Friday, December 15, 2006 at 12:12am
Was it all worth it?
Column: For His Glory
Someone said that in order to measure success, we must answer the question "Was it worth it?" I believe this is a profound question to ask, because it makes you wonder about the actions we take or read about in the Bible. For example, I heard a soul-tugging sermon on the life of Moses. The preacher analyzed the life of Moses based on the choices he had to make and wondered if Moses thought at the end his life if it was all worth it.
If you know about the life of Moses, you understand that he had a choice to make: either to ascend the throne of Egypt and become the next pharaoh or to lead a ragtag group of people into the wilderness.
Like the preacher said, "That seems like a problem looking for a place to happen." Was that choice worth it? It is a legitimate question, because in the end Moses died just short of the Promised Land, just short of his goal. Was it worth it? The writer to the book of Hebrews thinks so (Hebrews 11:24-26).
Yet that leads me to the present day. The news item that has dominated the headlines for a couple of years now is the war in Iraq. We struggle with its validity and wonder at times, was it worth it? Was it worth invading Iraq to remove a vicious dictator who in the end never had weapons of mass destruction?
Has the price of countless innocent lives been worth the chance of expanding democracy in another land? Wherever you stand on the war in Iraq, you must answer the simple question: Has it been worth it? This question on Iraq hits closer to home because we are living the reality.
Yet let us bring it a little closer to home; let us bring the question to our heart. When your life ends, when you are two minutes to midnight time of your life and the bell is about to toll for you, can you look back at the decisions you are making right now and say it was worth it? If you are to measure your life as a success, you must answer the question: Was it worth it?
When the curtain closes, will you have spent enough time on the things that matter most? Are you building relationships, loving others unselfishly, seeking to be more humble and honest? We can kid ourselves and live by the false motto "He who has the most toys in the end wins," but the reality is that toys do not determine success.
Think about it this way: If you were standing before the judgment seat of your God and God asked you the simple question "Was it worth it?" about the way you lived your life here on earth, what would you say right now? My prayer is that you can recognize that despite all the pleasures of this world or all the heartache you may suffer, only a life that is lived in reverence of God will be worth it.
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Gio Marin is an author, currently working on a master of divinity degree at Andrews Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Seminary, with a dual emphasis on systematic theology and church growth & evangelism. Visit For His Glory, the blog, and send an email to {email GioMarinColumn@aol.com}GioMarinColumn@aol.com{/email}. © copyright 2006 by Gio Marin
If you know about the life of Moses, you understand that he had a choice to make: either to ascend the throne of Egypt and become the next pharaoh or to lead a ragtag group of people into the wilderness.
Like the preacher said, "That seems like a problem looking for a place to happen." Was that choice worth it? It is a legitimate question, because in the end Moses died just short of the Promised Land, just short of his goal. Was it worth it? The writer to the book of Hebrews thinks so (Hebrews 11:24-26).
Yet that leads me to the present day. The news item that has dominated the headlines for a couple of years now is the war in Iraq. We struggle with its validity and wonder at times, was it worth it? Was it worth invading Iraq to remove a vicious dictator who in the end never had weapons of mass destruction?
Has the price of countless innocent lives been worth the chance of expanding democracy in another land? Wherever you stand on the war in Iraq, you must answer the simple question: Has it been worth it? This question on Iraq hits closer to home because we are living the reality.
Yet let us bring it a little closer to home; let us bring the question to our heart. When your life ends, when you are two minutes to midnight time of your life and the bell is about to toll for you, can you look back at the decisions you are making right now and say it was worth it? If you are to measure your life as a success, you must answer the question: Was it worth it?
When the curtain closes, will you have spent enough time on the things that matter most? Are you building relationships, loving others unselfishly, seeking to be more humble and honest? We can kid ourselves and live by the false motto "He who has the most toys in the end wins," but the reality is that toys do not determine success.
Think about it this way: If you were standing before the judgment seat of your God and God asked you the simple question "Was it worth it?" about the way you lived your life here on earth, what would you say right now? My prayer is that you can recognize that despite all the pleasures of this world or all the heartache you may suffer, only a life that is lived in reverence of God will be worth it.
— — —
Gio Marin is an author, currently working on a master of divinity degree at Andrews Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Seminary, with a dual emphasis on systematic theology and church growth & evangelism. Visit For His Glory, the blog, and send an email to {email GioMarinColumn@aol.com}GioMarinColumn@aol.com{/email}. © copyright 2006 by Gio Marin