What Really Matters?

Life. It's so short. So how do we live every bit of it? What really matters in life? Does how we live reflect what we say really matters?

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, how would you spend today? Would you tell your loved ones that you love them? ... Now think ahead a few months or years on - how would your loved ones look back on your last words to them. Would they be a reminder of your lifelong concern for them? Would your words of love bring to mind how well you had treated them and how you had looked out for the best interests of others? Or would they be a bitter disappointment - a memory of words that were never turned into action?

There are lots of warm and fuzzy emails out there that encourage us to say "I love you" to the people that matter to us. Those words by themselves have very little value. In fact, the words "I love you" can be painful - even traumatic - when they give the lie to the actions of those who say them.

Jesus told His followers: "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Even the most ardent atheist would be hard-pressed to argue with the truth of that statement. Whether your treasure is time, money or other physical, mental or emotional resources, wherever you put that treasure is where your "heart" truly lies.

So what really matters to you? It's a question I have to keep asking myself. When I look truthfully at the answer it helps bring me back to the rocky and difficult path that leads to Eternal Life.

Where are you putting your treasure? Are your time and money being spent on the things that you say really matter? Are your relationships getting the attention they deserve from you? Are you willing to do the hard things for the people you say that you love?

A workmate once told me that she didn't really respect her Dad. "He let me get away with anything," she said. Sadly, his failure to put in the hard work of being a real father had broken their relationship.

Before you launch into your next project or passion, take a moment to think about whether it is really part of the legacy you want to leave behind - are you investing your treasure into some that really matters?

Putting God into the centre of your life is the only way to truly understand what really matters. As a starting point, try watching How Big Is Your God? on Beyond Today TV.