How important is the incentive of Heaven in your faith journey?

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goodcatholic

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How much does the thought of Heaven in the next life, affect your daily behaviour now on this earth?
Motivate you?
Cant wait?
Would you love God less if there was no incentive of Heaven?
I might say that if I really loved God, I would just be grateful for my life now and still do my best to please Him, no matter what reward there is in the next life.
 
As an incentive, heaven is not very important to me. There was a time I did not exist. There is a time I’m alive. There will be a time when I’m dead. I merely try to accomplish my duties honorably while alive. It’s what I do. In all other matters, I trust God.
 
It doesn’t influence my life decisions or how I behave around other people at all. But I do think about Heaven/after life because of the wish to be reunited with loved ones once this life is over. Not in any hurry to get there though. There’s too much to live for right now.
 
It affects my thoughts, knowing it will all lead up to one final plan thats aleady known to God. I don’t know if its garentee, but we are all children of God, it’s worth the shot. I’m an imperfect child of the Father Almighty, rebellious of his commands, but thank God forgives. Giving opportunity to be clean and try again at giving love to God. God has given me so much, yet I give little. Faith will help me try and try again. I wont question God’s judgement.
 
You sound like my wife’s Rabbi.
(that’s a compliment)

If you need religion in order to be a good person, you are not a good person.
 
None of us are good people. The Church is a “hospital for sinners”. If we have any good in us at all, it is by the Grace of God.
 
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We all have good and bad traits, thoughts, and actions. I do not think most people are, on balance, “bad people”, and this is across all religions, nationalities, genders, etc etc. We all sin, fall short, miss the mark, etc, yes. But we are not “bad”.
 
Yes, we are. If the Grace of God was pulled away from us, we could not go long without mortal sin. How much does this teaching ring true in a world where so many sin with so many Graces!
How then can it be denied that we, a dreadful people, are bad? Even our good works are so often mingled with impure intentions and sinful desires. Who can call us good?

But with God all things are possible. Indeed, then, of we are to say, “This is a good man”, we should mean and understand this to mean, “God has done a mighty work in him.” But let us not deceive ourselves in thinking others are, and certainly let us avoid thinking this of ourselves, that we are good.
 
I think we have different definitions of good. Or different perspectives, for sure.
 
Kei said:
The Church is a “hospital for sinners”.
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There’s…
Emergency
Intensive Care
Reprogramming Centre for Protestant Converts (RCPC)
Mental Health Ward
CSS Ward (Chronic Sinner Syndrome)
 
Heaven is nice, but we need to love God for what He is, God. That’s like marrying a woman just because she’s rich. We must love God for what He is. not the things that come with Him. Our #1 incentive should be obtaining His infinite love (which is wide open to us).
 
Very important, since the concept of heaven is the realization of salvation and eternal life.

If it weren’t, I guess I might as well be a Jehovah’s Witness (never understood following a group that only 144,000 had hope of realizing the beatific vision…making the odds great that most of the followers are not going to heaven)…I read there are about 8.24 million JWs today…that means about 8.23 may be very nice people, but they are no better off then the souls in Sheol before Christ released them.
 
Kei said:
None of us are good people
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Speak for yourself young man. I have come a long in the last few years and have become the benchmark for all wannabe saints in the modern era.
 
Is the 144,000 a literal number, or symbolic for a low percentage? I honestly don’t know. a JW works for me, but I’m careful to not be intrusive with questions.
 
edtaylor51 said:
Is the 144,000 a literal number, or symbolic for a low percentage? I honestly don’t know. a JW works for me, but I’m careful to not be intrusive with questions.
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In conversations I have had with JWs, they take it as literal…and all the JWs I have met would not take any questions about their faith as intrusive, but a path to evangelizing you…which might be an even better reason for not asking them questions!
 
What is your definition to say that those clearly wicked are good? Recall that that which is given by God can be taken away by Him, and there is nothing for a man to boast of. If he must boast, let him boast in God.
 
goodcatholic said:
Sounds like you have some sincere motives for being Christian.
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I hope they are sincere; I cannot tell, for who am I to judge my works? “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41… This describes me well.
 
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