“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” ( 2 Corinthians 5:10).
I came across this plump little cherry of Scripture and immediately amazed by it. This verse is straight forward and to the point, it is black and white. Thus, there can be NO denying it is telling the truth, we will be judged for what we do here on earth! We need to back-up for a moment and take a closer look at this verse and then break it down for every part of it.
An intent of the heart or a thought pops into our heads: Your friend has a really nice watch. You like it and he doesn’t need it, he has enough money to buy several. But you don’t! Believe it or not, this is where the rubber meets the road; examine yourself: Are you a thief and a liar, a coveter, a fake as a friend? If you are, the problem is, you know this about yourself and others don’t. Actually, you should be ashamed and remorseful but then “It’s all about ME!!”…right!
So as things stand at the moment, you may have had a thought of who you are. The intent of the heart is to steal that watch for yourself. You’re sure he won’t miss it, he probably has others as well and you don’t have anything like that. Being your friend, he should have given it to you…right? Everything said and done, you steal that watch and you wear it as if you bought it for yourself.
You sit back and tell yourself, it’s all okay, He is rich and you are not and you have to struggle for everything. He is a bad guy because everything was given to him, he doesn’t know what it’s like to have to work hard for everything. You have to sacrifice something for anything you get, grinding your fingers to the bone, day in and day out. And so the excuses flow like a river after the dam breaks!
There are other areas we haven’t said anything about: Conviction, judgment, punishment, restitution and finally…forgiveness! Big words for such a small man, right?
Numbers 32:23: “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.”
Every single person on this planet does things that sometimes never see the light of day, they feel they have gotten away with, that no one knows. You are acting on one side of the river or your on the other side; there is NO in-between. Again, this life is “an either or” situation. You are here for a purpose and no matter what you want or think you need, there is always a choice to be made. If you understand you are here to follow Jesus Christ or not, then life will quickly become much easier for you. The problem for the majority of the people is that they are not willing to think that far. Incredible!
If you take notice and agree with what has been said above, then you understand the reasons why people CHOOSE to use excuses. There is a passage of Scripture that deals with this exactly:
Matthew 5:37: “But let your communication be, Yea, yea (Yes be a Yes); Nay, nay (No be a No): for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”
So therefore the intent of your heart, which God knows, was to steal the watch, which you promptly did. The first sin was you had the thought, the second sin was you devised a plan to steal the watch, the third sin you completed the theft. The fourth sin — you got caught and you lied; the fifth sin you then hated your friend. The sixth sin you hate others for putting you where you belong—in jail. The seventh sin, you did not ask for forgiveness from Jesus Christ.
So now the circle is complete. And to think that all you wanted was the watch and now…look where you have ended-up. And to think, it was all over a stupid watch! Don’t stand there looking silly and stupid, look at your life and ask yourself, what areas have I fallen in and NEED forgiveness for?
1 John 3:18-22: “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”
John 3:17-21: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
When you want something, you should take a moment and bring it before God. Then ask yourself, is this a necessity, a need, or a want? Far too many never notice that the Lord God gives daily the things we NEED, or is that last breath of air you just took, not needed by you? Is there is no clean water, no grains growing, animals grazing, air to breath, legs for walking, minds for thinking and last but never least, a heart for giving thanks to God?
Have you ever noticed that those the Lord has granted great wealth to have their own set of problems to deal with? Is it not enough for you to deal with your own problems, instead of wishing for things you may not be able to handle correctly? Do you remember the saying, “Perspective is everything?”
The reason for that saying is that you never know how difficult a situation is until it is your situation. The Lord KNOWS the intent of your heart and HE knows your needs and wants. Suffice it to say that you deal with what you have been given. Your wants may get you in more trouble, than you would be able to get out of. Ask Al Capone and many, many, others about WANTS. Stop and ask yourself, where are they today?
If you are pretty, then be truly pretty…inside and out. If you are a “good person” then continue to be a good person, inside and out. Learn to be trustworthy, honest, straight-forward. But before any of these, come to Jesus Christ and be born-again. If you’re going to live, then live for Jesus Christ…After all, HE created absolutely everything and HIS holy plans will come to be!