Let's Count Our Days

Well known for appearing on many t-shirts, a print that ended up giving its name to some companies and brands features the expression "CARPE DIEM," a phrase that many use without even knowing what it means or the reason why it was uttered in the past.
Its origin dates back to medieval monasteries, where it was used as a greeting and received, in response, another phrase in Latin: when one monk met another, he greeted him saying "CARPE DIEM" and the other, in turn, replied "MEMENTO MORI".
Let's present (or remind you of) the literal meaning of this brief dialogue:
— Carpe Diem!Enjoy your day!)
— Memento Mori. (Remember that you will die.).

Although such a greeting and its response may seem somewhat morbid to our current culture, they merely express a truth that few pay attention to: life in this world is NOT ETERNAL.
“"Making the most of the day," in the context of the monks, meant meditating, saying their prayers... in short, everything they believed was important for having a vibrant spirituality, a relationship with God. Biblically speaking, this thinking is mistaken, but that's beside the point now, as the central point of this reflection is something that can be seen in one of the best-known Psalms, the only one attributed to Moses in the Psalter:

The days of our lives are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Who knows the power of your anger?
According to how tremendous you are, so is your fury.
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

(Psalm 90:10-12 – ACF)

Although it may seem like a long time, especially during childhood and adolescence, seventy or eighty years is, in fact, the average lifespan of most people—and, interestingly, the person who wrote these words lived to be 120 years old (according to...). Deuteronomy 34:7The truth is that, from a divine perspective, this is the same as nothing.

A few years ago, the well-known preacher Paul Washer, in a sermon addressed to students at Mackenzie University, began the subject with the following words:
“In four or five years, most of you will be graduating. In fifteen years, you will see that most of your dreams, your expectations, have not come true and will not come true. In twenty years, you will feel your beauty and your strength being consumed. In thirty years, you will be starting to think about death. In one hundred years, you will all be dead. And those who held you in their memories will also die.”
Although it might seem that Paul Wahser was being a tremendous spoilsport by saying this to hundreds of young people in their 20s, he wasn't lying.
In our youth, we really tend to feel invincible and capable of anything, of achieving anything we desire, easily forgetting to look at older people and see that, among them, those who have fulfilled their dreams are the exception, not the rule… and, even worse, we don't usually think much about the reality of aging and death.
There was a case, well known in my home church, that perfectly illustrates the rashness and impetuosity characteristic of youth:

When the project for the construction of a temple was being discussed, back in the 1950s, with most members being people in their 20s or 30s, the approved plan included a 30-step staircase as access to the temple nave for worship.
The argument was that, with the temple being taller, it would be visible from further away, acting as a kind of "invitation" to the neighborhood to visit it. The older residents complained, saying that this would make it difficult for them to get around, but their opinions were outvoted, and the temple was built with the enormous staircase.
In the 1990s, however, with all the older voters from the 1950s having passed away, the complaint about the size of the staircase shifted to those who were young at the time of construction, due to the effort required to enter the temple…
What mistake was made?
Simply put: the young people of the 1950s forgot that THEY THEMSELVES WOULD ALSO GROW OLD in the future!

Paul Washer was right when he reminded young college students that life is fleeting, and if this has changed anything in their lives, only the Holy Spirit knows.
Moses, in turn, highlights this reality very clearly and makes the best possible recommendation in this case: MAY GOD TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS!

“"Counting the days" refers to remembering everything we have already lived through and the time that has passed, time that will never return and that we will never experience again.
With this "countdown," we are reminded both that the time we have left in this world diminishes with each passing moment and that earthly existence does not last forever.
The book of Ecclesiastes shows, very clearly, the futility of spending one's life focused on earthly things: King Solomon—after having satisfied all the desires of his heart and even having momentarily turned away from God by worshipping idols—recognizes, at the end of his life, that everything in this world is "vanity," or, in a literal translation, "Soap Bubble.".

Like a bubble—colorful and beautiful on the outside, but empty inside and bursting with a simple touch—Earth's joys can end suddenly and instantly: those who don't count their days don't realize that the end comes for everyone. The wise, therefore, count them.
And this is a consequence of true wisdom, which is the fear of God, something also stated by Solomon himself:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is prudence.

(Proverbs 9:10 – ACF)

Knowing that the encounter with God is something no one can escape, the truly wise person seeks to prepare for this encounter, not focusing their existence on things that will remain on Earth when they depart, but, like the apostle Paul, considering everything that is occasionally left behind as "rubbish," so as not to lose communion with Christ (see Philippians 3:8).

Losses may and certainly will occur, but for those who count their days... the most important thing will be guaranteed: the eternal kingdom with Christ.
Therefore, let the brevity of earthly life not be forgotten by those who desire full communion with God in the New Jerusalem, where death, pain, sadness, and tears will never exist again.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
And there will be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain;
because the former things have passed away.

(Revelation 21:4 – ACF)

So, let's count our days.
In the Bonds of Calvary

Eduardo Pydd Teixeira

Even creation has its "Memento Mori," and it seems to be approaching rapidly.
So, before the Lord returns like a thief in the night, we can already see signs of the prophesied reign of the Antichrist taking hold not only in Brazil, but throughout the world!
In the 2023 phase of "The Worst Gospel," I decided to use new formats in the hope of helping to increase the reach of content related to the Scriptures—stories, videos, shorter texts, guest authors…—and this publication, which I took the liberty of revising and illustrating, is part of that project.
Thank you for reading this far.
I still need all the help I can get: comments, shares, and reactions help spread this content, which was entirely produced with the intention of contributing to the edification of the Body of Christ in the world.