Here today, gone tomorrow

It has come to my attention that I have not blogged for quite a while... I've been keeping very busy with work and other things, but I'll try to find a few minutes now for posting something in relation to the global financial crisis.

A while back, I saw an advert from Fortis, a major banking and insurance provider from Belgium and the Netherlands. The advert included the following statements:




-Life is a curve full of ups and downs.

-Most people just follow this curve as if it were fate.

-But it's not fate.

-The decisions you make affect the rest of your life.



Unfortunately for Fortis, however, its past decisions brought about a sharp downward curve in the middle of the financial turmoil and it had to be rescued by national governments (see BBC news article).

But the advert also provides some good advice so that we don't make similar mistakes in life:

-So where are you on this curve? Take a moment to stop, to think, to evaluate.

-What could you do to start a new upward curve?

-Maybe now is the time to ask yourself, "Where are you today, and where do you want to be tomorrow?"

The whole advert but especially final slogan "Here today. Where tomorrow?" reminded me of the title of my blog (see also my very first blog post). In these days of financial turbulences, we are reminded that it is perilous to place one's trust in money and wealth. God warned us against this a long time ago in His Word:

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and so this, or that. (James 4:14-16)

The apostle Paul told Timothy:

Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

These two passages from the Bible show how futile it is to trust in riches. Why? Because riches are uncertain and because they are only temporal. Instead of building up our financial wealth, we should be concerned with building a good foundation for our life by placing our trust in God who never fails and promises us eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ.

So next time you hear about another bank going bust, think about the following: What am I building my life on?