We reserve the abode of the Hereafter for those who do not seek exaltation on earth, nor corruption. The ultimate victory belongs to the righteous. (28:83)
As believers in God alone, our priority in this life should be to fulfill God's
expectation of us. We should live a life that will please God. What pleases
God is not our utterances, but our actual intentions or actions to carry out
His commandments. When pleasing God becomes the most important aspect of one's
life, God will make every thing wonderful for him or her:
God promises those among you who believe and lead righteous
life, that He will make them sovereigns on earth, as He did for those before
them, and will establish for them the religion He has chosen for them, and will
substitute peace and security for them in place of fear. All this because they
worship Me alone, without setting up any idols besides Me. Those who disbelieve
after this are the truly wicked (24:55).
If you want to become a "king" or a "queen" on earth, then,
you have to examine yourself sincerely at every opportunity. Anytime you have
a problem in any aspect of your life -money, health, relationships, any problem-you
must search for the lesson. As soon as you understand the lesson, everything
will be all right. The problem will simply go away, and, more importantly, God
will make it up to you. All bad effects of the past will be wiped out.
If you are sincere, God will perfect your relationship with Him, by putting
you through tests, based on your weaknesses (3:14;
8:28). For example,
if you hold anything to be more important than God, He might take it away from
you, in order to test you. Therefore, one must ask himself, "What is the
most important thing in my life?" If your job is the most important thing,
it may be taken away. If your children are the most important aspect of your
life, they may be taken away.
The number one priority in everyone's life should be to please God. No one
or nothing else should take priority before God. What is the number one priority
in your life? Is it pleasing God, or your boss? Is it doing your five daily
prayers to please God, or pleasing your friends who may not understand why you
bow and prostrate? Is it going to the Friday prayer or taking care of your business?
Is it to be with the believers in Quranic study or fulfilling your own desires
by seeking recreation on Friday nights? What is it? You have to examine yourself
carefully, and you must correct the situation immediately. If you put pleasing
your friends ahead of pleasing God, God will embarrass you in front of those
friends. However, if you put pleasing God ahead of pleasing your friends, God
will shower you with dignity and respect in front of those friends. He will
make them, force them, to respect you, and even love you. God controls the minds
and hearts of all the people. God is the one who makes them love you, or hate
you, or respect you.
Do you act differently with the believers than you normally act? Do you speak
up and give your opinion to other believers because you honestly want to share
your thoughts and understanding with them, or do you simply want them to be
impressed by your knowledge? If the reason you speak out is to be respected
by the believers, God will take away that respect. Whereas, if you speak out
from an honest and sincere desire to express Quran and learn with those around
you, God will shower you with admiration from the believers.
Once you make pleasing God the most important thing in your life, you will possess the most valuable thing one can ask for - God's support. But, if you make anything more important than pleasing God, you will be tested over and over. If you do not realize that fact after all the tests, you will lose both in this world and in the Hereafter.