Luke 21.25-36

In Luke 21.34 it says: "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap." We believe that Jesus will come again and that we will see him coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Therefore, the entirety of our lives are to be lived for him — we are to live holy lives — loving the Lord our God with all of heart, soul, and might — and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. But instead, we allow the cares of this world to weigh us down and cause our hearts to grow cold to the ways of the Lord.

We give into competing with our neighbors about who has the fanciest car — we compete with our co-workers for raises and promotions, not caring if we leave them in the carnage of our own self-absorption. We let someone driving too slow or too fast allow us to lose our focus on loving our neighbors. We allow gossip and back-biting to steer our angry and vengeful thoughts towards family and friends. We settle into lifestyles that promote bad health — justifying all of that by saying that we will live differently starting January 1^st. We settle into the warm and inviting hell — where we could make ourselves the center of the universe — and constantly turn in upon ourselves and gaze at our own insignificance. We comb the aisles of clothing and toys — hoping against hope that something will bring us happiness. We worship the gods of commercialism — bowing before their plastic altar — as we sign our lives away to Visa, Master Card, Discover, and American Express. We search for the cheapest goods and services — the whole time riding on the backs of modern day slaves that work in sweat shops that span our globe — in places like Thailand, Indonesia, and Mexico — names that are emblazoned on the backs of plastic angels that announce a phony “Joy to the World!”

And Jesus says to us, in the midst of our depravity — guard your hearts against the cares of this world — the cares that take your focus off of the ways of Christ — and instead flee from the wrath to come.