Now & Later
Good Morning,
There is a candy called Now and Later — a candy kids can enjoy now but lasts a long time and can be enjoyed until later. To have that philosophy in life would be great, but the fact is, most of our decisions are based on now OR later.
Jeremiah 5:31 “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?”
God is bothered by the choices people make that seem good at the time but are very bad in the end. We all know that choosing now over later is destructive, yet we all often continue to make the choice for instant gratification.
One big difference between conservatives and liberals is the end we work toward. The goal of liberalism is to make people choose what makes them happy now and disregard what happens later. The conservative person in the political spectrum will forfeit the enjoyment of now in order to achieve good later.
We all understand this principle from fairy tales and super heroes. We sacrifice the immediate safety and comfort now (sometimes putting our bodies or our friends in danger) in order to reach the goal of a wonderful later. Our military epitomizes this principle; they are willing to leave home, family, and comfort, and risk their lives now to acquire a better later (though it may not be better for them) for those for whom they have sacrificed. The average girl, who carries a child out of wedlock and does not want that child, conceived that child in a situation in which her now was more important than her later. She chose to follow passion, lust, and feeling instead of living for the long-term end result. Abortion always follows a “now” situation; the mother feels it is better to murder the child now than to forfeit her comfort in order to do right in the eyes of God and humanity and allow that child to have a life later.
Modern Christianity is also that way. The conservative Christian who stands for a literal Bible and the old-fashioned values is one who will forfeit some popularity now in order to allow the next generation to enjoy seeing souls saved and baptized, young people called to preach and go to the mission field, and preachers provide for their needs. The contemporary circle wants a church that is comfortable now, feels good now, is enjoyable now, but requires no sacrifice now, and they forget about the later. The contemporary church is not sending young people out into the ministry. The contemporary church is not providing missionaries for the foreign field to take the place of those coming home due to health or age. The contemporary church members want music that makes them feel good now; they want to have a lifestyle of no separation or convictions so they can fit comfortably in the world, rather than live a separated life by forfeiting comforts of now to gain a more godly later.
When a preacher starts a church with grit, conviction, self-sacrifice, and self-denial, his life of “later” motivation is touched by God and is blessed. He reaps long-term results. As his church faces trials and difficulties (which all churches do), their "later" thinking sustains them. Sometimes, the preacher will blame his difficulties on his conservative values and philosophies and side-step the “later” motivation and replace it with a “now” motivation. He thinks that it will be easier to build a church without opposing worldly music, mixed swimming, indiscreet clothing, drinking alcohol, going to the movies, and the basic worldly environment. He may give in to this pressure while thinking that accepting all these things will make it easier “now.” The former self-sacrificing preacher made all these choices to move into "NOW" mentality not realizing that in so doing, he loses the very values that moved him into the pulpit: the Spirit that called him to preach, the desire that moved him to go to Bible college, and to work night and day. The eagerness that moved him to go soul winning, to exhibit personal holiness, and to have a family that brings honor and glory to God were all decisions that were based on “later.” To change the course of his decision making to a “now” motivation is to forfeit everything that put him into the ministry.
Solomon reminds us that the end must be remembered.
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Proverbs 20:21 “An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.”
Ecclesiastes 7:8 “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”
As we read at the beginning of this article, when "LATER" motivation changes to "NOW" reasoning, the result will baffle us and leave us with no recourse.
Jeremiah 5:31 “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?”
Pastor