IT’S PAYDAY! Growing up this meant food was in the refrigerator again, there were snacks in the cupboards and either pizza was for dinner or ice cream was for dessert. Payday is almost always a good day except when you get less than what you were expecting or have outstanding bills that suck you dry on day one. More is fun, but less is just a drag. I can remember my first paycheck when I was a groundskeeper at The Master’s College. I had calculated my hours and just how much I was going to earn, how much I could spend and save and I was excited. But when I got my check I was so disappointed because, it being my first “official job” I forgot to take out taxes. It wasn’t much but it just put a damper on the whole thing. Paydays can be great, but some can be just a drag.
In Proverbs, it talks about paydays. Not financial paydays but spiritual paydays that can also be great or a bitter drag. Proverbs 10:16 says, “The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin.” Now in lightly reading this one may think, “Duh, you do good and you get good. You do bad and you get bad.” But there is just one problem. In Romans 3:30 it says, “As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one.” And this is reiterated throughout Scripture. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” The Bible clearly teaches that no one who have ever been on this planet, is on this planet or will be is righteous except for Jesus Christ. So, what’s the deal with this verse. Is it just there to tease and embitter us against God? Absolutely not! This should cause us to love God even more. Why? Because Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” To justify means to make righteous. If we have faith in Jesus Christ we have been made righteous! So, our payday is life!! You ever have those days where you fill like you’re just existing but you are not truly living? You don’t ever have to feel that way because the reality is, if you have faith in Jesus Christ, you have life everlasting. Not just life in the good or great times but real peace, hope, purpose, value, life all the time.
But on the other hand, if you don’t have Christ you don’t have righteousness and your payday isn’t great. It’s the biggest drag there is and more. The payday for being Christ-less or wicked is sin. Sin is everything God isn’t. It is the hated enemy of God that He will punish. Think about that. It’s hard enough having human enemies, just imagine having the almighty God who created and sustains all things going against you. The payday isn’t good now and it won’t be in the future.
Today be encouraged. If you are a believer in Christ your payday, which started when you became a Christian, is life everlasting. If you are not a believer, be encouraged because you can still surrender to God, find forgiveness and grace and through belief in Christ receive eternal life starting today!
