Welcome. Today we’re going to be talking about wisdom, knowledge, and the way things are in life in general. Our objective is to understand these tried and true facts and apply them to our lives today. So without further ado, let’s get to said tried and true facts!

The first of our irrefutable facts of life is that life is not fair. We’ve probably all heard our parents say this, I know that I heard it from my parents quite often. I’ve grown up and now catch myself echoing that saying to my children as well. It is decidedly a truth in our lives.

Some people get to be rich while others are poor. Some people are very smart while others are left ignorant. Some are well fed while others starve. Some of us enjoy freedom while others are enslaved. Some are in good health while others suffer in sickness. In all these things I think the point is made that life is not fair. God did not promise us a ‘rose garden’ as my father would put it.

Life is not fair. This is the truth of the matter. There is more to it than that however. God did promise us some things. For example: (Mat 6:33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. God will take care of us if we put Him first in our lives.

God also promises us that there is fairness in salvation. (Act 10:34) Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: (Act 10:35) But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. God is not impressed by your name, your money, you status or anything else that is worldly. He is impressed with obedience and faithfulness, something that is obtainable by anyone. So even if life ‘deals you a bad hand’ so to speak, you can still trust in God to be honest and true, for He will forever be so.

God also promises us that everyone will be judged. (2Co 5:10) 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. In the end there will always be justice for God is a just God (Isaiah 45:21). So those that do ill and receive great earthly rewards will come to answer for those misdeeds, and their lucky streak will end. Those that are faithful will be noted for it as well. (Mat 10:32) Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. If we remember these promises we will not be disappointed when life shows itself to be unfair.

Another fact of life is that we cannot change history. Things happen, and there’s nothing we can do about it. You cannot unring a bell, as my grandmother might say. There are those that would revise history, but that is nothing more than just ignoring the parts they don’t want to remember. The truth is once something is history, there’s nothing we can do to change it. What happened will always be, you can never take it back.

Because of this we need to be vigilant in guarding what we say and do. (Psa 141:3) Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. A word, once spoken, can never return. It can never be unspoken, all that can happen is dealing with the consequences. (Mat 12:36) But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. This is why it is important to avoid words and actions that are not proper.

Say someone comes up and smacks you right in the nose. Does them apologizing for it afterwards make it hurt any less? Does it retract the action and make it like it never happened? Of course not, you will still hurt and feel the repercussions of the event no matter what. The only thing that can be done is coping with what happened.

The same holds true for inaction as well. If someone is drowning and you do not do anything and they die, there is nothing you can do to bring them back. No words or actions will change history.

This is why we have to be careful about what we say and do. Always ask yourself if what you’re about to do or say is proper for a Christian. Know that we will be judged for every word and act as we just read. Know that nothing you can do will change history after the fact. Know that everything you do is a reflection on who you are and what you stand for. (Mat 7:20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Children have been known to chant “stick and stones might break my bones but words will never hurt me” but is that right? Sadly it is not. Words have immense power, and they always have. That is why it is said that the “pen is mightier than the sword”. Words can attack in ways that steel never could, and make wounds no bandage can patch.

Words must be given the respect they are due, for without words, where would society be? (Eph 5:6) Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. This is a serious problem because the wrong words can confuse and mislead people.

In the end we are told (2Ti 4:3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (2Ti 4:4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. They will turn to lies and the wrong words, and they will suffer for it. The wrong religious teachings can have some huge consequences. (Mat 7:22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (Mat 7:23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. So as you can see, making sure you hear and speak the right words is very important.

We must always work hard to choose the right words, and avoid those words that improper and wrong.

A fact of life is that every choice has a consequence. Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. This is spiritually true as well. Whatever you do spiritually has a reaction associated with it. (Gal 6:7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Gal 6:8) For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Go against God and bad things will happen, go with God and receive eternal life. So what you do, whether for or against the Lord, has a consequence associated with it.

Many people in the world today ignore this very idea. They do what they want, they act in a hedonistic manner, and they either hope against a bad consequence, or ignore the possibility of one. This is not just a spiritual law, it is a life law. In fact, most religions have a variation on this very theme. Most, if not nearly all, believe that whatever you do will be repaid to you in some manner. Karma is a good example of this.

Then we see this law in nature through things like Newton’s law that I just mentioned. Oddly people only accept this rule if they want to. They will give money to a charity and claim a ‘karma’ deposit, but then will turn around and have casual sex without acknowledging the consequences of that action. It’s easy to only claim positive consequences, but it’s honest to claim negative ones as well.

Understanding that all choices have consequences that must be faced helps remind us of what choices we should make.

A fact of life is that someone will oppose you for doing the right thing. There is a very true saying floating around nowadays: ‘no good deed goes unpunished’. We know as Christians that there are going to be those that stand against us. (Mat 5:11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. This tells us that this is going to happen, sure as day. Notice the verse does not say ‘if men revile you’ but instead says ‘when men revile you’. This tells us that it’s going to happen at some point if we are out doing the Lord’s work.

Jesus also said (Joh 15:19) If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (Joh 15:20) Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. I’m pretty sure that we can all agree that Jesus was persecuted. We are not better than Him so we will face persecution if we keep His commands. If you speak out for God, if you do anything for God, you are going to find someone that will mock you or persecute you in some form or another. You might not be beaten and executed but you might be mocked and ridiculed. There are many forms and levels of persecution.

If we know that we are going to face opposition, we can prepare for it and make sure we have a viable, appropriate defense prepared when it happens. We must be willing to face our persecution with humility and love, just as the Lord did. He did not scream at people or call them names. We must learn from His example so that we can reflect Him in our actions.

A fact of life is that things change. Today is not like yesterday, and tomorrow will not be like today. No matter what, things have changed and are different. Just when you think you have things figured out, life will throw you a curveball, and you’ll face new challenges in your life.

Many of us started out on this journey known as life expecting things to go one way when they in fact end up going another. Few of us have life play out exactly as we plan. Most of us deal with surprises in our professional, home and social lives. These aren’t always bad changes, but they are still changes nonetheless.

Think of the Byrd’s song ‘turn, turn, turn’. That song matches portions of chapter 3 of the Book of Ecclesiastics. As the song says ‘there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven’. This is very true, as there is a time to be born, and a time to die, a time to destroy and a time to build up again. There is a time and place for everything, as they say. This means we have to accept change in our lives because it is just a fact of living.

In the future we have a great deal of changes coming. Glance through the Book of Revelation and you will see a ton of changes that are coming down the line at some point. This is above and beyond the changes that are just a part of daily living.

Having said that, I will say this: (Heb 13:8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. He does not need to change because He is perfect in His existence. He went through changes in His life, and understands the changes that we are going through today. That is why we can put our trust and faith in Him.

The last truth we want to remember today is that everyone dies. No matter what science might say about potential immortality, the fact stands that we all pass away, it is just the way of things. I honestly believe that this truth is part of the definition of our mortality and existence. (Heb 9:27) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: one death is at the very least appointed, and whether or not one suffers the second death is between them and God.

We need to all remember that we will have to face that day when the flesh and the spirit part, and death comes to take us. When we think of this, this should inspire us to be prepared for such an occasion for no one promised us tomorrow or even our next breath. Be right with God because you might be seeing Him a lot sooner than you planned for.

These are just some of the facts of life that we have to deal with as people. If we are aware of them and take what we learn from the Bible and apply it to our lives, we can help make our way through things in a manner pleasing to God. I will leave you with one final thing that should never change in your life: (1Th 5:17) Pray without ceasing. Until next time, God bless.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 14th, 2010 at 5:11 pm and is filed under Uncategorized | . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.