grace and live by faith, and when that happens, we no longer want to think like the world thinks and act like the world acts. We no longer seek the world’s pleasures. We seek the will of God in our lives, and we desire His guidance. It isn’t about being a “Christian” and living by a set of rules. It’s about being a follower of Christ and living by grace.

The world won’t lead you to Heaven, and it won’t bring you closer to God. The world is out there to destroy you. Do not be taken in by the acceptance of a shallow world. Instead, fall into the arms of God and be cleansed by the depths of His love. Christ died for each of us, and we must now live for Him. The world will not forgive us and redeem us; it will only seduce and diminish us.

The path you follow in this life is the path you follow in the next life.

God is calling.

Don't Feed the Hypocrite

I could start off this blog by explaining how awesome I am, and you certainly may believe me, because you don't know me. I could caress and grow me ego and make myself believe I'm the greatest, purest, most perfect Christian on the face of the planet. How would you know any different? I’m just some faceless online entity that has thus far barely been noticed in cyberspace, and may never be anything more than a blip. I’m just words on a screen to you. I could tell you about all the things I’ve done right. Were I to do such a thing, it would possibly go something like this.

Look at me and my perfect example. I am the son of a Baptist minister, and I don’t remember ever not having God in my life. I was baptized when I was seven. I have stayed morally pure, as I saved myself sexually for my wedding night when I was 24, and I’ve never been unfaithful to my wife. I’ve never had a drop of alcohol, smoked a cigarette, done drugs, or been to a strip club, and I can count the number of profanities I’ve let slip in my entire life on one hand. I’m kind to everyone and very helpful. I have always been a regular church attender. I am a member of a Bible study, and we sponsor two children in Africa.

Obviously, I’m your role model.

Or not.

Now, while that second paragraph is all accurate about my life (but scratch that part about being a perfect example), it’s a sugar coated covering that hits some of the highlights but misses the downsides. I’ve made more mistakes than I have bandwidth to blog about and I have faults that I deal with on a daily basis. Thus comes the title of this new writing endeavor: Don’t Feed the Hypocrite. For if all I was to do is offer myself as a subject of praise, collecting positive remarks from random Internet surfers, I would simply be allowing myself to think I’m better than I am. We all have strengths and positives, and mine are no better than anyone else’s, but we must not forget our weaknesses and negatives, for they are there, and more glaring that we’d like to admit, or more glaring than we even know. For I am not writing this blog to be complimented or appreciated, I am writing it with the hopes that it will make a difference somewhere.

For just a moment, forget that you read that second paragraph. Clean your slate concerning what you know about me. Let’s start new with this:

When I was sixteen, I was into internet pornography. I was knowledgeable enough to know how to hide my tracks from my parents. It started off as simple nudity, but became more hardcore. I also found the After Dark program on Cinemax and watched its soft-core porn late at night when my parents were asleep. (These were the same parents that had paid the cable company to remove MTV from our lineup, because that was inappropriate.) The channel was not part of our regular programming, but came in fuzzy, but I still watched it. I regularly viewed the Internet and Cinemax images of naked women for at least a year, the whole while knowing it was wrong, but lacking self control. If the issue of pornography was to arise in any discussions during that time, I’m sure I walked the “Good Christian boys don’t look at porn” line, all the while knowing that I was hiding a dirty little habit at home – one that, if not reined in and controlled, could turn into a lifelong addiction. I didn’t want people to know what I was doing, because that would make me look like I wasn’t in complete control, and didn’t want to appear weak or flawed. I was a hypocrite.

Even today, I still have mental images from that time, reminding me of my mistakes. I still feel shame that I allowed myself to so fall into the sin of lust, because I knew better. I knew that lust was wrong, and that women were not simply objects of sexual attraction. The shame I have felt from this also means that this is the first time I have publically talked about this sin since a Teens Encounter Christ weekend when I was seventeen. Many of my close friends and family will be learning about this issue from this blog. I didn’t even tell my wife about this until after we’d been married almost a year.

While my pornography issues are a thing of the past, I still deal with lust. I do have to say, when God made the female form, he did an excellent job, but I struggle with allowing my eyes to linger too long where they should not be roaming. The covenant I have made (and broken, and remade, and broken, and remade) with my eyes is weaker than it should be. My eyes should be only for my wife, and she should be the only target for my attraction.

While the last few paragraphs touch on one of the flaws of my life, my list of faults extends much farther than that, but there are future entries for that.

So, if you see me (or anyone else, for that matter) gloating about their own righteousness, don’t feed the hypocrite, for each of us is the same. Don’t reduce it to massaging the person’s ego and making them feel as though they’re God’s gift to the universe, because in reality, we’re all in the same boat. I’m not better than you, and you’re not better than me. We’re all sinners, and we’re all doomed for the same Hell, unless we all accept the same blood of the same Jesus, and instead live for eternity in the same Heaven with the same God.