Some years ago my father had a chicken and egg business in California. It wasn't a large operation, just something he and mom could care for themselves. Near the chicken houses there was a small ravine that seems to have extended to the mountains some distance away. Animals would travel it for the cover it provided them while searching for food. Once a wildcat came out of the ravine and began to attack and kill some of my father's chickens. The big cat was not afraid of my father's presence, but continued his pursuit of the chickens, even when he returned from the house with a shotgun and pulled the trigger on the largest wildcat my father had ever seen. Where was that animal instinct that should have warned him of danger? What happened to those keen senses that animals have? Was it all blocked out by the desire to kill and eat?
Perhaps this illustration will help us to understand why some people will not hear the gospel when it taught. They can laugh at the mention of death and the judgement. The thought of hell doesn't cause them to tremble. There is only one thing that is one their mind, the here and now. In a poll taken some time back, it found that only one out of five is chiefly concerned with preparing for eternity. It this Gallup poll 20% said their foremost concern is preparing for a future life. 46% said they're living comfortably here and now. 30% tired to straddle the fence by saying, "both". 4% said they didn't know. The least surprising statistic, when we remember Mark 10:23; 1 Timothy 6:9-10 is that poor are twice as likely as rich people to focus their thoughts on what lies beyond the grave.
Satan has so many distractions that dull our senses and make us unaware that death and the judgement draws nearer every day. For some it is eat, drink, and be merry, chase the world and feed those lust, until they are taken from this life with only torment to know forever. For the wildcat, his life was over when the trigger was pulled: but for man it is just the beginning in another realm. Let us use our time to the glory of God and the salvation of our souls and those we come in contact with. Surely, our lives are to be lived on a higher plane than just gratifying fleshly lusts like an animal.
~In Gospel Power, Anderson, Alabama, 11/9/97.