Planning Ahead

“Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:13-15).

Trained initially as a teacher, I learned and picked up a lot of new ideas on salesmanship when I switched and took the plunge to selling life insurance on a commission basis as a career. Without the safety of the “security cheque”, I was inevitably faced with the challenge of having to plan and work my plan for my daily, weekly and monthly survival. That slogan: “Nobody plan to fail but most fail to plan” became deeply ingrained in me even till this day.

In retrospect, looking at it in perspective, the words will only ring true if you and I have the power and ability to control our life and destiny. Circumstances will change, job security vanishes, new career looms and new and alien environment requires us to adjust, adapt and adopt life unplanned for. As a new Christian then, I couldn’t really understand the significance of the wisdom in Proverbs 20:24, which says: “A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?”

Life is fragile. It is one of vanity and futility. Yesterday is dead and gone. Tomorrow may never come. It’s ridiculous to dwell on past glories. Today is the time for each of us to consider where and how we are investing our time and energies. Oftentimes, at deathbed you’ll hear of regretful wishes like ”I wish I had spent more time with my family and kids.” All the worldly plan of making those million bucks is furthest from the mind of the would-be deceased. Ask the Lord to give you His priorities for your life and he will set you straight.

Everything ultimately comes to an end. Life has its beginning. Life has its end and over these two facts we have absolutely no control. I used to preach these words: “From the womb to the tomb, there is but one room. It’s either heaven or hell where we for all eternity will ‘yell.’”Yes, be prepared and plan ahead for that mansion above. “If there’s will, there’s a way” so they say. But it needs to be added “ . . . provided it’s God’s will.”

Paul Chong