YOLO … sure about that?

YOLO … sure about that? Matthew 25.31-46 

YOLO, or You Only Live Once ~ described a few years ago as the newest acronym you’ll love to hate.1 How true! I remember being in a crowded, hot gym one evening watching Dylan dance his one number for his IB Dance class, and hearing students yelling it ad infinitum, “YOLO!” Latin? Sort of. Actor Jack Black said it was dumb folks’ way of saying “Carpe Diem,” but in truth, YOLO falls woefully short of the principle of Seize the Day, of making the most of each new day. The fact is, we do not only live once; and it turns out how we live here—in this life—affects our next life, our forever life. Throwing caution to the wind and doing things we should not do, things which violate our consciences or God’s code, ought be taken into account a little bit more because we DNOLO.2 

In the last parable Jesus told – you know, the one about the different talents/treasures the master left to his three servants to steward well in his absence—you remember that parable? Then he (symbolic of God on the Judgment Day) came back and asked them to show what they had done with what he had given them. He had only two responses. To the two who put their gifts to work and showed growth, he said: 
‘Well Done! Because you have shown how highly you esteem the 
gifts I have given you, I will honor you with even more. I love entrusting good things to my trustworthy children.’ 

But to the others who showed no growth he said something like this, ‘Are you kidding me? With all I entrusted to you…this is what 
you did with it? You ignored your potential—by doing so, you showed me how little you value the kingdom. Bye now.’ 

The moral of the story: ~>one day we will give an account for what we did with what God has given us. 
“Well Done!” the Morning Briefing: http://www.pastorwoman.com/ReadArchive.aspx?id=2769 ;

Next, Jesus gives us another sneak peek into the awesome Day of Judgment, and this time, he speaks plainly—not of masters, nor of servants. Of exacting situations like these, my dad used to say, ‘Now this will separate the men from the boys!’ In this case, Jesus separates the sheep from the goats. While I happen to think little goats are darn cute, Jesus is not talking about cute little goats here. To read: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025%3A3146&am...;

Check out this 4th century story which illustrates the heart and mind of Christ: Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier and a Christian. One cold winter day, as he was entering a city in the northern part of France, a beggar stopped him and asked for alms. Martin had no money; but the beggar was blue and shivering with cold, so Martin gave what he had since no one else was helping the poor fellow. He took off his soldier's coat, worn and frayed as it was; he cut it in two and gave half of it to the begging man. The following night, the story continues, Martin in his sleep saw Jesus Christ, surrounded by angels, and dressed in the half of the cloak he had given away. One of the angels said to him, "Master, why are you wearing that battered old cloak? Who gave it to you?" And Jesus answered softly, "My servant Martin gave it to me."3 

We are familiar with Jesus’ words, ‘whenever you did it to the least of these, you did it for me.’ From our hearts, without preamble or announcement to others, we help people we encounter. Jesus says of that day, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’4 

‘I tell you the truth, 
when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, 
you were doing it to me!’5 

The moral of the story: ~>one day we will give an account for how we helped other people. 
From Proverbs, “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and he will repay you!”6 

What I truly love about the message of this parable—it goes to the heart of the matter—our hearts. If we love others, we will have our eyes open, and realize we are not too busy to help those we see along the way. Really not too high a bar, and we can all do it, and we can teach our children to do it too. 

Because why? YNOLO.7 

Christine

PastorWoman.com

1 - Judkis, Maura (February 25, 2011). "#YOLO: The Newest Acronym You'll Love to Hate". Washington Post Style Blog. October 10, 2012. 
2 – We Do Not Only Live Once. 
3 – St. Martin of Tours, EWTN, https://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/martin.htm ;
4 – Matthew 25.34-36 
5 – Matthew 25.40 
6 – Proverbs 19.17 
7 – You Not Only Live Once