“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10, ESV)
When Carlita was in her sixties, she changed. Her family noticed the change over time, but not at first. With her husband now deceased, her children with their own homes, Carlita began to make changes in her life. She started with her home. She paid thousands of dollars for a kitchen renovation. She updated her wardrobe, spending more than her usual. She bought a new car. Many thought she looked wonderful, better than ever.
What Carlita’s family did not realize until too late was that she began to have memory issues. Her bills stacked up as she forgot to pay them. The updates to her home and life were short lived. Dementia was beginning to take over her life. The changes to her thinking and personality came about so slowly that few noticed until the diagnosis was almost complete. Her lapses in judgment and in responsibility and in memory were overlooked as “old age”. It was when this thrifty woman was found to be wallowing in debt and receiving notices of foreclosure that the family began to take a serious look. By then, a lot of damage had been done.
When the family asked Carlita why she had squandered away all her wealth and future, her response was simply, “You can’t take it with you. It was my money. I can use it the way I want. I can do what I want. You can’t tell me what to do. I won’t have to pay it off anyway, because I’ll be dead long before the bills come due. I deserve this!” Her attitude shocked the family into reality. Finally, they realized that something was terribly wrong. Their gracious and giving mother had turned into a person who had no thoughts about tomorrow. She spent money thinking someone else would have to pay the bills after she died. Her disease made her self-absorbed and self-destructive in a most terrible way. In the end, the family had to take everything from her and put her in a nursing home. She could no longer be responsible for herself. If left to her own devices, she would have wrecked everything the family held dear.
While it was obvious to Carlita’s family that she was not thinking right due to dementia, there are many people who go about their day thinking some of the same destructive things as Carlita. There are many people who will do what they want and make others pay for it. Many people are self-destructive. Loads of people think nothing about the consequences of their actions or make plans for the future. Do you tend to put aside planning for the future? At times, do you shirk your responsibilities? Is there an area of your life where you do not want to think about the consequences? It was not healthy when Carlita lived her life this way. She was diseased. Why would it be spiritually or morally healthy for you to think the same way or operate in the same manner?
Years ago, the state of Illinois began to set a bad precedent. They couldn’t pay good, competitive wages, so they offered workers a different incentive to lure them to work for the government. They gave exorbitant pension promises. They promised large pensions to those workers who stayed employed for a long time, who gave up larger wages for a better return later. The problem was that the state did not set aside enough money for these pensions. They left it up to taxpayers in later years to make up the difference. Some states with the same types of plans even borrowed from the pensions in order to pay other bills! Now, the costs for the state pension in Illinois in 2018 have bloomed to $111 billion dollars, equal to twenty-five percent of the state's entire budget! Some politicians wanted to break their promise to the pensioners and take away part of their pensions. Others thought that the only way to make ends meet was to negotiate lower pension payments, breaking the promises made to employees. Pensioners wore shirts that said, “Pensions are promises”. People all around were and are hurt. Should the entire state pay for promises made wrongly by politicians and legislators from long ago? Obviously, they already are.
In the scripture for today, we are told that everyone “must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” There will come a judgment day for you and everyone else. On that day, you and I and everyone will “receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10). There will be no one to blame for your choices, nobody to pay your due. Be careful how you live and what choices you make. All of your decisions have consequences, some for good and some for evil. I don’t want you or anyone you love to fear Judgment Day. Can you imagine the eternity some will live for the evil they have done? Can you also imagine the excitement to live with God in Christ for all eternity as your reward? Don’t make the mistake that there will be no Judgment Day, when all will have to face up to their decisions. IT IS COMING! I just hope you are ready for it.
Recently, I talked to a person whose relative had committed suicide. The person who died made some bad decisions in his life and regretted them terribly. He left a note to be found with his body that said he was sorry but couldn’t live with the guilt and shame. As I heard this, I thought to myself, “But he will have to live with the guilt and shame! For all eternity!” Don’t be so foolish as to think that when you die, everything goes away. It does not. It follows you into the next life, eternal life. Hebrews 9:27 promises “it is appointed for a man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” For some, Judgment Day will be terrible. For you and me, grace and forgiveness and love are still possible. Jesus gives us that hope. He can make things right for you, beginning today and for all eternity. Why not have a long conversation about the future with the Holy One who knows you intimately? It's not too late.
