”For nothing we brought into the world, so neither are we able to take out anything.”
-You can’t take it with you. This life has nothing on the take out menu. Nothing. No thing. This is the essence of our lives - even when we have an abundance, no matter how much we have, our life does not consist of any thing we may possess. Our life is what we bring - or rather are given to bring - into it. Just one thing - our soul. The breath in our lungs and our spirit. That part which animates the paltry $4.50 worth of chemicals which constitute our physical body. Even the smart outfit the mortician may dress you in for your entombment - that’s not on the take out menu either. No, it is the spirit which gives life - and nothing else we add in this life amounts to anything in the economy of heaven. We arrive in this life just lke the terminator - buck-naked. The ol’ birthday suit. And Paul is reminding us that this is a fundamental principle of life, a key to contentment. All those things on which we set our hearts, all those things we would acquire in our pursuit of temporal happiness - not one of them is on the take out menu. Ain’t never seen a hearse with a luggage rack, nope. This - and the law of entropy - is why nothing lasts forever. Even if it somehow outlasts our dying body - which in and of itself would be impressive, since many of even the best products don’t last a lifetime (not a lot of lifetime guarantees out there) - but even IF it outlasts us, it’s not getting on the ship. When our ship sails off into the eternal wide blue yonder and we go to be with the Lord (or that other place), we leave it all behind. Forever. Buh-bye. Every thing. All the things which make dying difficult.
-One corrolary of course is that we don’t leave family and friends behind. Not forever. These, these precious souls - they actually are on the take out menu. They can go into eternity with us. Which is why it makes total sense - especially in the simple economic terms which Paul is here laying out - it makes total sense to invest in bringing people with us, in populating heaven with loved ones. Ones who God so loves. These may not set sail at the precise time that we do, but they can go with us! But all these other things, they’re staying. Left behind indeed. Every thing. Everything ain’t come back. You can’t take it with you, that thing, so it makes no sense to set your heart on it so. Hold it loosely - or let it go. Especially if you don’t need it. Cuz you for sure won’t need it where you’re going...
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