FLEETING
A word that kept coming to my mind over the last couple of weeks is ‘Fleeting’. I’ve been thinking a lot about this and how I’ve heard this word used and what it means to me.
You see we have had news headlines lately which seem more gruesome and chaotic than the usual, such as the stabbings at Bondi where six victims were brutally stabbed to death in a shopping centre, the attempted murder of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. Then the war in the middle east is escalating to a frenetic pitch which seems to be dragging more nations into its wake and Governments that were once unwavering allies of Israel seem to be falling away.
News headlines are a constant reminder of how short life is and how easily it can be taken from us. Yet while I’m going about my week, whether it be in the real world or the online world, all I see is people who are attempting to push the chaos away and focus on things which seem to be fleeting. To me it seems people are all about the instant gratification. Anything which distracts us from the murders, wars and general chaos that is currently permeating our world.
Thus, I have been thinking about this word ‘Fleeting’, and specifically not to chase after the things in this world which are only temporary. Instead, I need to embrace the long term, don’t chase after short term satisfaction. Rather than placing so much of emphasis on making money just so I can buy a new toy and find momentary satisfaction and relief. Embrace the things I have which are far more important. Such as my family, friends, and the people I love, and all of the things in my life that can leave a lasting legacy, rather than the temporary pleasures which are quickly fading away.
Just recently I have had the pleasure of singing with my cousin, Alethea. And Alethea actually wrote and featured on a song I recorded way, way back on my first album ‘CLOSER’ in 2000. The song is the Bible verse Psalm 39:4-6 and the lyrics are
Psalm 39:4“Lord, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah
6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they [b]busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.
And when I contemplate the words to this Psalm and allow myself to think of how short my life really is, which in the vastness of eternity it is just a vapor as the Psalmist wrote. I am reminded of these words that Jesus said In Matthew 16
Matthew 16:26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 6: 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
So I want to encourage you to let go of the frivolous, the things in life that only bring short term satisfaction. Remember life is fleeting, it is but a vapor, so embrace the people that you love, chase the things in this life that will leave a good legacy. And lay up for yourself treasure in heaven.
I’m J Fallon
Thanks for listening to The Slippery Slope
This is just my opinion.
Intro song is 'Bring Me Down'
Bonus episode subscriber only 'Psalm 39' first released on the 'Closer' album in 2000 by J Fallon featuring Alethea Youse.
PS: If you enjoy my content, I will think of you while drinking my coffee. –