What Carlita’s family did not realize until too late was that she began to have memory issues. Her bills stacked up as she forgot to pay them. The updates to her home and life were short lived. Dementia was beginning to take over her life. The changes to her thinking and personality came about so slowly that few noticed until the diagnosis was almost complete. Her lapses in judgment and in responsibility and in memory were overlooked as “old age”. It was when this thrifty woman was found to be wallowing in debt and receiving notices of foreclosure that the family began to take a serious look. By then, a lot of damage had been done.
When the family asked Carlita why she had squandered away all her wealth and future, her response was simply, “You can’t take it with you. It was my money. I can use it the way I want. I can do what I want. You can’t tell me what to do. I won’t have to pay it off anyway, because I’ll be dead long before the bills come due. I deserve this!” Her attitude shocked the family into reality. Finally, they realized that something was terribly wrong. Their gracious and giving mother had turned into a person who had no thoughts about tomorrow. She spent money thinking someone else would have to pay the bills after she died. Her disease made her self-absorbed and self-destructive in a most terrible way. In the end, the family had to take everything from her and put her in a nursing home. She could no longer be responsible for herself. If left to her own devices, she would have wrecked everything the family held dear.
While it was obvious to Carlita’s family that she was not thinking right due to dementia, there are many people who go about their day thinking some of the same destructive things as Carlita. There are many people who will do what they want and make others pay for it. Many people are self-destructive. Loads of people think nothing about the consequences of their actions or make plans for the future. Do you tend to put aside planning for the future? At times, do you shirk your responsibilities? Is there an area of your life where you do not want to think about the consequences? It was not healthy when Carlita lived her life this way. She was diseased. Why would it be spiritually or morally healthy for you to think the same way or operate in the same manner?
Years ago, the state of Illinois began to set a bad precedent. They couldn’t pay good, competitive wages, so they offered workers a different incentive to lure them to work for the government. They gave exorbitant pension promises. They promised large pensions to those workers who stayed employed for a long time, who gave up larger wages for a better return later. The problem was that the state did not set aside enough money for these pensions. They left it up to taxpayers in later years to make up the difference. Some states with the same types of plans even borrowed from the pensions in order to pay other bills! Now, the costs for the state pension in Illinois in 2018 have bloomed to $111 billion dollars, equal to twenty-five percent of the state's entire budget! Some politicians wanted to break their promise to the pensioners and take away part of their pensions. Others thought that the only way to make ends meet was to negotiate lower pension payments, breaking the promises made to employees. Pensioners wore shirts that said, “Pensions are promises”. People all around were and are hurt. Should the entire state pay for promises made wrongly by politicians and legislators from long ago? Obviously, they already are.
In the scripture for today, we are told that everyone “must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” There will come a judgment day for you and everyone else. On that day, you and I and everyone will “receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10). There will be no one to blame for your choices, nobody to pay your due. Be careful how you live and what choices you make. All of your decisions have consequences, some for good and some for evil. I don’t want you or anyone you love to fear Judgment Day. Can you imagine the eternity some will live for the evil they have done? Can you also imagine the excitement to live with God in Christ for all eternity as your reward? Don’t make the mistake that there will be no Judgment Day, when all will have to face up to their decisions. IT IS COMING! I just hope you are ready for it.
Recently, I talked to a person whose relative had committed suicide. The person who died made some bad decisions in his life and regretted them terribly. He left a note to be found with his body that said he was sorry but couldn’t live with the guilt and shame. As I heard this, I thought to myself, “But he will have to live with the guilt and shame! For all eternity!” Don’t be so foolish as to think that when you die, everything goes away. It does not. It follows you into the next life, eternal life. Hebrews 9:27 promises “it is appointed for a man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” For some, Judgment Day will be terrible. For you and me, grace and forgiveness and love are still possible. Jesus gives us that hope. He can make things right for you, beginning today and for all eternity. Why not have a long conversation about the future with the Holy One who knows you intimately? It's not too late.