I’ve been thinking the past few days about Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7,
…the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.
Have you looked around lately? The world is in bad shape, and it seems to be getting worse. These are times that require sober Christians living serious lives of dedication to the kingdom, pressing in to see the will of the Father done on earth as it is in heaven. That’s what is required of us.
But how do we live? If you are like me, you are living a life mired in meaningless pursuits, fiddling while Rome burns.
What might happen if believers actually took this passage from 1 Corinthians seriously? How would that look? Maybe we’d spend less time on the trivialities of life. Maybe we’d clutch our idols less tightly…entertainment, sports, materialism, etc.
To live a serious life is more than a theory, it’s got to hit me in real life. To live life seriously means I’m going to have to make some tough decisions, and it may be uncomfortable. It’s going to mean death…not something we like to talk about in “Christian” circles, but it’s something Jesus made very clear.
But it’s only death to a world that is dying anyway.
Quitting Christianity 
#1 by Angela Watschke on November 11, 2010 - 3:47 PM
Hey Dave- I always enjoy reading your blog posts. I think about this very same thing often. Life on earth is short and fleeting. It’s hard – though- not to get sucked into the culture and weighed down by the stuff that doesn’t matter. I always say- we weren’t made for this world- our real lives are the lives we’ll live on the New Earth. Even still, we are called to live life on earth in a way that honors Him. Less of us. More of allowing Him to live through us.
#2 by Dave Kirby on November 12, 2010 - 3:38 PM
Thanks Ange! You are exactly right. The hard part for me always comes in actually living it. To not be weighed down by the culture means giving things up, saying no, changing my focus. That’s hard to accept in theory, even harder to actually live in real life. My prayer is that you and I can make those choices on an every day basis.
#3 by Therese Romano on November 11, 2010 - 8:56 PM
Thanks, Dave. Hard words to hear sometimes but dead on.
#4 by Cathy Joulwan on November 12, 2010 - 3:36 PM
Thanks Dave for hittin’ us where we live. We need it!