Are we ‘of this world’ or ‘of the next’?

Are we ‘of this world’ or ‘of the next’? 

 

 

 

Our life is not really ours, it belongs to God because it is He who created us out of nothing.

He gave us our life.

So we have to live our life for Him and for Him alone.

We must be ready not only to live it but also to lose it for Him.

In fact by losing we gain.

We lose in this world, but gain in the next.

 

There is always an interior battle within us.

The battle is between what is ‘of this world’ and what is ‘of the next world’.

Here we see the battle is between ‘the good’ and ‘the evil’.   

 ‘The good’ is the representative   of the next world, which is eternal.

‘The evil’ is the representative of this world, which is temporary.

 

We are living in this world.

The world was created by God for us to live till we die.

Whatever created by God is good and so the world is also good.

Then why do we say that ‘what is of this world’ is evil?

‘Evil’ is not the ‘world’ but ‘what is of it’.

Difference?

Let me give one analogy.

Suppose we send our son to the market with a list of things to be bought and enough and more money to buy the same.

But he spends the money in a restaurant that is in the market eating and drinking forgetting what he has been sent for.

The list in his pocket reminds him of what he has been sent for but he cares a hang for it and continues to be carried away by his whims and fancies.

What would be our comment on him?

The restaurant is not a bad thing; the badness lies in the disobedient action of the son.

 

God has sent us into this world with enough and more talents to make ourselves fit for the next world.

But we are tempted to behave as though we are ‘of this world’.

We are reminded now and them by the word of God that are ‘of the next world’.

A battle is going on within us between these ‘of this world’ and ‘of the next world’ thoughts.

 

The things of this world that are entrusted into our care must be used in our service for God; this will make us ‘of the next world’.

Using them only to enjoy ourselves will make us ‘of this world’.

 

Take money for instance.

Money is a good thing.

Money in our hands gives us two options to be spent for: 1. Spending it in our service for God. 2. Spending it only for our self pleasure.

Battle will go on between the two options.

If we spend it for God, we are ‘of the next world’.

If we spend it only for self pleasure, we are ‘of this world’.

 

Here we must remember one thing.

God has created the things for our use.

We have to eat to live and live to serve God.

 Eating is a good thing when we do it to live.

Evil enters when we eat gluttonously.

 

To use money for living is a good thing.

Evil enters when we use it to enjoy forbidden pleasure.

 

In the usage of every worldly thing we will have this battle.

We must prove ourselves ‘of the next world’.

In every battle between good and evil, we must take sides with good and win the battle in favour of the next world, which will be our eternal abode when we leave this world for good.

Lourdu Selvam.

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