The YOLO Truth
6/17/14
Most
of you may be familiar with this YOLO phrase and some of you might have used
its meaning in some type of context on occasion. But have we really
grasped the concept of what this popular phrase means or have we once again
adopted a philosophy of casualness that will one day cause our enemy to laugh
at us when we stand before God and claim ignorance about His ways? I
also find it amazing that our enemy has us blinded enough that he can actually
use truthful messages about our lives and we do not even understand the
relevance that these words and phrases have upon our lives. YOLO is
one of those phrases that we need to understand and live by not just laugh away
as it rolls off our tongues.
You
Only Live Once is the full spelling of the word YOLO. It is a catchy
word and if you ask almost any teenager or young person today what that word
means they will not have to hesitate at all. They probably will look
at you funny and say to themselves “what planet are you from” as they explain
the answer to you. This is a typical act and response from the
younger crowds and to be truthful when my parents asked me about terms, words
and phrases when I was high school I gave them the exact same looks and
responses.
Catch
phrases, acronyms and other grammatical annihilations of languages are popular
among generations, groups and populations around the world. When my
family moved from Hobbs, New Mexico to Nederland, Texas I received a very
unique language that I still refer to today. The southeast portion
of Texas is very populated and there are numerous schools within a short
traveling distance. Each school district was sharply defined and with
this definition just living on the opposite side of a railroad could mean going
to another school. This was the case in Nederland and those people
who lived on the other sides of the tracks, literally, went to our arch rival
schools.
WOS,
PNG, BC, WB, BCP were all acronyms for schools within our district and each
student would immediately know what school a person was talking about just by
using those letters. The full meaning of events, debates, teams and
even past relationships all would be emotionally stirred when a particular
school was identified by its acronym. It was a definitional term
that placed each one of us into a certain mode when our ears were cast into the
hearing mode. PNG was our enemy and to this day the rivalry between
Nederland and PNG are nationwide known. There even was a History
Channel special a few years back about the state of Texas that included the
football games between Nederland and PNG, that is how influential things can
be; even with the use of acronyms.
So
what does the acronym YOLO have to with anything important? Well, it
is a term that while widely used it has become a callous word in that even
though a person uses it they really do not stop and take into consideration of
the meaning, capability and ability of the acronym. The meaning is
just as such, a person only lives once and that portion of the word is so very
true. While some people receive second chances in life and others
are lucky to be alive the meaning of the word cannot change. The
capability of the word is just as fascinating in that this word can inspire a
person to achieve certain goals that others may not consider important and the
ability of the word provides the level of accomplishment when the word is
completed.
There
is nothing wrong with the ways that I just described for that word to be played
out or used within our lives. The concepts of the word are correct
and should be remembered as such. But what becomes dangerous about
the word that it has become a social catch-all term that encourages certain
behavior that actually could be detrimental to your health. My wife
would love to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with a parachute on her
back. While thousands of people have done that in the past, this boy
would rather sit in a seat on a plane and land safely at my destination. My
wife also would like to dive off of a tall cliff and land into the water below,
sorry but I do not trust myself when it comes to cliffs and would prefer to
keep my distance from them. Do these examples make my wife
wrong? By no means at all and in fact her beliefs could include the
word YOLO when accomplishing these feats.
My
wife also understands the meaning of life and that when she has the
opportunities to fulfill these wishes that she can do so with God right by her
side. God knows and understands that life is an adventure and that
He placed these wishes and desires into our hearts and when placed in a godly
context YOLO can become an awesome life experience. But where God is
that means that His and our enemy will be as well. Satan can use our
language against us in many ways and he is not ashamed to jade our views with
words or phrases that are popular at the moment, leaving out the reality of the
words and phrases of course.
YOLO
is a truthful statement and trying things is part of what we are supposed to
do. Excitement and adrenaline rushes were placed in our bodies for a
reason and it brings out the best in our lives when used properly and in the
correct settings. Any article of excitement or adventure can be used
in defining the term YOLO. And it is our enemy’s job for us to try
and do as many of them as possible whether they are good for us or not. If
he can get us to continually use this phrase and concept long enough it will
become a theme within our heart and with the normal curiosity that God has
placed within our hearts, can be used for other and more exciting adventures.
