None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
Each of us shall give an account of himself to God. (Rom 14:7-8,12)
Today’s scripture from St. Paul to the Church in Rome certainly goes against the grain of humanity. After all, do we not spend an inordinate amount of time in our lives trying to be in charge?
Being in charge is nothing more than living for oneself.
Yet, we realize that we are not supposed to live for ourselves. We are supposed to live for the Lord. Because, if we live for the Lord, we will be able to die for the Lord.
Living lives of gratification — living for oneself — blinds us from being able to see the need of others.
Living for oneself, we cannot respond to others.
Living for oneself, we become lost.
And, if we live solely for ourselves, what kind of accounting are we going to be able to give to God?
After all, God is going to want to know how we have impacted the lives of others. He is going to want to know how we have provided for the needs of others. He is going to want to know how we helped to lead others to Him.
If our response is, “I didn’t have time for others. I was too busy fulfilling my own needs.”, we are going to end up in a world of hurt.
What kind of account of your life would you give to the Lord if He called you today . . . right now?
FAITH ACTION: Ask yourself how you can live more for others today. Make a plan to do for others today as well.