It's probably the highlight of your day!
And of course a walk in the park. Bet you were chuffed when Boris announced we could all have an hour of exercise outdoors!
Everyday I'm waiting on the salvation of the Lord to come. The things of this world are becoming unattractive. I yearn for heaven and Christ's glory.
I just try to put God first in all my decisions. He will make straight my paths I believe.Me too. Does that effect the decisions you make on a daily basis? If so, how?
1. Is it true that, practically speaking, we live primarily for the present and not for the future? I'm not asking what we should do, but what we actually do.
2. If (1) is true, then how do we, as Christians, live for a future hope that might still be a good way off, when much of what we decide and do in everyday life pertains to the present and immediate future?
This is a good point. And, it's one I can be susceptible to, as well.
So, how can we live in the present, while also being attentive to our future hope? I am thinking here in terms of the usual sacrifices that Christians are called to make, which may make the present somewhat uncomfortable or difficult, and yet is expected of us, nonetheless?
For instance, and this gets to an area I can have a tendency to worry about, how do I figure my finances in such a way that I am being prudent towards possible future need (i.e. not blowing it all for the sake of an immediate pleasure), while also being willing to share and maybe share more than I am comfortable with? This is just an example, but it kind of gets to the tension between living in the present, having an eye to the future, and also being faithful to we are called to be.
I don't think so.
Aquinas says that we act for ends, which is to say that most all of our actions are chosen because they conduce to some future end.
The only time someone lives for the present is when they are doing something as an end in itself and this is rare in our culture, at least for the older generations.
Christians act for God, but this isn't a temporal goal located somewhere in the distant future. If a Christian in her 20's is doing everything with an eye to the moment of death and heaven, and she is certain that this will not be for another 70 years, then she is making two mistakes: 1) She is too certain about the length of her life and is not entering into the "memento mori," and 2) She does not understand that union with God is supposed to begin during our earthly lives, and should not be relegated to heaven.
See, I don't understand why the present or immediate future would have less relevance with respect to our final end than the distant future. Do Christians need to focus on the distant future in a special way?
It might just be a personality/how you were raised thing. For me I tend to focus too much on the future, ignoring all the wonders and joys that are before me. So I need to work on being more in the present. Someone else may have a tendency to only live in the present and they need to work on caring more for the future. Like so many things, I think balance is the key.
And your example is a good one, finances. Being a person worried about the future I tend to be stingier than I should be. I think being more in the present would make me more generous
On the other hand totally ignoring that I will probably be alive tomorrow, means I shouldn't be so generous that I put myself in a situation where I have to count on others help.
If you live in the present, with a focus on serving God. You will actually (if done correctly) have lived for the future.
That makes good sense. It's the "if done correctly" part that gets tricky.Any insight into that?
Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. Rev. 3:11
Hebrews 11
“24 By Faith Moses, when he was come to years (refers to him coming to the age of 40 [Ex. 2:11]), refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter (in effect, he refused the position of Pharaoh of Egypt, for which he had been trained because he had been adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter);
25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God (proclaims the choice Moses made; He traded the temporal for the Eternal), than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season (presents the choice which must be made, affliction or the pleasures of sin);
26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt (he judged the reproach was greater than the throne of Egypt): for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. (Moses habitually “looked away” from the treasures in Egypt, and purposely fixed his eye on the Heavenly Reward.)”
Confirming the souls of the Disciples (pertained to the new converts in these areas), and exhorting them to continue in the Faith (it is not he who begins, but he who finishes), and that we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God (quite a different Message than that being presently proposed).” Acts14:22This idea of Moses choosing affliction rather than the pleasures of Egypt very nicely captures this tension Christians are faced with. The present is always to be seen and lived within light of the promise. But you can only do so by pain of ignoring the pull of the present, perhaps?
What do you think about the "I am coming quickly!" part? Is it like the example of a woman who gives birth and forgets about her labor? Not really quick but forgettable in light of what obtains?
I recently came across this assertion: We live mainly for the present, not the future. I think, all things being equal, that's right. Practically speaking, much of what we do pertains to the present, or perhaps, the immediate future. But the further out into the future we consider, the less our current choices and activities pertain to it. Humans are myopic. It is a rare individual who regularly acts on behalf of what might be ten, twenty, or thirty years from now. Exceptions, of course, can be found. But, generally speaking, we are mostly concerned with the here and now, or what is not far from the here and now. At best most of what we do concerns what will be within a year's time.
Assuming the above is accurate, this presents a particular problem for us as Christians. For the most part, our hope is tied to a future that may be still be a good way off. You may live thirty more years, depending on your age. And yet, our actions are, to some extent, to be done in light of a promised future that only the Father knows in advance. We are to refrain from certain things, not on the promise of immediate gratification, but on the promise of a blessed hope that may be awhile in coming.
