As I mentioned in my previous post, death is inevitable, but how we decide to spend the present moment, is a choice.
On Ash Wednesday, the Priest always says : “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
How often do we forget the fact that one day we will be gone, and that all that we strive for on this earthly journey, will no longer matter to us?
A few Sundays ago, this was the Gospel read out in Church :
Luke 12 : 13-21 :
Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
Then He said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
And He told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves, but is not rich toward God.”
Be careful what you wish for :
In his sermon, the Priest narrated the following fable, which made the whole congregation burst out laughing :
‘A man was walking home after work, and came across an old bottle on the side of the road. He picked it up, and out came a genie, who granted him three wishes.
The man first wished for a fancy sports car.
*poof*
There, next to him, was a brand new, shining sports car.
Next, the man asked for a huge mansion with tons of gold.
*poof*
There he was, sitting on top of a stack of gold coins, in a mansion which was as grand as a palace.
For his last wish, he told the genie, “Make me irresistible to women.”
*poof*
The man was turned into a BOX OF CHOCOLATES.’
Moral of the story :
As Daughtry sings in his song 'Home',
Help others, out of gratitude, not out of obligation or greed :
Jesus always said,
“Store riches in Heaven, not on Earth.”
However, let us not misunderstand the Scripture, and not confine ourselves to doing good only for a place in Heaven, or only as a religious obligation.
Instead, let us do good as a sign of gratitude to God, for every tiny blessing we receive each day.
Thank you for reading! Stay blessed!
©TheKindTempest
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash.