The Responsibility of a Life Well Lived

“Each of us will give a personal account to God.” Romans 14:12 (NLT)

At the end of my life on earth, I’ll stand before God and he’ll evaluate how well I served others. The Bible says, “Each of us will give a personal account to God” (Romans 14:12 NLT).

Think about the implications of that. One day God will compare how much time and energy I spent on myself compared with what I invested in serving others.

At that point, all my excuses for self-centeredness will sound hollow: “I was too busy,” or “I had my own goals,” or “I was preoccupied with working, having fun, and preparing for retirement.”

To all excuses, God will respond with something like, “I created, saved, and called you. Then I commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?”

The Bible warns unbelievers, “He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves” (Romans 2:8 NLT). And Christians who live for themselves will lose eternal rewards.

The Bible says that I'm only fully alive when I'm helping others. Jesus said it like this: “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35 TLB).

Then he repeats a similar truth twice in the book of Matthew and twice in Luke:

• “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it” (Matthew 10:39 TLB).

• “For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for me shall find it again” (Matthew 16:25 TLB).

• “Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it, but whoever insists on keeping his life will lose it” (Luke 9:24 TLB).

• “Whoever clings to his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall save it” (Luke 17:33 TLB).

I need to catch this. This truth is so important that it is repeated five times in the Gospels. It reminds me that If I am not serving, I'm just existing—because life is meant for ministry.

What does God expect from me? He wants me to learn to love and serve others unselfishly.

In summary:

This passage emphasizes that every person will one day give a personal account to God, who will evaluate how faithfully they lived a life of service rather than self-interest. It challenges the tendency to justify self-centered living with excuses like busyness or personal goals, reminding us that God created, saved, and called us to serve others. Scripture warns that living for oneself leads to loss—of meaning for unbelievers and of eternal rewards for believers—while true life is found in self-giving service. Jesus reinforces this truth repeatedly in the Gospels, teaching that clinging to one’s own life leads to loss, but giving it up for His sake leads to real life. Ultimately, the message is clear: life finds its fullest purpose in loving and serving others unselfishly, because without service, we are merely existing rather than truly living.

Bottom Line:

I was created to serve, and I will be accountable to God for how I used your life—because real life is found not in living for yourself, but in loving and serving others.

Next steps:

Intentionally move from awareness to action by choosing one concrete way to serve others—starting now, not someday. That means honestly examining where your time, energy, and priorities are self-focused, then deliberately reallocating at least one of them toward loving, unselfish service (at work, at home, in your community, or through your gifts). In short: stop postponing service and practice it—because obedience clarifies purpose.