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Long-Term Vision, Present Attention
Weekly Edition #27: July 30th, 2025
Verse(s) I Like:
19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Weekly Dose
Don’t take your limited time for granted. The idea of tomorrow is a luxury and has been mistakenly held as a given by modern folks, especially in the Western World.
This is not so. There is no guarantee for tomorrow. It is imperative to recognize how limited your time is. Virtually any older person will tell you some variation of the phrase ‘time flies.’ And when you zoom out to a universal scale, we are only here for a blip of time.
Now this has to be reconciled with the right upward-aiming mindset, which is one of longer time horizons. When you are orienting yourself properly, you consider yourself across time. You don’t merely act in accordance with “what’s best for ‘me’ right now?” You must also consider “What is best for ‘me’ at 40, 50, 60… years old?”
The extent you are able to do this is a mark of your maturity. An infant is “now, now, now”, whereas someone who is admirable may view their decisions in terms of years, decades, or even past the extent of their life.
With orienting yourself properly, you have to acknowledge and accept the fragility of the moment.
It seems the ideal way of life would be one that focuses, giving full attention and orientation towards the longest timeframe imaginable, in certain cases even the infinite timeline, but also understands the imperative to pay attention in the moment.
Quotes I Like:
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift — that’s why it’s called the present.”
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
“Lost time is never found again.”
Mane Message
The verse I like comes from Luke, where Jesus tells the story of a man who stores up his wealth in silos, planning to indulge himself for years to come. But God says to him, “You fool. This very night your life will be required of you, and everything you’ve stored up—whose will it be then?”
A life spent and wasted in selfishness. Wasted in planning, a necessary skill, though misaligned with the Ultimate Good in this case.
The man described took short-term values and stretched them across his misaligned long-term plan. His aim was off— it was self-indulgence, ease, pleasure, comfort. He prepared for many years, but lived only for himself. He built his life for luxury, not for purpose.
His timeline was long. But his aim was low.
It’s a stark reminder of the required harmonious dance involving long-term planning and living in the moment. It doesn’t call for recklessness, but it does demand awareness. You don’t get to assume tomorrow. You’re responsible for what you do with today.
Jesus addresses this directly in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
This isn’t a call to passivity, hedonism, or shortsighted living. It’s a redirection of your trust.
Jesus isn’t saying don’t plan. The message seems to be “don’t stake your life on your plans” or “don’t place your faith in your plans.“
Aim higher. Live now—for what outlasts everything else.
Weekly Ponder
Are you planning for a life you may never reach while ignoring the one you’re actually living?
Is your pursuit aimed at eternity—or just at ease?
Enjoying our Content?
Onward and Upward!
