Let me tell you a fable about the pig and the cow, The pig was unpopular while the cow was beloved. This puzzled the pig. 'People speak warmly of your gentle nature and your sorrowful eyes,' the pig said to the cow. 'They think you're generous because each day you give them milk and cream. But what about me? I give them everything I have. I give bacon and ham. I provide bristles for brushes. They even pickle my feet! Yet not one likes me. Why is that?

Do you know what the cow answered?. The cow said, "Perhaps it is because I give while I'm still living."

A living dog is better than a dead lion; a living pauper than a dead millionaire because his situation can experience a turnaround while he is yet living. For some, it is after they are gone that the world will remember the good they have done.

In as much as there is nothing wrong with this, the beauty of it is for your impact to be felt while you are alive. Before it is too late, be your best for the Lord. Be willing to spend and be spent for the sake of the Kingdom because it is only what is done for Christ that will last through all eternity. And maybe you are reading this today, there may be people you have held back your appreciation from, probably those that have played one significant role or the other in your lives, don't wait until when it's too late to tell them how appreciative you are. Don't give one of those popular speech at the funeral "I wish I was able to let him know how grateful I am for all he did" Alas! You are speaking to the dead, he cannot hear you any longer. Let's make the best use of every opportunity we have. Let me wrap up with a quote from Martin Luther King:

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well." Think about it!