Is carpe diem something a Christian should live by?

Answer

Carpe diem (pronounced ˈkar pay ˈdee um) is a Latin phrase that means “seize the day,” or more literally, “pluck the day (when it is ripe).” Carpe diem suggests living for today without worrying about tomorrow. While the concept of carpe diem has its merits, there are also negative implications that a Christian should consider before adopting it as a life motto.

The phrase carpe diem originated in the writings of Horace (65–8 BC) in his Odes Book I. When Lord Byron used the phrase in his Letters, published by Thomas Moore in 1830, it became a popular English idiom. The idea of carpe diem is captured in the opening stanza of Robert Herrick’s poem “To the Virgins to Make Much of Time”:

“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.”

Jesus presented His own version of carpe diem in Matthew 6:34: “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” This teaching followed Jesus’ assurances that the Father knows our needs before we ask (verse 32). Jesus’ instruction differs from the common interpretation of carpe diem in that His emphasis was on trusting God for tomorrow, not ignoring its arrival. Jesus’ parable in Luke 12:16–21 about a man living by the carpe diem philosophy was notably negative. Jesus rebuked those who think, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry” (verse 19).

Preparing for a better tomorrow is not the same as fretting about it. Many applications of carpe diem involve some degree of impulsiveness and irresponsibility, as in “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die” «If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for

Tomorrow we die.” (1 Corinthians 15:32). The philosophy of carpe diem supports the attitude of indulging fleshly desires today because there may not be a chance to do so tomorrow. Variations of carpe diem define the mentality of some individuals in poverty, a mindset that hinders them from making strategic plans today that will pay off tomorrow and help them break free of poverty. Carpe diem kills the golden goose today, without caring that it forfeits the golden eggs that would have provided all year.

Weeding out irresponsible and foolish responses to carpe diem, the general principle can have some value. We are to “make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”, (Ephesians 5:16) and taking every opportunity to do good (Galatians 6:10;Colossians 4:5). We can view carpe diem as seizing every moment that God allows us to live, savoring it and recognizing that we are not guaranteed tomorrow (see James 4:13-15).

When we live with the understanding that our days on this earth are numbered “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; And in thy book all my members were written, Which in continuance were fashioned, When as yet there was none of them.”, (Psalm 139:16) and that they are too few for us to waste fretting about what may never be, we can live “in the moment.” We should stop and smell (or gather) the roses and thank God for them. We can thrill to a bird’s song, marvel at a sunset, and take time to listen to the lonely. This is the true carpe diem; this is truly “seizing the moment.”

Our lives were given to us for a purpose, but that purpose is not what the world tells us it is. We were not given life so that we could “seize the day” in selfish ways. Our purpose is to glorify God in everything we do «Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. », (1 Corinthians 10:31). We glorify Him by taking time to appreciate all He has given us (2 Peter 1:3; Romans 8:32), by investing our time and resources in things that matter «but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: », (Matthew 6:20), and by preparing wisely for the future, both here and in eternity (Proverbs 6:6-8; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).