now

One of the deepest deceptions is the one that cries, "There's always later."

Someone sent me a sermon from John Piper, and it's actually really interesting. But the conclusion is about the danger of sin. The things we brush aside. And I can think of plenty of examples from my own life.

1) When I'm addicted to something, seemingly as harmless as a video game or as shameful as pornography, the thing that circles my mind is always "I can stop whenever I want." And then I go do it. I hear people say they're going to quit all the time, and they never do. I hear people feel okay about doing something, and then all empty and guilty afterward.

That's what it feels like to be in bondage, to be in chains. Freedom is being free from sin, not free to sin.

2) When I tell myself, "I can always serve God later," or when friends say, "I'm studying really hard so I can glorify God with the money I make later," I ask the question, "If you're not doing it now, why later?" The Bible tells us we don't even know what's coming tomorrow (Proverbs 27:1), and that means that my plans are my god, money is my god, and God is relegated to a corner to be my convenient excuse.

3) When I'm doing a Bible study or hearing a sermon, there's always some sort of application to follow at the end. I often don't bother doing it. But again, if I'm not living it out now, I probably never will.

I've been doing some thinking about where I'm headed in the future, but God is probably more concerned with where I am now and what I'm doing with what I have. And I have a bit of changing to do to live it out to the fullest now.