Living in Advance of the Moment
Have you ever had something done “in advance?” Perhaps your employers have extended your paycheck “in advance.” Maybe you have made plans to go to a relative’s house “in advance.” Some pay on summer vacations throughout the year “in advance.” This bulletin article was written “in advance” and scheduled to be published later. Why do we do things “in advance?” Doing things “in advance” is related to the future. We are either borrowing from it, or we are preparing for it.
There are those who borrow from the future. They live for the moment never considering what might happen the next day. These trade a future state of misery for present pleasure. The alcoholic drinks without thought of consequences to himself and his family. The fornicator sins regardless of the damage that will be done to his and other’s bodies. The gambler wagers his living on the chance that he will earn more later. Sin ignores future consequences telling us that all will be well regardless! What a lie.
On the other hand, there are those who prepare for the future. They recognize the principle of delayed gratification. This is the notion of putting off what pleases today so that one may plan one’s future appropriately. This means forgoing present pleasures to reap future rewards. Moses is an example of this: “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26). Will we live for the moment or prepare for a future with God?