YOLO
for drugs, alcohol, cheating, stealing etc can all be grouped into this
category of YOLO; so why not try it. I have heard of people that
have shot and killed others that they had never done it before and just wanted
to see what it felt like; YOLO, right? This word is not a farfetched
plan or program and if one reads the newspaper or watches the evening news it
will become apparent real quick that what I am saying is true. We
are doing more and more ridiculous things trying to find satisfaction in our
lives. We are doing our best to find ways that bring us to the point
of ecstasy yet comes away with a guilt free conscious even though it has caused
harm to you or to someone else. It does not matter how you use this word
in your life there are long term consequences if they are used in a negative
way.
The
year was 1967 and an important event took place that year and while my life
began that year that is not the only thing that took place that year that made
history. The city of Toronto was a very proud city at that time for
their hockey club had just won the Stanley Cup again. Now if you are
not a hockey fan that is ok just imagine that your team just won the sports
highest trophy and you will get the sense of what I am talking about. The
city, fans and team were all going nuts and they even had a parade in downtown
Toronto to show off the team and their accomplishments. A short time
later it was time for the next season to begin and the Leafs were once again
back on the ice trying to win another Cup for the town. 1967 was the
last year that Toronto has won the cup and they have not even come close to
winning it again since. YOLO!!
God
desperately wants us to live our lives to the fullest. He also
wishes for us to keep His ways within our hearts as we walk each step of this
life. God is not a God of desperation or ups and down, even though
He understands that life will throw these conditions at us that will cause us
to perform desperate acts in order to cope with these variables. The
truth of the matter is that YOLO is a correct statement and that we need to be
adventurous with our lives. It is important for us to understand
that if God is not the center of our lives the word YOLO will be used by our
enemy to destroy our lives and culture. If worldly desires are
placed in our hearts and become rooted within then our lives are at the mercy
of the corrupted and dying world. It is known that an idea will be
replaced by a certain comfort level and then that comfort level will be
replaced by a belief and the progression will continue until it becomes a law
within our hearts and then the communal expansion process has the authority to
begin.
Our
enemy is once again up to his deceptive tricks by using this word as a banner
to try new and out of the box situations. His methods of YOLO
acceptance is now becoming the cry of millions of people for others to blindly
accept the worldly YOLO concept of life. God is still alive and He
wants us to have this concept through the holy foundations of YOLO and to
understand that even though physical harm may not be immediate the worldly view
and worldly acceptance of YOLO will lead us to a spiritual death that can never
be reversed. It does not take much effort to see what that what I am
saying is true and that the message of our enemy is a deadly one. God
wishes for you to accept His ways and to live by His definition of life and not
the world’s.
Our
enemy has done a pretty decent job in allowing this catch phrase to become just
that, a catch phrase and nothing more. Yet the truth behind this
word cannot be more true and relative to our lives. It is also easy
to understand why this term has infiltrated our lives on a worldly level
instead of a godly one. Our eyes have turned away from God and His
standards enough that this phrase has captured the eyes of our heart. The
meaning of the word has become a fixture in the back of our minds and therefore
attainable by secondary motives which eventually become primary ones if left in
that position long enough. The reverse can be true if we once again
fix our physical and spiritual eyes back on God.
For
centuries the Church has painted the picture that Christians are dull and that
god is boring as all get out. This is such a lie and it is not any
truth to that belief. God is full of life and He wishes to bless you
through this life and for us to live life abundantly at all times. YOLO
is a wonderful concept and it should be taken to heart, but we need to make
sure that after it is in our hearts to keep it pure and away from the world so
that life can truly be understood and lived the way God sees it. Return
to our true life and restore God into our hearts and we will begin to
understand what YOLO really means and not the fake imitation that the world has
to offer. God does know YOLO and He wants us to live it daily. And
that is the YOLO truth.
DLB
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