No Regrets
2 Timothy 4:5-8
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In 3 weeks we will rejoice at surviving this year and celebrate the beginning of a new year. Let me ask you, “How has 2002 been for you? Did you make resolutions this year and if you did, how did you fare with them?” If you are like the vast majority of people, New Year’s resolutions are made on January 1st and broke before the left-over turkey runs out.
As you look back over 2002, do you have any regrets? Did you intend to do something that you never got around too? Perhaps you wanted to spend more time with family and friends only to discover that you continued with the same pattern as last year. Maybe you wanted to become more committed to the ministry God has called you too or to be more faithful to His house only to find that there were too many other things that kept you away.
If you are like me, it is easy to look to our past and have regrets. Choices we made, things we did, words we spoke, friends we betrayed, people we let down and so on. One has to wonder if it is possible to live a life with no regrets.
The Apostle Paul is nearing the end of his life; he has been arrested by the Roman Emperor Nero and awaits execution. As he sits in his jail cell, I’m sure that many things ran through his mind. He thought of all the missionary journeys he had made, the churches he planted, the people he led to the Lord and all the friends he made. As he reflects over his life, he picks up his pen and paper and writes the words of our text this morning.
You see, as Paul looked back over his life since his conversion and he sees a life of fulfillment and contentment. It certainly wasn’t and easy life nor was it the life his friends thought he would lead. Remember, he was a Pharisee of Pharisees; he excelled above his peers and taught by a famed teacher of the law. He was in the who’s who of society and perhaps everyone expected him to continue to climb the ladder of success. His life was destined to one of ease and privilege until one day as he makes his way along the Damascus road, he has an encounter with the resurrected Lord and his life was radically changed. He was beaten 5 times, stoned once, shipwrecked 3 times, chased by robbers, harassed by Jews, distrusted by Gentiles and yet as he writes, he expresses no words of regret or remorse about the life he lived.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to live a life of no regrets? Wouldn’t you like to go to your grave with thoughts of a well lived life instead of thoughts of what if? I have conducted many funerals as well as attended many funerals and almost without exception I will run across someone who says, “You now preacher, I wish I would have called a little more often or visited more frequently.” So many face death and only think of what if. What if I have only done this or done that. In a few exceptions I have run across a family that lived with no regrets and when the time came for a loved one to depart, there were no thoughts of what if. You say it is not possible to live life that but I say it is. Sure there are going to be missteps along the way and missed opportunities but there are things we can do to live a life of no regrets.
As the Apostle Paul pens these words, he knew his days were numbered. Moses prayed for God to “teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Moses was praying that God would help us know the brevity of life and live with no regrets. If you knew that today was your last day to live, how would you live it differently? Most people would do everything they could to mend broken relationships, spend with family and friends and witness to as many people as possible about Jesus.
Paul lived a “no regrets” kind of life. He said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” He was able to face death without enduring the thoughts of things left undone. He didn’t lament over wasted time and missed opportunities. He looked at eternity eyeball to eyeball without regrets. How do we live a life with no regrets?
I. Know how to prioritize
In order to live a life without regrets, we need to know what to live for. The world has it all wrong. They say you only live once so go ahead and grab all the gusto you can. Party hard, live loose because when you die, that’s it. This philosophy teaches that the only thing to live for is immediate satisfaction and gratification. It teaches that the highest purpose in life is to be happy and pain free. But the Bible paints a very different picture of life. In fact, we are warned not to love this world nor the things in this world.
To live a life of no regrets, we must learn what is important in life. We have to learn to trade monuments of man’s achievements for moments in God’s presence. You see, there is a place in God where all this world’s goods loose their luster. Paul lived with no regrets because he kept eternity in view. He wasn’t preoccupied with this temporary life. This is why he was able to say that he had learned to be content in whatever state he was in. He knew what it was to be destitute and he knew what it was to have money left at the end of the month. These things really didn’t matter to him because his priority was to live his life in forward; to keep growing in his relationship with God and to declare the gospel to as many people as he possibly could.
Paul fought the good fight and kept the faith because he refused to be sucked in by the world’s philosophies. God was the priority in his life. Notice I said The priority, not a priority. To live a life without regrets, God has to be number 1 in our lives. There are so many things clamoring for our time and attention. We can get so caught up in everyday living that we ignore the author of life. We merely exist from day to day but truly have no life. Jesus said it so eloquently in Matthew 6 when he said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” I have heard many people say, “Pastor, I wish I could love my life over because I would serve the Lord all the days of my life. Others say, I lived so long without him, I wish I had more time to serve the lord and live for Him now.”
Let me ask you, what are you living for? What is the priority in your life? Is God in His rightful place? In the Old Testament whenever the children of Israel would set up camp, they would set up the tabernacle and then set up their tents around the tabernacle. It occupied the center of their lives and community. Is God the center of your life or does He have to compete with all the other things bidding for your time? To live a life of no regrets, God must be the priority in our lives.
II. Know what to value
Jesus said that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. Now Jesus wasn’t against us having things; he was against things having us. When the rich man came to Jesus to ask what he had to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus concluded that the wealthy man needed to sale everything he owned and give it to the poor. The Bible says the man went away sad because he was very wealthy. If Jesus asked you to do the same would you?
You see, this man did not know what to value in life. Society says that he who has the most toys wins but the reality is he who dies with the most toys still dies. Parents work themselves into an early grave while saying they want their children to have it better than they did only to learn the all the children really want is to spend time with mom and dad (READ LYRICS TO CATS in the CRADDLE).
No one ever died regretting the time they spent with their children but they have died regretting the times they neglected them. No one ever died saying they spent too much time in church or spent too much time reading the Bible. No one says that they prayed too much or went to church too much or witnessed too much. No one ever dies regretting the money they gave to help spread the gospel message but how many regretted never doing anything. The tragic story of the rich man found in Luke 16 is all about a man regretting to take advantage of the opportunities presented to him.
Jesus tells us not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, but to lay up treasure in heaven. The only way we can do this is to know what to value. What did Paul value?
Paul said, “I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” So many people start out strong on the journey of faith only to drop out along the way. We can all point to people who started strong only to quit along the way. Men who once stood behind this sacred desk develop attitudes that the preached against for so long. Teacher who faithfully taught boys and girls to love the Lord with all their heart now have no use for God.
Paul knew the value of a faithful life and he knew that if he wanted to face death with no regrets, he needed to remain faithful unto death.
As we head into this busy holiday season, let us live it with no regrets. Learn to prioritize and know what to value. It’s not going to matter how many gifts are under the tree or how few there are. What is going to matter is, are we living in such a way that if we stare eternity in the face, we can do so without regrets.
