Day 2784 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Proverbs 21:16 NIV

It's all just fun and games, right? Our lives are nothing but our chance to see just how much fun and enjoyment we can have. We have a set amount of time in which to try and cram as much selfish indulgence and pleasure and excitement as possible. All our lives we have been bombarded with these messages telling us to chase after our wildest dreams and to never ever, ever let anyone try to tell us that we shouldn't do so. This is our time to live life to the fullest according to the countless offerings presented by a world that just knows how to have a good time.

But is having a good time really the pinnacle of life's possibilities? Is the biggest purpose we can find in this place simply the fulfillment of our every desire? Is living our lives to the fullest nothing more than bouncing from temporary high to temporary high with a ton of mundane misery in between? What if 'living our best life' isn't about our time on this earth? What if ‘live your best life’ is nothing more than a slogan to encourage the sinful to pay even less attention to the cost associated with our choices?

You know, this whole 'follow your heart' thing is incredibly dangerous. It encourages this belief that we know what's best for us. It fosters this lie that has most of humanity believing that we actually have the authority to dictate what's right for us according to what we've decided is important. But often times, we base what we find important solely on what seems to be enjoyable. We base our ideal life on the illusions that much of society sells. We think a life of meaning is found in material possessions and bank accounts and social media followers and painting this perfect life that is only covering a plethora of problems behind the scenes.

We've chosen to lower ourselves to the standards of the world because we're chasing after the pleasures of the world. So many people have bought this idea of following their hearts because, let's face it, as humans we simply want nothing more than to experience the enjoyment of everything everyone else is enjoying because we think that life is all about lavishing in everything that's fun and avoiding everything that's hard.

But what is it that we find hard? What is it about reality that is so scary? What is so stinking miserable about being responsible and forgoing some of the empty promises that the world offers us? What is so bad about living our lives like we know there is more than this place and our time in it?

I think our problem is that everything here is based on time. Time is running out. The hours are ticking away. You've gotta hurry up and grab life by the horns and get to checking off those boxes because the days are flying right on by and we may not have enough time left to experience everything we want to experience. It's like the world has decided that life is some kind of race and if you're not in the front of the pack then you're a worthless loser who has no meaning or purpose or worth or value or reason to even be here.

And in this constant rush through life, things like prudence and discernment and patient and self-control and responsibility and foresight just get lost in the flood. When we buy this idea that we have to follow our hearts, we realize pretty quick that everyone else is doing the same thing, and that they're racing toward everything that we want for ourselves. So we start cutting corners. We start being a little less cautious. We start closing our eyes to the warning signs and running a little bit faster because, again, time is running out!

We stop worrying about the consequences because we've got to get ours while the getting is good and we can't let anyone else steal what we're trying to obtain because then we'll just be failures who aren't able to enjoy life to the fullest because someone else got to live our dreams and we just have to sit and watch them have the life we always wanted.

The problem with rushing is that we make concessions that allow for that increased speed. You can't think about every single step when you're trying to hurry. Speed limits have less meaning when you've got somewhere to be. And when our selfish dreams are our goal, and we buy this fear that tells us that someone else is going to beat us to them, then we throw all caution to the wind so that nothing slows us down from beating the world to the punch and taking what's ours.

You know, I would imagine that there is a rather large portion of society that doesn't even know what the word 'prudent' even means. We don't think about the future. We don't care about the present. We don't live as if our every choice actually matters because taking the time to ensure we're being wise and making the right choices just takes too much time. We've got goals to reach. We have races to run. We've got a life to live, only one chance to live it, and the sand is falling through that hourglass!

Running through life only focusing on what we want for the moment makes looking ahead all but impossible. Who cares about an eternity that may be nothing but a theory when real life is unfolding and there are things to enjoy? Why should we stop to worry about the choices we're making when there don't seem to be any consequences? Why choose to limit ourselves to living a life hindered by things like self-control and responsibility and righteousness when much of the world seems to be doing just fine without any of the above?

Because when we stop paying attention to where we're going, we just might end up being somewhere we really don't want to be. Because if we don't watch where we're walking, we might wander off the path and end up lost. Because if we don't take responsibility for the choices we make, we're being led by something or someone else who may not have our best interests in mind.

Friends, I know that carefree and careless seem quite similar, but they're actually incredibly different. What the world sees as carefree is careless. They don't care, but only because they don't want to care. They don't want to consider the cost of the choices they're making. They don't want to slow down and accept responsibility for their actions. They don't want to have to care about the consequences because that's just not fun. Carefree sounds like freedom because what could be easier and more enjoyable than a life without having to care about anything?

Well, that's the danger. We don't have to care. We don't have to consider our choices. We don't have to slow down and take some time to consider what it is that our hearts desire and why they want it so badly. We don't have to accept responsibility in our lives. But that doesn't mean that it just goes away. Just because we don't see the consequences doesn't mean that they're not there. Maybe we're just running so carefree through life that we don't see the hazard signs along the side of the road.

Without prudence, we're going to make mistakes. Without carefully considering our steps, we're going to wander. Without looking ahead to what's coming down the road, we're just blindly cruising along thinking that it's all just carefree and easy. Maybe our lives shouldn't be easy. Maybe our choices shouldn't be easy. Maybe our time isn't just limited to this world. Maybe, just maybe, this world has gotten this all wrong and they're running full-speed down a dead-end road with no willingness to hit the brakes.

That is in fact the warning we've been given in Scripture. A life lived without control, without restraint, without care will keep us from seeing the dangers that lurk behind the lies. Sure, we'll not be lonely. We'll be surrounded by countless others who are also 'following their hearts' and enjoying every moment of a carefree life chasing everything this world has to offer. But running with the herd leads us the same place they end up. And a life of careless choices and avoided responsibility leads to death.

No matter what the rest of the world may think, we can't outrun God. We can't outrun truth. We can't outrun responsibility. We can't outrun consequences. We can't outrun death. But we can find a path that leads to something better. It's a path that's narrow. It's a path that goes a different direction. It's a path that requires what much of the world considers hard and painful and limiting and unenjoyable. But it's the only path that leads to life.

And we have to slow down, pay attention to what we're doing, and be willing to let go of anything and everything that our hearts desire. Because we've got a line of footprints that have been left for us to follow. And should we keep running like we know how to get where we want to be, we'll likely veer off His course and end up missing His promise in the end.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold