Though I’m not the first to do so, I’ve long argued that the mark of maturity is to delay gratification. Dave Ramsey puts it this way, first, you live like no one else. That is, you pay off all debts, know where each dollar is going, live well below your means, beans and rice, rice and beans. Then, when interest is coming in rather than going out, you get to live like no one else, that is, with financial peace.
When we spend more than we make we’re enjoying today what we will have to pay for, plus interest, tomorrow. When we spend less than we make, we will enjoy tomorrow, plus interest, what we’re paying for today. At the end of the day, we must learn the most basic lesson on poverty and prosperity- spending more than you make makes you poor. Spending less than you make makes you rich.
The spiritual reality is both similar and different. Jesus tells us if we would gain our lives we must lay them down (Matt. 16:25). He calls us to store up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6: 19-21). We must embrace humiliation, take up His cross, with the assurance that in the future we will share in His exultation. When we live for ourselves, on the other hand, we will end up with an eternity of unimaginable regret, paying for our sins forever. That’s the similarity.
The difference, however, is here. Every bit of obedience we practice in the here and now blesses us. Every bit of disobedience we practice in the here and now curses us, long before we hit the afterlife. God’s law is not a loyalty test. He doesn’t say to us, “Look, I’ve saved you and you will have pleasures at My right hand forevermore (Psalm 16:11). You owe me. So I want you to abstain from all the naughty goodies. It will be painful, but it will be worth it in the end.”
There are no naughty goodies, only naughty baddies. There is no pleasure to be found in defying God. His law is designed for our well-being. It is an invitation to joy. When we defy His law we are not only making a bad investment that we’ll be paying for forever, but we don’t even get the short term pleasure we thought we were putting on our credit card. Disobeying God is like eating a three layer chocolate cake, knowing that you’ll have to put in three hours on the treadmill, and at the same time finding that the cake tastes like sweaty socks.
Often we fail to practice maturity because we lack faith in the future. We eat the cake today for fear we won’t get another chance in the future. YOLO. Except it’s just not true. You only live twice, YOLT. In this life, while obedience births blessings, those blessings may not always be health, wealth and comfort. Jesus told us that this life will include trouble (John 16:33). Those blessings may be a conscience at ease, a deeper sense of His presence, and even a stronger confidence in His future promises.
The fullest fulfillment of the promises themselves comes in the second life. You know, the one that lasts forever. And ever. That joy of beholding His glory. That freedom from sin. That new, incorruptible body at His return. These things are not only certain and real, but more certain and real than any pleasure we experience in this, our first life. May He grant us eyes to see all the gifts He is preparing for us, and may this prepare us for those gifts.