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Reckless Abandon… that’s what comes to mind. If you knew this was all you had, this one last day, twenty-four hours, how would you live? What would you do? Would you check tomorrow’s weather? Would you be obsessed with your 401K or your long-term investments? Would you be focused on the security of your retirement? “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be?” That is what Y’shua thought of such concerns.
Reckless Abandon… without care or regard for consequences, living with a rash, unrestrained impulsiveness, enthusiasm, or zeal. It combines the sense of carelessness with the idea of yielding oneself to an action or impulse without restraint. Jump in wholeheartedly, perhaps impulsively, and with no concern for consequences or danger; that’s reckless abandon.
Okay, that sounds a bit, well, reckless! So, let’s add wise biblical guide-rails before anyone listening skydives without a parachute or decides to skinny dip with piranhas. Temper the concept of living with reckless abandon by removing certain negative thoughts that display a lack of wisdom. Remove rash, impulsive, careless and without restraint from the life we ought to live. And then reframe consequences and danger as permitted only if the cause is for God. Taking unnecessary risks, those that could not possibly produce fruit for the Kingdom, is both senseless and foolish. And then reinsert restraint by qualifying every choice with first seeking God’s heart on the matter—if He approves, then go for it without restraint. What remains is a life of unrestrained enthusiasm and zeal for the things that matter most to God. It’s a life yielded wholeheartedly in service to God and others, with no concern for the consequences or danger, as long as you are advancing His Kingdom.
Now, design your life of reckless abandon for God. It would look something like this. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow can worry about itself. Sufficient for today is what today brings.” Today is all you have; you don’t need to worry about tomorrow today; tomorrow’s worries can irritate you and occupy your thoughts tomorrow. And the greatest benefit about putting off your worries until tomorrow is that… tomorrow never comes.
It’s time to face the dominant source of your preoccupation. It’s obvious if you’ll be honest with yourself, although it might be painful to admit. And if you overthink this exercise, you’re at high risk of catching what’s going around in the rationalization and self-deception pandemic, and the truth will remain elusive.
Here’s the assignment. There are only two options: things of the world and things of God. To which do you dedicate most of your efforts—your time, resources, thoughts, and energy? Is your major concern for the provisions of the world and that is what dominates your efforts? That, according to Christ, is the pagan way of life. Or, is your main focus on the priorities of God, the things of the Kingdom of Heaven? If your rationalization and self-deception immune system defense was triggered, you already know the answer. There is no treatment for this disease if you ignore the proper diagnosis.
We learn from Christ that assessing one’s accomplishments in life should never be measured by the abundance of the things he possesses. Why? Because he who accumulates earthly treasures as a measure of success and security, is not rich toward God. And in the end, concern about such worldly things should be designated to the proper time—never!
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