I’ve always wanted a Skilsaw, one like I saw my father using when I was growing up. But, there were always things more urgently needed until one day a significant portion of our backyard fence blew over during a storm. I decided to use the occasion as an excuse for purchasing a saw like my dad’s. So, on a cold, windy day, after getting everything set up, I was ready to make my first cut with the new saw. My first pass went smoothly through the wood but was followed by an alarming spark and sudden loss of power. I had cut through the cord on my follow-through. What a sinking feeling! So much for a new saw! I don’t think stores will take back saws for such a blunder. But, surviving the incident is some black electrical tape reminding me to take a second look at the cord before making a cut.
Sometimes, life’s most haunting question is: “Why did I do that?” Have you ever asked yourself that question? If so, then you can probably tell your own exasperating story of an untimely mistake or ill-conceived action. “Why did they do that?” is a question frequently asked by viewers of those who appear on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” We enjoy laughing at the misadventures and mishaps of those who seem to have forgotten to think before acting.
While the thoughtless mishaps of life are often inconvenient or outright painful, the consequences of living without thought of the next life will be infinitely worse. This is why the Scriptures encourage sober-mindedness. Once a term related to the use of alcohol, the New Testament adapts the word to describe a state of awareness–awareness of present dangers from our enemy (1 Pet. 5:8), awareness of present responsibilities (1 Pet. 4:7-8), and awareness of future judgment with its accompanying glory (1 Pet. 1:13) or unending doom (Matt. 24:42, 44).
The apostle Paul reminds us that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). Perhaps, the most painful aspect of hell, closely associated with its unending pain and separation from God, will be its eternal regret–looking back on a life of unbelief and disobedience asking, “Why did I do that?” Don’t let this happen to you!