Words of Wisdom - Part 7

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:6-12 ESV). In the last of our series of Words of Wisdom, the following seemed to be appropriate: When it comes time to die, make sure all that you’ve got left to do is die. This is the embodiment of what the Apostle Paul had to say to Timothy in our verses this morning. As we live our lives, we ought to consciously make the effort to live them without allowing regret an opportunity to plant itself in our future. On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister became the first man in history to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. Within 2 months, John Landy eclipsed the record by 1.4 seconds. On August 7, 1954, the two met together for a historic race. As they moved into the last lap, Landy held the lead. It looked as if he would win, but as he neared the finish he was haunted by the question, “Where is Bannister?” As he turned to look, Bannister took the lead. Landy later told a Time magazine reporter, “If I hadn’t looked back, I would have won!” One of the most descriptive pictures of the Christian life in the Bible is of an athlete competing in a race. In Philippians 3:12-13, the apostle Paul said, “I press on …forgetting those things, which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” That is impossible to do if we fail to seize each moment God gives us in our lives. Billy Graham, in his autobiography, Just As I Am, tells the following story illustrating the necessity to seize the moments of life: On the way back to the Kennedy house, the president-elect stopped the car and turned to me. “Do you believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?’ he asked. “I most certainly do.” “Well, does my church believe it?” “They have it in their creeds.” “They don’t preach it,” he said. “They don’t tell us much about it. I’d like to know what you think.” “I explained what the Bible said about Christ coming the first time, dying on the Cross, rising from the dead, and then promising that he would come back again. ‘Only then,’ I said, ‘are we going to have permanent world peace.’” “Very interesting,” he said, looking away. “We’ll have to talk more about that someday.” And he drove on.” Several years later, the two met again, at the 1963 National Prayer Breakfast. “I had the flu,” Graham remembers. “After I gave my short talk, and he gave his, we walked out of the hotel to his car together, as was always our custom. At the curb, he turned to me.” “Billy, could you ride back to the White House with me? I’d like to see you for a minute.” “Mr. President, I’ve got a fever,” I protested. “Not only am I weak, but I don’t want to give you this thing. Couldn’t we wait and talk some other time?” It was a cold, snowy day, and I was freezing as I stood there without my overcoat. “Of course,’ he said graciously.” But the two would never meet again. Later that year, Kennedy was shot dead. Graham comments, “His hesitation at the car door, and his request, haunt me still. What was on his mind? Should I have gone with him? It was an irrecoverable moment.” Commit yourself to seizing the moments of life God gives you each day. Carpei Diem!