But Not Yet

   ”O Lord, give me chastity, but do not give it yet.”

   “O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet.”

   These words of St. Augustine reflect a far too common attitude in many of us.  We want to follow God but not just yet.  There are so many things that we want to do and some may not fit in with His plan very well.  Besides, there’s plenty of time, right?  All we need to do is make sure we get with God and set things straight before we die.  Even at the very last second God will forgive.

 

   The mistaken belief that we have plenty of time is one of Satan’s greatest victories in this world.  As long as we remain convinced that we have time left he can more easily tempt us today by offering us tomorrow.  By the time we finally realize this lie we may have no tomorrow.

   Another saying that seems to hamper our search for God is the attitude that one is “ten foot tall and bullet-proof”.  Once again I’m sure this is one of the evil one’s favorites.  Especially when we are young we have a tendency to look at misfortune and even death as something that only happens to others.  We are far too young to be worried about dying.  Even though we engage in some of the most dangerous activities of our life when young, we are blinded to the fact of our own mortality.

   All of us tend to forget that we are on this earth only for as long as God has granted us.  Some will live quite a long life and others only a few years.  The idea that we can wait to find God when we approach death has, I’m certain, caused many to miss their opportunity for salvation.  What a tragic loss we risk.  Our selfishness in putting off God in order to live as we wish may cost us eternal life.

   “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’  But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12: 19-20)