Christian Theology and YOLO

Carpe diem, hakuna matata, you only live once, YOLO; regardless of how one says it, all of these phrases mean the same thing: life is too short to live with worries. The only thing to be certain of in this life, of course, is that it will one day end. Depending on one’s religious beliefs, however, choices made in this life may affect the afterlife. According to Christian theology, this is certainly true. Although the Old Testament, New Testament, writings of Christian thinkers like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, and Dante’s Divine Comedy vary slightly between interpretations of the afterlife, they all make it clear that making poor choices now will have negative effects on one’s experiences in eternity in the afterlife. Therefore, when making choices in life now, Christians must consider these possibilities of punishment or reward after death.

The Biblical understanding of the afterlife is, in fact, quite different when one compares the Old and New Testaments. The very first verse of the Bible, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,” (Genesis 1.1), makes it clear that heaven has existed as long as the rest of creation. Although mentioned several more times throughout the Old Testament, heaven in this case is not the paradise of eternal salvation as described in the New Testament. Rather, it is only the dwelling place of God. Job confirms this when he proclaims, “My witness is in heaven” (Job 16.19). In addition, the author of Psalm 115 writes, “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings” (Psalm 115.16). Clearly, then, the heaven of the Old Testament was a place for God only, not a place for humans to ever expect to be in, even after dying.

Instead of hoping to rea...

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...ts of the Bible. According to Dante’s Divine Comedy, one’s choices in life have a direct relation to the way in which one will spend eternity; therefore, one must make wise decisions now if they wish to live well for the rest of time.

The term YOLO (You Only Live Once) is widely used today, although it directly contradicts Christian beliefs about the afterlife. Although one lives only one life on this earth, the decisions made here in this life directly impact the way in which one will live for eternity after dying. Although Jesus offers forgiveness and mercy to believers who repent their sins, choices made on earth still make an impact in the afterlife. Therefore, it is extremely important for Christians who follow and believe in these teachings to think about these potential everlasting affects before making poor choices and brushing them off as “YOLO moments.”