What Will Matter

By Francis Kong

Michael Josephson of Character Counts says something that is so sobering. He says:

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours, or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame, and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got(,) but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom, and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance, but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters.
How true this is. And Michael Josephson gives us reasons to think.

Have you ever seen aged people in wheelchairs, have you ever seen people in Intensive Care Units, have you ever visited a graveyard?

All the striving, all the achieving, all the awards, recognitions and applause forgotten and what is left will be raw essence.

The raw essence of character built over the years.

I have seen aged people so inspiring they are still inspiring others.

I have seen medically challenged people still reaching out to others and encouraging others even in the midst of their own pains.

I have also seen some rich and powerful people living in their twilight years yet still exuding with the raw essence of greed and selfishness.

I have also seen people in their deathbed still defiant, stubborn and controlling.

At the end of the day and perhaps towards the end of our life’s journey, what will matter is our character.

How do we build our character?

Live a Christ-like life. Read His Words, do what He says regardless of what you currently believe or do not believe. Trust in Him to change you and build you to become the person He wants you to be.

Then you will begin to know Him better. Experience Him better and you become better. Test this and see how the character is built in the process.