What Will You Do With 37 Extra Days?

“Life Expectancy in US rises” blazed the headline. It’s true. According to US statistics our life expectancy rose from 77.8 in 2004 to 77.9 in 2005. That means you may get an extra 37 days on this earth. What are you going to do with your extra days?

Time management. The way we use our days is important. The Scriptures emphasize this again and again. Paul said, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15, 16) Once we wise up and begin following the Lord, there is much to do. We must redeem, or buy back, the time we wasted living for the world and its pleasures. Perhaps you’ll have an extra 37 days to live righteously instead of sinfully.

Evangelism. Jesus’ disciples were trying to get Him to eat some food they had brought. He replied, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” He was in the process of teaching a whole town about the salvation God was bringing them through His life. He referred to that effort as “my food,” meaning that what really energized and sustained Him was taking care of God’s business. Do we have that same appetite for the will of God? Will your extra 37 days be spent telling others about His saving grace?

Child rearing. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The investment we make in our children’s lives, molding and shaping them into godly people, is worth every minute we spend. Placing other pursuits ahead of their spiritual well-being may insure that they will never follow after the Lord’s ways when they grow up. Your last 37 days may be spent contemplating the wonderful lives of your righteous children and their godly families. Neglecting your duty as a parent may mean that your extra 37 days will be spent wringing your hands in despair because your children will not listen to your pleas for their return to the Lord.

Eternity. We may eek out another 37 days in this life by eating right, exercising, etc. While there is nothing wrong with being healthy, we need to be certain that we put bulk of our effort on taking care of those things that lead to eternal life. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:26

What's A Christian to Do?

I read an article today about a proposed crackdown by the Venezuelan government on parents who name their children unusual names or names that may expose the child to ridicule. The government is even proposing to develop a list of “no fewer than 100 names” from which parents may choose.

I must admit that my first thought was, why can’t we adopt such a law in the United States? As an employer I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t know how to pronounce many of the names of those applying for employment at my company. Some names are just silly, in my humble opinion, and I feel sorry for the child who has to type it on a resume.

Then I thought about freedom. It really is nice to live in a country where parents are free to be total jerks and embarrass their children for the rest of their lives. While unfortunate, it is after all, freedom. Remember the story about the inventor of the Lear jet naming his daughter Chanda? It’s true. Click here. What a great country we live in!

But then I thought about the many Christians in Venezuela. What if a nice couple has a new baby boy and wants to name him Sewell because of their great appreciation and admiration for Sewell Hall? Sewell will not likely be on the official list and yet I see very good reasons for wanting to name a child after a godly man like Sewell Hall. Should they defy Venezuelan law, claiming their “right” to name their child whatever they wish?

Because we have submitted ourselves to the will of God, we must let God answer that question. Peter addressed this question in 1 Peter 2:13-16 where he says, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men-- as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.”

You see, Christians in any country don’t decide what laws to follow based on the convenience, logic, or even fairness of the law itself. They submit to all laws simply because God says to submit. The only exceptions are those laws that oppose the very will of God. In Acts 5:29, when Peter was told by the authorities to cease preaching in Jesus’ name, he said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

Living in a country like ours it is easy to get the idea that we are free to do pretty much whatever we want. That attitude is prevalent in our culture. If a law is passed that we don’t like, we can demonstrate and exercise civil disobedience to make our position known. While that freedom may be afforded to Americans, it is not afforded to Christians. The people of God are to obey all laws that do not conflict with the law of God. If our countrymen demonstrate and remove an unfair law from the books – great! But Christians are not to take part in civil disobedience.

Resisting the government’s laws is tantamount to resisting God. Romans 13:1,2 “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.”