In Ecclesiastes 11:9, Solomon writes, “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.”
Solomon starts out by saying, “Enjoy the youthful days! Let them be days of fun!” He has made this clear throughout the book of Ecclesiastes. It is OK to enjoy life as a Christian.
BUT, in the next part of the verse, he warns us, “know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.”
Everything we do, whether in secret or public, is seen by God. And while God wants us to enjoy our life, he does not want us to waste it.
Now he is talking to younger folks here. But really, this applies to everyone. Because if you will live to make it another day, then you are younger today than you will be tomorrow. So whether you are young or old, listen up… What you do in your life (right now) matters. The decisions you make now will impact the direction of your life later.
God definitely forgives. Through Jesus, he even forgets. But at the same time, do not take advantage of his mercy!
It is so tempting for you to think, “I have a long life to live, so I will get serious about my faith LATER.”
Here’s the problem: If you are not serious about your faith now, then short of God intervening in your life, you will not be “all of a sudden” serious about it later.
So what you do RIGHT NOW matters and it will impact what happens in your life later.
I read an article about some pelicans off the coast of California. A fishing company began cleaning their catch at a nearby dock. They would conveniently discard all of the scraps in the water and the pelicans were thrilled!
They stopped catching fish on their own and instead began eating the scraps that the fishing company left. Life was good!
After a while, the fishing company discovered that they could sell the fish scraps. So they stopped throwing the scraps in the water.
However, even though the scraps stopped, the pelicans kept showing up. Day after day, they kept waiting for their meal that never came!
The poor birds became emaciated, which caused the public to grow concerned. Experts were called in and it was determined that there was an ENDLESS amount of food in the ocean (where they lived). However, the pelicans, since they had grown accustomed to the free food, had forgotten how to fish!
A pelican… who could not fish! Through their actions, they had essentially trained themselves, to become someone that they were not.
Listen, the same can happen to you. Whether you are 12, 25, 39, 57, or 76, how you live now, will impact what happens later. So “Have fun, enjoy life,” as Solomon says, but remember that your actions still matter.