Punished or Freed

DEVOTION
PROVERBS
PUNISHED OR FREED
Prov 11:21
21 Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
but those who are righteous will go free.
NIV
I surely do not want to see anyone punished. What a sad thing to know there are people who will not go free but will be sentenced to punishment. Is the way of self-centered life worth the end it will bring? Is living in the denial or refusal to accept the ways of God worth being punished in the end? Is living free from all Godly standards worth not being freed from punishment? I guess I understand why people want to live for their self instead of living for God. I think in a way it frees them to live in a manner which pleases their own sense of what is right and wrong. I think is gives them the opportunity to justify any behavior by their own values. I think that is the key idea here, of those who are classified as wicked, that they live according to their own values. Surely some are very nice people, good in many respects, doing great things for whatever cause they are connected to. Surely many are loving parents, devoted children, and dedicated to serving others. But unless they accept Jesus Christ as their own personal Lord and Savior, and they acknowledge God in their lives, he considers them wicked. All the good that is done in the name of mankind in the grand scheme of things is worthless. What matters if what is done in the name of God. What matters is living for God and being the person he desires me to be, to acknowledge him as my God, and to declare all that he has done for me, in me and through me to all who will listen. I dare not think that any believer would simple believe for their own benefit alone. It is not about how the Kingdom of God benefits me, but how I benefit the Kingdom of God. I must be about my Fathers business. Even though it is true I have been set free already, I also know that at the conclusion of this life on earth, I will be eternally free.