DEVOTION: Cemeteries and Perspective by Kathi Macias

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world,

and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

There is nothing like a trip to a cemetery to put our temporal lives in perspective. We live in an “it’s all about me” world, and even as believers, it’s easier than not to get caught up in that faulty mindset and quickly become overwhelmed with the urgency to fulfill my wants, my needs, myfeelings, my desires.

Materialism depends upon just such an urgency; advertising appeals to it. If we could just win the lottery, write that bestseller, buy that bigger house, that fancier car, those name-brand clothes, we’d be happier, more fulfilled, more satisfied. And, of course, we’d serve God more wholeheartedly!

The truth is, such a mindset is…well, just not true. If we aren’t joyously and wholeheartedly serving God where we are today with what we have right now, we wouldn’t do it if we inherited all the money in the world tomorrow. If we doubt that statement, it’s time for a trip to the cemetery.

Graveyards are filled with once-indispensable people, people whose lives meant something to someone at some time here on earth. But when they breathed their last and were lowered into the ground, did the world stop spinning? No? Then it’s a safe assumption it won’t stop spinning when we breathe our last either.

So what can we accomplish by making that trip to the cemetery? We can prioritize what we do today—and how well we do it—by asking ourselves this question: What did those once-indispensable people take with them, and what did they leave behind?

May we answer wisely, beloved—and live accordingly.

Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored nearly 40 books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences. She won the 2008 Member of the Year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) and was the 2011 Author of the Year from BooksandAuthors.net. Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband.