Unless your last name is Gatsby, great endings are easy in Hollywood, but much more difficult in reality. The apostle Paul made that pretty clear when he was finishing up his second letter to his protégé Timothy. In 2 Timothy 4:9-10 it says:

“Make every effort to come to me soon, for Demas has deserted me, because he loved this present world…”

Demas, Demas, Demas… What were you thinking?! Probably the same thing a lot of us think when we stop focusing on the cross, “Dude, this place is awesome!” Face it, the world is a pretty enticing place. Especially in America. Especially in the 21st century. We have Pinterest. We have Madden. We have FACEBOOK! We have sex, drugs and a million other distractions that have been polished to perfection over the years to appeal to our most basic instincts.

This. Present. World.

It is SO easy to lose sight of what’s ultimately important in the constant shine of what’s immediately good. If you want a great ending, keep that in mind.