So, two questions:
1. Is it true that, practically speaking, we live primarily for the present and not for the future? I'm not asking what we should do, but what we actually do.
2. If (1) is true, then how do we, as Christians, live for a future hope that might still be a good way off, when much of what we decide and do in everyday life pertains to the present and immediate future? In other words, what are some practical things a person can do to overcome the human tendency to be myopic in outlook?
The future hope (literally, "expectation") and present blessing are one and the same --Christ.
Psalm 73:25 "Whom have I in heaven but You? And being with you, I desire nothing on earth."
I guess it depends on what we mean by "present."
1. If we mean the moment in that moment, then that is all too rare and hard to sustain. But, all things being equal, our concern for the future does seem to diminish as we think further and further ahead. I care more about today than I do two years from now. I care more about a month from now than I do ten years from now. In this sense, I care more about the present than the future (i.e. what's happening closer to now is more important than the future).
2. Then there is the future expectation of beatitude. I assume, for the Christian, this should be a determining factor (telos) in any given present moment. But, of course, the realization of that future is unknown. That telos should be a determining factor whether that telos is realized tomorrow, or thirty years from now. So, in this sense, I care more about the future than the present (i.e. the future telos is more important than what is happening closer to now).
This is the tension I am thinking the Christian confronts. A concern for the present, and yet a future telos that should inform the present. The concern for the present may not match what one should be concerned about in regards to beatitude. Add to that, one doesn't know if the realization of that future telos is today or forty years from now.
That makes sense. And, the end might be in the next minute (coffee in the morning) or forty years from now (saving for retirement). One of those we would call the "present" and one we wouldn't.
I am trying to think of an example. Do you mean like playing music just for the sake of hearing it? That would be in the present. I could also act for an end that is not itself and it be in the present. I could play music because I think the pretty girl listening to it will like me more.
I agree with your assessment of the presumptuous 20 year old on both counts.
I would also say Christians act for God. In one important aspect I would disagree that it is not a temporal goal located somewhere in the future. It is a temporal goal by the sheer fact that it is significantly still in the future. Our presumptuous Christian in her 20's cannot say, "I am now experiencing beatitude." She can say she is in union. She can say this union is not relegated to heaven. And, she can also say her beatitude is still in the future. All three statements can be held together, without pain of contradiction.
I think it's a fact that the relative present has a natural tendency to take precedence. When I read the assertion, we care more about the present than the future, that's how I take it. Assuming that's the case, this is the tension I think is peculiar to the Christian. There is a sense where there is nothing more relevant than right now. There is another sense where a future telos overrides whatever is happening right now and should the prime motivating factor. That telos could be in the next five minutes. Or, it could be decades from now.
So we don't just have to frame the present in light of beatitude, but in light of one that has a temporal aspect. It is either sooner or later. So, now, that beatitude becomes entangled in our temporal experience of not really caring about the future as much as we do the present.
If I would do things differently today because I knew beatitude was coming in 24 hours, then that temporal aspect has too much influence on the final end.
What does this look like on the ground, in everyday living?
What does it look like for the Christian to desire nothing on earth? Is the Christian's life going to look radically different than the person who does desire things on earth? Or, is it going to look the same, but with different motivations?
First I would say that (1) could be habitual, practical, or myopic. For example, it could be practical in the same sense that a preacher writes a sermon for next Sunday before writing his sermons for October.
The sense I got from the OP was that there is a vice of procrastination or myopia that prevents us from living for goals that are far in the future.
The example of saving for retirement comes to mind: someone might fixate on instant gratification, live paycheck to paycheck, and never save for retirement. When retirement age arrives they will be disappointed that they did not sacrifice short term goals for long term goals.
I'm not sure we have the ability to set aside a part of our monthly paycheck in order to save for the retirement of heaven.
One reservation I have is this: in saying that it is a temporal goal you are apparently committed to the position that the achievement of this goal requires a certain number of resources, and that the person who lives only for the present isn't properly allocating their resources towards the future goal (much like retirement). Well, what are those resources?
But what does it mean to say that the future telos overrides whatever is happening right now?
To put it slightly differently, isn't every point of our life equidistant from eternity, and equidistant from beatitude?
Why would beatitude favor the future? How does worry or concern about the future get me nearer beatitude?
Am I nitpicking?
I would tell them that they need to have more concern for God, or beatitude, or holiness, and that's not the same thing as concern for the future.
"Keep watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming," strikes me as a rather different admonition than, "Make provision for the far-off future."
A very concise question is this, does living for the present necessarily mean not-living for God?
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