Take Heed To Yourself

But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. (Luke 21:34)

                To take heed is to pay attention to.  We pay attention to lots of things, don’t we?  We pay attention to how well our favorite football team is playing and the recruits that are coming in next year.  We pay attention to advertisements so we can find out when our favorite brand names are going on sale.  Sometimes we fail to pay attention like we should.  Many people who’ve received a speeding ticket wish they could go back and pay attention to how fast they were going.

                In today’s verse, Jesus commands us to pay attention to ourselves.  What does He mean?  I think He’s saying we need to pay attention to our hearts and minds.  If we’re not careful, we can get busy with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life.  In other words, human tendency tempts us to walk down the paths of sin as we fix our attention on temporary things.  Paying attention to who we associate with, what we put in our bodies, etc., would save us all from many heartaches in life.
 
                Instead, Jesus emphatically states that our focus needs to be on Him and that Day when all men will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory (Luke 21:27).  We need to pay attention to what we believe and what we do because when Jesus comes back, it will be too late to change our hearts.  As you look over the course of your life, how are you doing?  Are you carelessly and recklessly living for yourself, or are you focusing your time and energy on living for Jesus?