His name was Anthony Patch, and although the key fictional figure in F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s second novel, The Beautiful and Damned, he is a good reminder
of how not to go through life. Remember it was Scott who would write “the rich
are different,” and the book centers on a young Anthony from age 25 to 31, and
his marriage to Gloria. Both are sad and best forgotten characters, but somehow
even though the book wasn’t that great, many reviewers still today refer to it
by its acronym, BAD, maybe it was the depressing nature of the characters rather
than the plot. It is set over 100 years ago, 1910, and was written in 1922, but
the themes seem timeless, although time would run out for Anthony and
Gloria.
Anthony was a socialite, today we call them partiers, whose main goal in
life was staying in good graces with a rich tycoon in his family, so as to
receive the whole of the inheritance. Living the lifestyle of the rich before
he had any money, he falls into alcoholism, depression, and the marriage hangs
on barely, Anthony wanting the inheritance, and Gloria wanting Anthony. A
couple gladly not wasted on anyone else, they truly deserved each other. They
live in the present, dreaming of the inheritance they will get one day, but are
consumed by the past. And we find that at the end, where they were once young
and vibrant, that in their early thirties they finally receive the inheritance,
but their lifestyle has left them bedridden and sick, we find them being
attended to as two old people would be, sailing on a ship bundled up alone and
miserable. Getting what they wanted, just not wanting what they got. They set
out to reap the rich and glorious, only to find rich and glorious don’t
necessarily go hand in hand. They inherited what they thought as the world, but
ended up costing them their souls.
An all too familiar premise today too. When first starting out in life, we
are going to change the world, make money, become successful, and live happily
ever after. Then we find the world changes us, we downgrade the definition of
success to reality, and live miserably. We have taken on the things of the
world, and they have won. Some get it early and change their priorities, some
live waiting for the next deal to be the one that sets them on the road to
success. When young, I was invited to an Amway meeting, meeting the ones who
had made it, only to find their real theme was to “fake it until you make it.”
Live beyond your means, and when your ship comes in, then you can pay back the
loans that had you live rich when you weren’t. And many did and do, the outward
appearance of success to their peers keeping their egos fed, until one day the
notes come due, the money isn’t there, and the ones they tried to impress aren’t
worth impressing. And you end up miserable like Anthony and Gloria did. Their
ship has come in, only it takes oars to row it, and they don’t have the energy
to do it. So they sit tied to the dock, watching the tide roll in....
This has sadly happened to churches along the way. Where each new church
set out to do things differently, and get closer to God than the one they just
left, not making the same mistakes as the one they just left. But without God
in it, it will fail, and we see too much of that today. There was a time when I
thought the world had invaded the church, but I was to find out that the church
invited the world in. Then locked the doors behind it, and wouldn’t let it
out. Basing success on full pews, overflowing offerings, and social programs.
We are big, so we must be successful, never knowing how miserable they really
are. Teachings that are trendy rather than spirit inspired, or even
scriptural. Don’t rock the boat, or the giving will stop, and as long as they
are rich, they brag about their success. Yet they are poor, broken, and
miserable on the inside. They have inherited the things of the world, found
they are miserable, only their pride will keep them from repenting, and trading
their valuables for values. And it didn’t need to be that way.
I have attended churches that where the pastor gives an order, based on
what he believes is the truth. “Go out and bring in the lost,” he declares,
“and I will get them saved.” And the congregation tries, they invite many to
church, but none come. As the weeks go by, the new building they built to house
the multitude that never comes, sits empty. The buses bought to bring them in
sit empty, and then he blames the congregation, “you didn’t do your part, so I
can’t do mine.” It is their fault, never his, and soon the congregation
dwindles to nothing. They were hungry for God, and still are, and go where they
can be fed. Where Jesus is the main thing, and the truth is taught. And
someday another church, one of God will buy the buildings for pennies on the
dollar, reaping the benefits of following God, rather than seeking worldly
success through numbers. A property that was once beautiful, but became damned,
but resurrected by God. Like many of the lives that will fill it. For when God
builds the church, we don’t labor in vain. And sadly those who sought fame and
fortune in the church will find out that they gave up their souls, only to be
owned by what they desired. Meanwhile the meek shall inherit the earth. And as
I look around at the earth today, there isn’t much I want to inherit. What good
is a rich relation if they have to die so you can inherit?
We have Jesus, who did die so we can inherit, but he is alive, and the
earth we will inherit is not what we see today. Roads paved in gold, not filled
with potholes on many freeways today. No fences, no police, no crime, as all
sin is gone. No government trying to deceive, along with lying politicians, for
we will have an almighty king, a benevolent despot whose love for us cannot be
matched. No sickness, no bad days, as in his presence we will have it all.
Everything promised in the Bible and more-call it Amazing Grace, for there are
no words to describe it. But yet hell is described, a place of weeping and
gnashing of teeth. Just like on the same earth the lost struggled so hard to
conquer. They may have gained the world, but it cost them their soul, instead
of being souled out to Jesus. The ironic tragedy being that God will give you
the desires of your heart, and when it is him, you get all of him. But when you
choose the world, you get the world, and lose everything. Just like Anthony and
Gloria did. Old before their time, too ill to enjoy what they had desired,
losers in life. And like everyone else, when they die, they will leave
everything. So rich, yet so poor.
So choose Jesus today, and enjoy life. Set your sight on things on high,
heaven, and desire the better things of God. If your dreams are met here on
earth, you will find you are short changed, as the real riches are found in
heaven. So rich that it doesn’t matter. When you choose Jesus you end up
getting the whole world, the perfect one you set out in search of, or tried to
find. You will live forever in the comfort of Jesus, and we don’t have to
wait. Today is practice for the future, our job to be ambassadors of Christ,
telling others how Jesus saved, so they can escape the trap of death when they
die. And begin life anew today in his spirit. “On earth as it is in heaven,”
not the other way around. Many will try the world’s way and fail. But those
who choose Jesus will find life, and an abundance of it. God’s promise, and he
never fails to deliver. We will all struggle in life, why come up short at the
end, when victory is there for you. Choose the wisdom of God and his ways, and
you inherit the earth. A new earth prepared just for us, by our creator. And
who knows us better than the one who created us.
Seems there was this couple named Ananias and Sapphira who once sold some
land, and held back form God. So he held back from them. Like Anthony and
Gloria they wanted all, and ended up owing all. Think about it. “He is no fool
who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” What’s in your
wallet? Better yet, who is in your heart?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com