If I Had Only Known

“If I had only known then what I know now, what a difference it would have made.”

Now eighty, and life quickly passing him by, he could see how wrong he had been. If he had only known then. Hindsight is always twenty/twenty.

He had been a moral man, a good provider, and fairly active in his community, but his driving ambition had been to make money, to be successful. He was. Everything he touched seemed to prosper. But, it took its toll. If he had only known the true toll. With each success came greater responsibilities, increased demands on his time and energy, and always the desire to do even better. His family, his church, and even his health were sacrificed in the name of success.

Now he was successful. He had more money than he could ever hope to spend in his few remaining years, but somehow it mattered little. His wife had died years earlier, some say from a broken heart. All she had wanted was a loving home and family, but that had not been enough for him. He wanted to give her everything. He did. He gave her every “thing,” but he was always too busy to give himself. The children were married and had kids of their own. They seldom came around unless they needed something. What few friends he had were there because of what he had, not what he was. He was a lonely, dejected old man. He had everything! He had nothing! If he had only known then.

Solomon wrote, “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great rich­es” (Proverbs 13:7). Real wealth cannot be measured in dollars and cents. A man who leaves God out of his life is poor, no matter how much he may accumulate.

Jesus once asked, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul” (Matthew 16:26)?

Don’t be one who says, “if I had only known.” Don’t wait until it’s too late to get your priorities straight.

Salvation:  Hear - Believe - Repent - Confess - Be Baptized - Live Faithfully