“Never boast about tomorrow. You don’t know what will happen between now and then”—Proverbs 27:1 (GNB)
Someone once said that “tomorrow is the busiest day of the week”. I would not question that premise for a moment because all of us are guilty of procrastination, delaying and constantly putting things off to a more convenient time. Tomorrow I am going to do this or that and when tomorrow comes we decide that it want hurt to wait one more day. Tragically, this way of thinking has invaded the spiritual realm of our lives and it is in this realm that we can find no more dangerous way of thinking. The real danger of “tomorrow” lies hidden and often unrealized. Tomorrow we may lose the desire to do those things we promise to do, we may find ourselves incapable of doing them, we may even forget what we were planning to do and the longer we delay and put off, the danger increases that our hearts will become hardened. And let’s face it, we may have no tomorrow left, there are no assurances, no guarantees that we will see tomorrow. (James 4:13-15, 1 Sam. 20:3). Tomorrow is the thief of souls. I remember a good family friend who had attended the services of the church for much of his life but had never put Christ on in baptism (Gal. 3:27). One evening upon arriving home from work, he told his wife to call the preacher and tell him that he wanted to be baptized tomorrow. While his wife with great joy called the preacher, this friend went out into the front yard, sat down under a shade tree, suffered a massive heart attack and died. Tomorrow, how sad, how tragic and yet there are multitudes who, like this friend, live in tomorrow.
The rich fool of Luke 12 had great plans for tomorrow. He was going to tear down old barns, build newer, bigger barns, store all his goods and live the good life for many years. Little did he realize that he had no tomorrow to enjoy. This man failed to realize that man does not control tomorrow, God controls tomorrow. Yesterday is history, today is ours but tomorrow belongs only to God. It is later than you think. Do what needs to be done now. Obey God while it is still today (Rom. 10:17, Acts 16:31, Acts 17:30, Rom. 10:9-10, Mk. 16:16, 1 Pet.3:21). Be faithful to the commitment you make to God (Rev. 2:10).
Today, do the good deeds you plan to do. Express your sympathy, your joy, your love. Be reconciled to your enemies. Help the needy, give that cup of cold water. Be an example of the believer, seek first the kingdom of God, lay up for yourself treasure in heaven (Matt. 25:34-40, Gal. 6:10, Matt.5:43-46, Rom. 12:16-21, 1 Pet. 3:8, Col. 3:12-13, Eph. 4:29-32, 1 Tim. 4:12, Matt. 6:33, Matt. 6:19-21, James 4:17).
I do not know what will happen between now and tomorrow or if I will even see tomorrow. Therefore, I am going to serve God today with all my strength and might knowing that it is not a matter of what I plan to do tomorrow but it is a matter of what am I doing today (Eccl. 9:10). How about you?
Charles Hicks