HERE TODAY-GONE TOMORROW

The sins of the father or in this case mother visiting upon the next generation has been proven without a shadow of a doubt when it comes to ice cream in our family.  I have this vivid memory of my mother in the dark kitchen with only the refrigerator light showing as she spooned ice cream into her mouth directly from the tub.  MY MOTHER---the queen of good manners--staunch follower of Emily Post--purveyor of proper etiquette upon the heads of her children ate ice cream directly from the tub--obviously she thought she was getting away with something.  The next generation--meaning me---is not quite that bad, BUT I do LOVE me some ice cream!  Somehow my daughter has managed to miss the addiction--but those 4 littles---OH THEY LOVE ICE CREAM!  NOW ice cream in itself is not such a bad deal--BUT Dr. Cutoutallfun has ordered no more ice cream.  I have tried--really--well sort of--but I have slipped back into old habits of nightly sinfully indulging in the decadent treat.  Every night I swear off and declare it is my last bowl and the very next night I fall back into the sin hole.  Last night's bowl of ice cream does not satisfy my need for tonight in fact it may only heighten my appetite for more.  I am currently working my way through half of a gallon of coffee ice cream---and I DON'T even like coffee--but mix it in some ice cream AND who could resist.



Power is the opiate of many.  Give a man a little power and the addiction gains a toe hold.  With every success--every new achievement--the need and desire for more grows.  It soon becomes necessary to obtain more and more power and the means for gaining this power begins to slip over into the gray areas.  With the burning need for more control and greater power, the gray can easily slip into the black.  With the blink of an eye, we can become so addicted to power, we loose sight of what is right.  The thing about power--as quickly as a lightning strike can blow a transformer--it can be gone-snatched from our grip by one hungrier for the same.


One of the most addicting obsessions is the acquisition of stuff.  We need-want-desire more and more stuff.  Bigger cars--more expensive cars; bigger houses--multiple houses; more clothes--designer clothes; boats, planes, trips, vacation homes--and the list goes on and on.  We live in an age of consumer addiction.  The availability of credit lines and credit cards have given us the green light to acquire all we think we need and much of what our neighbor has.  We crave to have the biggest, the best, and the most of it all.  Go out and buy a new house today and before tomorrow's buyer's remorse can settle in we are off to the next thing we NEED---just have to have.  We are never satisfied and it is never enough and in the end we are left holding the debt bag and nothing of importance.




Where in the world am I going?  The things of this world are all temporary and will stay in this world when we are gone.  They have no eternal consequence--here today--gone tomorrow.  The fruits of our sinful nature are temporal at best.  Even if you never loose that power and all that stuff--you cannot take it with you---check out the next hearse when it drives by.  There are no U Hauls trailing behind them.  We all look the same when lying in a coffin--there are no powerful corpse.

David--in those twelve short verses---learned the gut wrenching hard way--the fruits of his sin were quickly gone.  The son born from his affair with another man's wife was taken.   God's judgment rained down and what David had conceived in sin was taken from him.

As I thought through this, I realized all of our sin only produces temporal fruits.  At best you will claim the fruits of your sin until your death.  The Word is very clear--we should fear God.  When I think of standing before a Holy God and trying to explain a lifetime sin habit, I want to run and hide.  Twelve short verses packed with eternal truths--what a blessing!


David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves
and he realized the child was dead.
"Is the child dead? " he asked.
"Yes," they replied, "he is dead."
2 Samuel 12:19




4 comments

  1. That's a rather sombre post today, Lulu. When I read the title "Here today - Gone Tomorrow" I thought you'd be discussing male baldness. So I read on to see whether you had a cure. Then you mentioned ice cream; and I thought rubbing ice cream on one's head might do the trick. But which flavour?

    Yes, we all crave for power, influence, money, possessions and so on. That's our nature, I suppose. At least I, perfect as I am, never covet my neighbour's wife. She is as ugly as sin and would frighten me to death if I met her in a dark alley at night. So at least that's one sin I won't have to answer for before God.

    May God bless you always, Lulu.

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    1. Your mind should be studied by scientist, Victor ! It is a marvel to behold and I for one am thankful for the fruit of laughter it produces as I read your remarks. Thank you for the laughter! As for baldness, I happen to really like a man with no hair, so stop your worrying!
      Blessings, Friend!

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  2. I love ice cream and that very well could be my downfall as well, giggling. I agree with Victor, what a somber post...but, all too important of a one.

    Good post, Lulu...and tell the dr. you can't hear him, giggling.

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    1. She can be a real stick in the mud!
      Blessings, My Friens!

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Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!