One of the greatest mental blocks that stops people from taking up a responsibility to watch their world is their desire to die and escape to heaven. The great escape from a life of poverty, sin, greed and lust. Why should anyone bother about the world when it is going to perish anyway? If the ultimate reward for living a holy life is death and an escape to heaven, then it would make sense to focus on that. However, the bible does not teach us to sit still and wait for our death and escape to heaven. There is obviously no rush to blow the trumpets and airlift the saints to heaven.
It is not hard to see that the purpose of life is not solely to die and go to heaven. The Bible is filled with stories, parables and instructions about how we can positively affect our world, shape it and make it better. The mind-set that one would die and go to a better place is nothing more than escapism. You are seeking distraction and relief from your unpleasant realities by fantasizing about a better future that requires you to do nothing. A heavenly reward for irresponsibility, foolishness and mediocrity. It is easier to simply escape to heaven rather than deal with the daily mess of the real world.
Looking forward to someday dying and waking up in heaven is not exactly a problem in itself. However, we must understand that God is interested in our wellbeing right now on earth. There is no genuine prophet of God in the bible that rationalized sickness, pain and suffering by consoling the people that they would be airlifted to heaven in no time. They rather prayed and God took away every sickness, pain and suffering immediately. God raised strong leadership on earth as needed to steer the nations towards a prosperous future, they were not airlifted to heaven.
You cannot serve effectively as a salt and light of the world if your sole obsession is to die and go to heaven. Your purpose in Christ is not death and escape to heaven. This is about allowing the life, nature and character of God to flow through you in order to make an impact in the world today – right now.
