Two Ways to Live Like There's No Tomorrow

I have often been fond of quoting Jonathan Edwards' Resolution 7:

Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

What we need to take special notice of is the insufficiency of living by Resolution 7 alone. The last hour of one's life will be devoted to that which he regards as highest and of greatest importance. Hence, when watching one of those end of the world movies, there is inevitably some character who is more than happy to have sex with a complete stranger because they think a comet is about to destroy the planet and their last moment of opportunity for deviance is now upon them. This is the picture of a self-obsessed individual who performs the proverbial dance on the deck of the Titanic as it is sinking. Look at the lyrics to this song which struck me tonight as I was thinking of this subject:

I live my life like there's no tomorrow
and all I've got, I had to steal
Least I don't need to beg or borrow
Yes I'm livin' at a pace that kills

I found the simple life ain't so simple
When I jumped out, on that road
I got no love, no love you'd call real
Ain't got nobody, waitin' at home

Runnin' with the devil
Runnin' with the devil
I'm gonna tell ya all about it!

Van Halen, "Running With the Devil"

You see that it's just as possible to live by Edwards' resolution 7 and yet use the resolution in opposition to God. To the end, mankind's deepest inclination is to shake his fist at God as the eschatalogical hammer comes smashing down.

One of the toughest questions we can honestly ask ourselves is HOW we would put Resolution 7 into action. If this were the last hour of our lives, would we seek to spend that last hour giving glory to God or in gratifying the flesh? It's one thing to give the right answer, but it's quite another to feel the right answer, deep within our soul.