It seems that our society has developed a strange phobia to seriousness. Perhaps we should coin a word for this strange phenomenon, something like “Soberphobia” or “Earnestophobia”. How often we think of a serious person as someone who is gloomy, a “wet-blanket” or a pessimist. But this is an entirely incorrect view! To be serious is a good thing. It denotes responsibility and careful consideration of life’s priorities. Perhaps that is why we do not like it.
A serious person is not a gloomy person. A gloomy person has their priorities of life all mixed up. Such a person views life through blinders, seeing only the bad and giving each situation encountered in life the worst possible interpretation. A gloomy person views everything subjectively. Incidents in life are viewed solely by how they affect him, whether they are according to his tastes. A serious person, on the other hand, sees life for what it is: a period of preparation for what is to come, namely eternity. He views life objectively and is not so foolish as to blind himself to truth. He recognizes that God exists and that objective truth is. He knows that he is body and soul and that his soul is immortal. He expects judgment by God and realizes that eternal recompense for good or evil done by him in life is inescapable. This does not make him gloomy! It makes him routinely view life with the eyes of eternity and make decisions based on where he wishes to spend his eternity. Such a person is joyful rather than gloomy. A gloomy person has blinded himself to truth and that is the source of his gloominess. A serious person recognizes and accepts truth and that is the source of his joy.
Look around you and you will see many unhappy people. What is the source of their unhappiness? They have turned their back on God and blinded themselves to truth. They are not serious about life, despite the fact that they may be serious about some aspects of life. They are very serious (even gloomy) about their financial state and the economy. They are very serious about having their way and enjoying the sensual pleasures offered by the world, but this does not make them happy. Happiness can only be found when conscience is at peace with God.
It is high time that we begin cultivating a little seriousness about the things that really matter. Life is not a game played out on the playground! It is serious business and the consequences of our every thought, word and deed are eternal. Ignoring or denying the reality of God will not make Him any less real and the same may be said of the moral law. God is, and His law is binding on every human being. Now that’s something to take seriously, don’t you think?
A serious person is not a gloomy person. A gloomy person has their priorities of life all mixed up. Such a person views life through blinders, seeing only the bad and giving each situation encountered in life the worst possible interpretation. A gloomy person views everything subjectively. Incidents in life are viewed solely by how they affect him, whether they are according to his tastes. A serious person, on the other hand, sees life for what it is: a period of preparation for what is to come, namely eternity. He views life objectively and is not so foolish as to blind himself to truth. He recognizes that God exists and that objective truth is. He knows that he is body and soul and that his soul is immortal. He expects judgment by God and realizes that eternal recompense for good or evil done by him in life is inescapable. This does not make him gloomy! It makes him routinely view life with the eyes of eternity and make decisions based on where he wishes to spend his eternity. Such a person is joyful rather than gloomy. A gloomy person has blinded himself to truth and that is the source of his gloominess. A serious person recognizes and accepts truth and that is the source of his joy.
Look around you and you will see many unhappy people. What is the source of their unhappiness? They have turned their back on God and blinded themselves to truth. They are not serious about life, despite the fact that they may be serious about some aspects of life. They are very serious (even gloomy) about their financial state and the economy. They are very serious about having their way and enjoying the sensual pleasures offered by the world, but this does not make them happy. Happiness can only be found when conscience is at peace with God.
It is high time that we begin cultivating a little seriousness about the things that really matter. Life is not a game played out on the playground! It is serious business and the consequences of our every thought, word and deed are eternal. Ignoring or denying the reality of God will not make Him any less real and the same may be said of the moral law. God is, and His law is binding on every human being. Now that’s something to take seriously, don’t you think?
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