The Important Things in Life

When we are healthy, we seldom think about what it feels like to be sick. But when we are really and truly sick, all we can think about is being healthy again. This is the irony of human life: we want something that has not exist and we do not like something that already exists in our life, even though that "something" is what we really wanted in the past days.

No matter how much wealth we manage to accumulate in this world, it is virtually useless without good health. This is tied closely to the knowledge of our own mortality. Deep down, we all know that we only have a handful of decades on Earth and then it's over. The Bible says that "As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.When the wind has passed over it, it is no more; And its place acknowledges it no longer." (Psalm 103:15-16; The New American Standard Bible (NASB))

In light of that, what becomes important then? That is indeed an interesting question. What is important cannot be money, because we can't take it with us when we die. What is important can't be our possessions because, once again, they are not going with us. Having money and possessions is very temporary. Those things cease to matter to us when we die. The Bible says that "For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26 / NASB)

Some turn to their relationships when they realize this. They feel that family and friends must be the most important thing then. Yet, we will lose contact with family and friends when we pass away too. So what then?


Well, let us go back to Psalm 103, when the Psalmer said that "But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children, To those who keep His covenant, And who remember His precepts to do them." (vv. 18-19; NASB).

In light of that, we can conclude that what is important in our life is the love of God, not some material things that we sometimes call "our god, goal, dream, etc," for the love of God is the solid-strong foundation where we can put the future of our life on it. We can do that because Jesus himself said that "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20b; New Revised Standard Version Bible / NRS). Therefore, when we contemplate our lives and set our goals, maybe it would be a good idea if we thought about God first, and ask Him to accompany us to our last breath in the world.

Life is not temporary, but life on Earth is temporary. How are we going to face God who are watching what we do, when it is all over? Hopefully, we will have done things that we can be joyous about.