Last Friday we talked about regrets and joy. I asked the cell what is their greatest regret and greatest joy should they die tonight? Most of them lamented the missed opportunity of evangelizing to their loved ones as their greatest regret. For their greatest joy, they answered that it was their family, especially their children.
This question is meant to be wake-up call to all of us. It is a pleasure to count our blessings. Our joy is worth every second remembering or recounting. They are the things we are proud of. Some may even called it “relishing in their glorious past.” But our regrets are the opposite. They are our un-glorious past. And here is the absolute truth about regrets: People are more likely to regret actions NOT taken than actions taken, regardless of outcome. Please read and digest the last statement.
So, if you are afraid of dying while leaving behind unsaved loved ones, do something about it. Simple things; simple action. Start now; start small. Don’t wait for an international evangelist to come before you spread the good news. Don’t wait for an indoor stadium Praise and Worship concert before you show Christ-likeness to your unsaved loved ones. Don’t wait for Christmas to tell them how much Jesus loves them. Because, for some of our loved ones, Christmas may be a day too late for them. Remember you plant the seeds, God waters it. No regret is as painful as the day we stand before God to account for our works and realize that we are still holding on to seeds that Christ had given us. And these seeds have our parents’, siblings’ and friends’ names on them. Unplanted seeds yield unsaved souls.
On a personal note, if you have always wanted to take up a course, then do it. If you aspire to change your job, take a sabbatical or bring your wife for a second honeymoon, do it. The greatest deception of humanity is to rest on the assumption that we still have time to do all that. Remember, time is only our ally if we use it wisely. If we squander it away, time is irredeemable. One day past is one day lost – lost forever. We can pay back a loan later, make amends of our wrong or change our course midstream, but we cannot re-live yesterday. How we spent yesterday will determine how we live today – with regrets or with joy? Will Rogers once quipped, “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”
Our most common sin is empty minutes. How do we spread our time? What do we fill it up with? There is a saying that time is money. But in truth, time is more than money. Time is hope. Time is our greatest resource. Time is life. If we waste time, it is more than money that we are throwing away. To a dying billionaire, time is priceless. To a convicted man, time is redemption. To a Christian, time is opportunity to share the good news.
I realize that there is one thing that does not have an opportunity cost: evangelism. Others may beg to differ. But my reply would be; what’s the point of gaining the whole world, but losing our soul – or the souls of our loved ones.
If I may define opportunity cost, it is the cost of foregoing an activity. For example, if I choose to go work on a public holiday to earn that extra overtime pay instead of spending time with my family, then the opportunity cost would be the lost of value of spending quality time with my family. If I had been spending time with my family often, the opportunity cost would be low and I can, with a peace of mind, choose to go to work to earn that extra overtime pay. If I had been neglecting my family or if I were a workaholic, then the opportunity cost would be high. I have seen many business men working their way to a broken marriage, rebellious children and an empty life. Nothing disappoints more than material success.
So, sharing the gospel is the divine mandate for every Christian. We honor the past, treasure our present and value our future by evangelizing to our loved ones.
Having said this, it is also important for us to enjoy ourselves sometimes. We should give ourselves a break. Life should be made up of frequent Kit-Kat moments. I believe that the most silent and indirect killer of a life is stress. On this, we can learn a lot from zebras. Zebras spent most of their waking moment eating grass. They only get all hyped up or stressed out when their enemy, the lion, chase after them. The chase, if unsuccessful, only takes about 15 to 20 minutes in a day. Thereafter, the lion gives up and retreats. The stressed out zebra then gallops to a safe spot, cools down completely and returns to eating grass. The zebra’s stress level then plummets to normal. It is as if the lion incident never happened.
We humans are different. We are chronic stressed out machines. Unlike zebras, we find it extremely difficult to switch stress off and return it to normal, non-life threatening level. We stress ourselves out by worrying. We live our life as if it was one big lion-and-zebra safari chase. Even in our sleep, some of us wake up in cold sweat. Some of us have our imaginary lion chasing us around in the small confined space of our mind. Stress controls our life and at most times, defines it. And the result of chronic stress is coronary heart and organs failure. It also results in stroke and depression.
Unless we have serious issues to deal with, I think we should give ourselves permission to enjoy life. Be a “deviant” for once. Do something “unproductive” like rewarding yourself with a shopping trip. Go get sand and seawater in between your toes. Go splurge a little. Go on an unplanned vacation. Go on a lark. And most importantly, don’t take your “self” too seriously!
Philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, “The time we enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
Any view is welcome.
This question is meant to be wake-up call to all of us. It is a pleasure to count our blessings. Our joy is worth every second remembering or recounting. They are the things we are proud of. Some may even called it “relishing in their glorious past.” But our regrets are the opposite. They are our un-glorious past. And here is the absolute truth about regrets: People are more likely to regret actions NOT taken than actions taken, regardless of outcome. Please read and digest the last statement.
So, if you are afraid of dying while leaving behind unsaved loved ones, do something about it. Simple things; simple action. Start now; start small. Don’t wait for an international evangelist to come before you spread the good news. Don’t wait for an indoor stadium Praise and Worship concert before you show Christ-likeness to your unsaved loved ones. Don’t wait for Christmas to tell them how much Jesus loves them. Because, for some of our loved ones, Christmas may be a day too late for them. Remember you plant the seeds, God waters it. No regret is as painful as the day we stand before God to account for our works and realize that we are still holding on to seeds that Christ had given us. And these seeds have our parents’, siblings’ and friends’ names on them. Unplanted seeds yield unsaved souls.
On a personal note, if you have always wanted to take up a course, then do it. If you aspire to change your job, take a sabbatical or bring your wife for a second honeymoon, do it. The greatest deception of humanity is to rest on the assumption that we still have time to do all that. Remember, time is only our ally if we use it wisely. If we squander it away, time is irredeemable. One day past is one day lost – lost forever. We can pay back a loan later, make amends of our wrong or change our course midstream, but we cannot re-live yesterday. How we spent yesterday will determine how we live today – with regrets or with joy? Will Rogers once quipped, “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”
Our most common sin is empty minutes. How do we spread our time? What do we fill it up with? There is a saying that time is money. But in truth, time is more than money. Time is hope. Time is our greatest resource. Time is life. If we waste time, it is more than money that we are throwing away. To a dying billionaire, time is priceless. To a convicted man, time is redemption. To a Christian, time is opportunity to share the good news.
I realize that there is one thing that does not have an opportunity cost: evangelism. Others may beg to differ. But my reply would be; what’s the point of gaining the whole world, but losing our soul – or the souls of our loved ones.
If I may define opportunity cost, it is the cost of foregoing an activity. For example, if I choose to go work on a public holiday to earn that extra overtime pay instead of spending time with my family, then the opportunity cost would be the lost of value of spending quality time with my family. If I had been spending time with my family often, the opportunity cost would be low and I can, with a peace of mind, choose to go to work to earn that extra overtime pay. If I had been neglecting my family or if I were a workaholic, then the opportunity cost would be high. I have seen many business men working their way to a broken marriage, rebellious children and an empty life. Nothing disappoints more than material success.
So, sharing the gospel is the divine mandate for every Christian. We honor the past, treasure our present and value our future by evangelizing to our loved ones.
Having said this, it is also important for us to enjoy ourselves sometimes. We should give ourselves a break. Life should be made up of frequent Kit-Kat moments. I believe that the most silent and indirect killer of a life is stress. On this, we can learn a lot from zebras. Zebras spent most of their waking moment eating grass. They only get all hyped up or stressed out when their enemy, the lion, chase after them. The chase, if unsuccessful, only takes about 15 to 20 minutes in a day. Thereafter, the lion gives up and retreats. The stressed out zebra then gallops to a safe spot, cools down completely and returns to eating grass. The zebra’s stress level then plummets to normal. It is as if the lion incident never happened.
We humans are different. We are chronic stressed out machines. Unlike zebras, we find it extremely difficult to switch stress off and return it to normal, non-life threatening level. We stress ourselves out by worrying. We live our life as if it was one big lion-and-zebra safari chase. Even in our sleep, some of us wake up in cold sweat. Some of us have our imaginary lion chasing us around in the small confined space of our mind. Stress controls our life and at most times, defines it. And the result of chronic stress is coronary heart and organs failure. It also results in stroke and depression.
Unless we have serious issues to deal with, I think we should give ourselves permission to enjoy life. Be a “deviant” for once. Do something “unproductive” like rewarding yourself with a shopping trip. Go get sand and seawater in between your toes. Go splurge a little. Go on an unplanned vacation. Go on a lark. And most importantly, don’t take your “self” too seriously!
Philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, “The time we enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
Any view is welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment