Much Is Wasted

Once I heard a preacher say, "Man should be
Like the mosquito, his life one day long;
How careful would he plan his destiny,
Quickly choosing God instead of the wrong!"
The more I considered that odd remark,
The wiser that old minister became;
For if men knew that death was sure at dark,
Virtue would loom larger than fleeting fame!
How many wasted days and wasted nights,
Would he discard, striving not to be lost?
Each tick of his watch drives him to new heights;
As shadows lengthen, he clings to the cross!
But man's life is now desperately brief,
And much is wasted,bringing on him grief!

God steadily shortened man's life in the years after Adam's sin. Adam himself lived for 930 years. (See Genesis 5:5) All those who lived before the flood lived long lives. God grew sorry for making man, because there was so much sin in the world; He caused it to rain steadily for forty days, and everybody drowned except the eight members of Noah's family. The man who is recorded as living the longest was Methusaleh, who died after a life of 969 years. (See Genesis 5:27)

After the flood, lives were much shorter. Abraham lived 175 years, about 4000 years ago, in 2000 B.C. (See Genesis 25:7) Abraham's grandson, Jacob, whose name was changed by God to Israel, lived 147 years. (See Genesis 47:28)

By David's time, about 1000 B. C., the age of 70 years was declared by God as the average age of a man (see Psalm 90:10), but most people didn't live that long until modern medicine began to lengthen the average age.

I think God reduced the length of time men lived for the same reason the old preacher said. The longer we live, the more opportunity there is for us to do evil things. Satan and his other fallen angels are all around us. We can't see them, but their intention is to plant evil desires in our minds.