(YOLO) You Only Live Once!

“YOLO!!!” We surely have all seen this acronym blasted across the wide variety of websites that are on the internet today or proudly proclaimed from the lips of a high school or college student. But what exactly does it mean? Well these four letters stand for: You Only Live Once. Unfortunately this is usually something that is said on a more negative note and is almost always followed by actions that involve reckless or careless behavior by the person stating it. The idea here is that we must all “party hard” because life is short and has no true meaning, so our time here should be spent living it up! But is this the truth? In 1 Corinthians 15 the Apostle Paul is talking to the church in Corinth and is reassuring them of Jesus’ resurrection and that, as saints, they should be fully convinced that they too will be resurrected at the appointed time. Paul then states that “if the dead are not raised let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”, 1 Cor. 15:32. What exactly is he saying here? Paul is basically saying that if the dead are not raised then our actions don’t matter and we should all look at life with today’s attitude of “YOLO!” Paul says this because of what he had just previously stated in verse 13-14 where he said “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” So we can easily see that this mentality of “living it up” for the short time we are on this earth is one which humans have been feeling for a long time now. Though, as Christians we have this hope that keeps us from living with a mindset focused just on self, because we know Christ was resurrected and we know we will be also! Our actions matter while living in this place and the time we are given is the time that the Father in Heaven has lent to us to do His will. We cannot go through this life living worldly lives by the phrase “You only live once”, ignoring our call to serve the Lord, but instead may I suggest that we look at this world and deny ourselves of the temptation it offers and loudly proclaim that “You only live once for the Lord.” So knowing this, what then shall we choose to do with our time here? Will we live for ourselves, or for God? I love you all.