“Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes.” Ecclesiastes 11:9
Well that sounds fun. That sounds like a ticket to the paradise of just doing whatever we want to do. “Sin it up” and enjoy it. Do whatever you want. After all, the bible says that sin brings “temporary pleasures” (Hebrews 11:25).
But…the pleasures are fleeting and there comes a day of reckoning. I know this sounds cliche and self evident, but the older I get the more I realize how little time I have left on this earth.When we’re younger, we don’t think about the end. We don’t think about how short life actually is.
But shouldn’t we? We don’t actually know if we’ll live into our 70s or 80s. Many do and many don’t.
Here is the rest of Ecclesiastes 11:9 and verse 10: “Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. So remove sorrow from your heart and keep pain away from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.”
Yes the pleasures of sin are true. Sin can be “fun.” But the pleasures are fleeting. Why? “Because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.”
God will bring judgement. Could be tonight or 35 years from now. Only He knows.
As one Puritan writer said,
“Oh, you must never imagine that you can dance with the devil all day — and sup with Christ at night.
Oh, it is hard casting off the devil’s yoke — when we have worn it so long on our neck! Oh, young people! If God’s today is too soon for your repentance, your tomorrow will be too late for God’s acceptance! I beseech you who are young — to serve God, to love God, to honor God, to obey God in your youthful days. “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth!”
While you can. Today. Not tomorrow.
