I was watching Joel Osteen the other night, who is a great preacher, if you haven't had the pleasure. Among his many optimistic, uplifting sermons, he incorporated the "Live each day as though it were your last
day on Earth" spiel. While this is great advice as far as treating others and
making it through those "Pearly Gates", it started me thinking about
life in general.
Is this good advice for every other aspect of life? The way I see it is if you live each day as if it is your last, you fail to plan ahead.
Let's see just a few things that wouldn't matter too much to most, if they were going to die tomorrow...
Why pay your bills if tomorrow will never come? Who cares if you have heating, electricity, cable, etc.?
Why bother brushing your teeth? You won't be around long enough for them to decay, right? That root canal you will need in another year or two doesn't really matter, does it?
Drugs, alcohol, risky sex, and cigarettes? Sure,
for most of us, these seem like a bad idea if you're going to live long
enough for the consequences... but if you're dying tomorrow, who cares
about liver disease, AIDS, syphilis, cancer, heart disease, mental
diseases caused by self-inflicted brain damage, the money you're
wasting, job losses, jail time, etc., right?
Why go to the gym? You don't need to exercise to get in shape. You won't have enough time to make a difference, so why even start, right?
Start a new career? Are
you kidding? There's no time for that! That could take anywhere from
a year to five or more! No point in getting started, right?
Become more involved with friends, family, romantic relationships, the community? Why bother? You won't be around long enough for it to really start anything meaningful.
Too many people are lost out there, living today as if it is their last, and this is why it is so difficult for them to start anything. It is amazing what a difference what we do today really makes... good or bad, every decision we make or fail to make today, it will make a difference.
My advice? Another cliché, "Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!"
Now, go out there and do something!
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