Think a minute…Recently a successful, famous man told about a surprising gift he received in the mail. It was from his old high school. When he was a teenager his love and passion was tennis.

For several years he spent hours every single day practicing—and his years of hard work paid off. He finally reached his goal to become a champion tennis player.

Now, over 40 years later, his school sent him his trophy with this note that said: “We found this in the basement with some trash, so rather than throw it away, we thought you might like to have it.”

In that moment he realized that what he had lived for as a young man, and spent almost all of his time and energy to achieve and possess, was now just worthless rubbish.

It reminds me of The Olympic Games. It is truly inspiring to watch the world’s greatest athletes who have trained so hard all their lives to finally reach their goal and enjoy such thrilling victory.

But it is also heartbreaking for the other athletes who have worked just as hard and long, who basically have the same strength, speed and skills, lose by so little. Sometimes they lose by only a hundredth of a second, and then it’s all over for the rest of their lives. No one even remembers their name! 

A rich businessman man said with sadness: “When I got to the top, there was nothing there!” He discovered too late that the ladder of success he had worked all his life to climb was the wrong ladder! He had invested his whole life in the wrong thing. 

Remember, we only get one life to spend, so we must be smart and spend it on something we can keep. So ask yourself: “Am I living for trophies or trash? Is what I’m living for going to last after I die?” Never forget, what we live for in life we must live with in eternity.

Why waste or risk another day? At this moment, you can ask Jesus to forgive you for living your own, wrong way, and to take full charge of your heart and life so you can start living His right way. He is the only way you can be truly successful, satisfied, and secure—forever.

Just think a minute…