Living Each Day

A Fatalistic Philosophy

There is a popular philosophy that can be described with the phrase: “live each day like it is your very last.” This philosophy is somewhat fatalistic in approaching the uncertainty of everyday living, but is commonly used to emphasize a positive outlook. By approaching each day in such a way, one is expected to treasure the very best each particular day has to offer.

In many ways this approach to the day is very healthy and godly. One can truly appreciate that every day “is the day which the LORD has made” (Psalm 118:24, NASU). One places great value in being alive and “making the most of [one’s] time” (Eph. 5:16). One is intimately reminded of their temporal nature and the reality that life is indeed “a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

A flaw

However, the greatest flaw of this philosophy is in placing too much emphasis in the current, physical world. There is invitation to take sole pleasure in the experiences of life, for they will not last indefinitely. While this may be true as pertains to the physical nature of life, it misses the greater importance of spiritual experience within this life and into the next.

The truth is that no day will truly be one’s “last” for we will continue to exist beyond the grave. Human beings have been made unique by the very breath of God, and part of that nature is an eternal, spiritual existence. The question is not whether one will continue to exist after death, but rather where they will exist.

A Better Approach

So, perhaps a better approach to the philosophy of “live each day like it is your very last” is to modify it slightly. Instead we can approach life by remembering: “live each day like it is your very last, because it leads to the first day of eternity.” The difference changes the entire perspective of not treasuring the limited aspects of this life alone, but instead preparing one for the unlimited potential of the next.

In the end it will not matter what you have “experienced” in life, or even what you have accomplished. What will matter is your relationship with God. Our goal should be to live each day prepared to face our eternity, and therefore living each day to the glory of God.