I don’t want to have to, I should be able to. The world my friends has an answer for both of those statements, and none of them will fulfill you. When you say “I want,” not always, but most generally the world can fulfill that request, if not in the exact way you may think, but at least close enough to be good enough, for the moment at least, and it really doesn’t matter what it is.
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16) are all available in one form or another to any and all that seek them. We are told if we work hard enough, save our money, or go deeply into debt, nearly all our desires can be attained, all of our wants can be realized. The needs at this point become secondary and are in fact expected, the next want is the goal, and all that is required of us is our time traded for monetary compensation. Time though is the one thing that we cannot purchase, though we may try diligently, death is the enemy, and many spend vast fortunes trying to keep him at bay. It is the one want that they can never have, no matter how much effort they put into it.
That is probably the saddest part that enters into my mind when I think of these people, these individuals who strive constantly to achieve their next moment of happiness having to come to the final realization that they truly have never owned anything, all that they have worked to attain will now belong to another. This is why pride, the pride of life is sought after so diligently by many of these same individuals, it will last, at least in their minds, right up to their last breath. Their accomplishments, the achievements they have gained, as long as they retain their mental faculties will remain in their consciousness till the last moment. Those who are willing to pour accolades upon them for their great but only worldly deeds, are not even necessary for many in these final stages of life, pride does not always need others to remain fed.
Strangely enough, when these worldly deeds have been accomplished for the betterment and advancement of their fellowman, these people feel a sense of peace when this moment arrives, they have been good, mostly, but more importantly they have done good. Because of their effort’s mankind, even if it is only in a very few individuals, has been advanced, they have assisted their fellow man in their growth towards a better future. No longer are the trials a life of burden that weighs upon them, life is easier, not as difficult as their forefathers whose struggle to work hard gained them little for their efforts. These people believe falsely because they have tilled the ground, kept the roads safe, built the homes and buildings and have continued diligently in these tasks that if there is a Heaven they will be welcome there, in fact ushered in with great fanfare.
Even if it is only the man who showed up at his place of employment nearly every day for over forty years, providing for the needs of his family and encouraging them in every avenue of their lives, they expect the same reception in the hereafter, for they have been good men and done well. Nearly all of the laws of man, both statutory and moral were followed by them, they caused no real harm or grief to anyone, their lives were a model of kindness and caring to others, not even their thoughts strayed very often to what the construct of the civilization they have spent their lives in would consider as evil. They do not realize that good men, caring and kind individuals, philanthropist and loving grandmothers will not enter the Kingdom of God unless it is thru Jesus Christ, and they will not accept this truth for it leaves them out of the equation.
I have met many over the years that have quite a bit of difficulty with these statements, that still believe in a sense that there is a side door into Heaven. An entrance reserved for the kind and compassionate, the honest servants of their fellowman, the good people. These of course are the same ones who find difficulty in forgiving, they will extoll the honesty of the faith of the thief on the cross next to our Lord on that day that He mercifully took our sins upon Himself, but if you were to ask them about the child rapist or murderer of women who has confessed and repented of their sins, well, that is a different story altogether. These are those that believe that they can still attain some form of approval from our Lord for good works, and that anything beneath this attempt will bring upon them His displeasure and perhaps even punishment. They do not seek the Face of the Lord before their actions, their good works, but expect to be granted His grace and favor because of them. They are in a sense trying to be “good people,” and have found only the praise of men and themselves in doing so.
They will gladly repent (2 Peter 3:9) and agree with the verse that all of our works are as filthy rags and that we can do nothing without Him (John 15:5), but they continue to seek the approval and praise of men. The moral code by which they live is the one that the society they live in has deemed acceptable, and they will adhere to nearly all of them lest they be seen as an outcast, the proper clothing, the right haircut, the necessary words that will keep them seemingly the same as those in the world that surround them. They have misconstrued the morality of man for the things that are pleasing to God.
Let me let you in on a little secret here my friends, if you are an obedient servant of Christ, the world will not just not like you, it will hate you, if you are truly a follower of Christ then nearly everyone you meet and associate with will know sooner or later that you are not a citizen of this world. When you speak to them of a Holy and righteous God who hates sin, they will hate you, when you shy away from their continual speech that concerns nothing but the world and their place in it, they will ostracize you, when you tell them that good men go to hell, you will be as invisible to them. This is why we are not to forsake the assembly of ourselves together, (Heb. 10:25) of course you should attend a God-fearing Christ-centered church if you can find one, but that is not all this verse means, it points to these moments when we are in fellowship with each other, whether it be on Sunday morning or Tuesday afternoon. Those times that we meet each other unexpectantly are just as much in fulfilment of this verse then as it is when we show up at the prescribed time on Sunday morning.
Our conversations with our brothers and sisters in Christ should always be the same no matter what day or time it is, uplifting, edifying, concerned for their spiritual and physical needs. The good guy on the street isn’t going to give you that every time you meet him, in fact the spiritual part of it is probably one of the furthest things from his mind, for they are impossible for him to understand. You must begin to realize this truth, all your works outside of Christ are a complete and total waste of time, and your time is running out. Honest, caring, compassionate men and women of the world who serve their fellowman everyday of their lives but do not know Christ as Savior are going to burn in the lake of fire forever.
It is not the deed that matters, it is the intent of the heart in the doing of the deed that does. Our intent is to be for the Glory of God always, these are the only deeds that will last.