Why (The Core)
This is your gut feeling, your purpose, your reason for existing. It's not about making money or getting ahead - that's just the result. Your why is deeper. Maybe it's "I want my kids to know they can overcome anything" or "I believe hard work and integrity still matter" or "I want to show other men it's okay to struggle and still be strong."
“For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire
of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness,
carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. 4
In all this, they are
surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of
dissipation, and they malign you; 5
but they will give account to Him who is
ready to judge the living and the dead”.
-1 Peter 4:3-5
In conclusion:
1. The time is now. It is way past time for you to start. [But you already
know that.]
2. You’ve had plenty of time to screw around.
3. Your friends won’t understand and will mock you.
4. They, like you, will be judged by the results.
The Time Is Already Past
There comes a point where you don’t need more information.
You don’t need another podcast.
Another book.
Another excuse.
You already know.
Peter says it straight:
“For the time already past is sufficient...”
— 1 Peter 4:3 (NASB)
In other words—You’ve had enough time.
Enough time to drift.
Enough time to experiment.
Enough time to chase things that didn’t deliver.
Let’s be honest. You’ve already done:
• what you wanted
• what felt good
• what everyone else was doing
And where did it get you? That season?
It’s over.
Not someday.
Not when it’s convenient.
Now.
Because at some point, you must look at your life and say:
“That was enough.”
Enough wasted time.
Enough empty pursuits.
Enough living without direction.
But here’s where it gets real.
When you decide to change... People notice.
And not always in a good way.
Peter says:
“They are surprised that you do not run with them...”
— 1 Peter 4:4 (NASB)
Of course they are. Because you were one of them.
You ran with them.
You thought like them.
You lived like them.
And now? You don’t.
That makes people uncomfortable.
So they question you.
They mock you.
They label you.
“Too serious.”
“Too extreme.”
“You’ve changed.”
They’re right.
You have.
But understand this:
Their reaction says more about them... than it does about you.
Because your change forces them to confront their own choices.
And most people don’t want to do that.
So they push back.
Not because you’re wrong— But because you’re different.
And here’s the part nobody wants to talk about:
“They will give account...” — 1 Peter 4:5 (NASB)
Just like you will. This isn’t about comparison.
This isn’t about being “better” than anyone. This is about reality.
Every man will answer for his life. The answer is clearly seen by the results you experience.
Every choice.
Every direction.
Every compromise.
You don’t get to outsource that. You don’t get to hide in the crowd.
So the question becomes:
What are you going to do now?
You’ve already spent enough time living one way.
You already know where that road leads.
You don’t need more time.
You need a decision.
The past was enough.
Now it’s time to live differently.
