Episode Transcript  

One

FOMO and YOLO: A Lie from Hell

You’ve probably heard the slang: FOMO, “fear of missing out,” and YOLO, “you only live once.” They sound harmless, even fun. But they preach a deadly gospel. The message is this: You get one short life, so squeeze out every drop of pleasure you can, because after death there’s nothing. You’ll never feel, taste, laugh, or love again. So don’t miss out.

That’s not just false, it’s demonic. It’s the lie that says heaven is a downgrade. That once this life ends, the good part is over. That the best we’ll ever experience is here and now. It’s the lie that drives atheists to despair and lulls Christians into lukewarm living. But if you believe the Gospel, then you know: Heaven isn’t the end of joy, it’s the explosion of it.

The Catechism calls heaven “the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness” (CCC 1024). That means: heaven is all gain, no loss. No pleasure on earth can compare. This life isn’t the main event. It’s the rehearsal. The warm-up. The quiet before the music swells. Heaven is where life actually begins.

Two

Cutting the Cord

Entering heaven is like being born, so let’s reflect on birth as a kind of comparison. The transition from womb to world is a move from less to more. It would be absurd for a baby to experience FOMO or think “YOLO,” as if life inside the womb were the real thing. On the contrary, birth is the beginning. Suddenly, there are brilliant sights and sounds, loving arms, movement, speech, thought, and love. That’s what death will be like for the Christian: not an ending, but a birth. A movement from shadow to substance, from hints of joy to joy itself.

We talk about “living life to the fullest” here and now, but we don’t even know what fullness really is. Not yet.

Three

Aren’t There Things We Have to Leave Behind?

Still, many people feel uneasy about heaven. They worry about leaving behind what they love. It’s like a baby in the womb who’s anxious about being born, “Can I keep my umbilical cord?” he might ask. “I need that to survive.” But we’d reply, “You won’t need it where you’re going. There’s something better: eating. Tasting. Feasting.” It might sound vague or unbelievable to the baby, but it’s true. No one misses nutrition through a tube when they’ve discovered food.

Heaven will be like that. There’s no marriage in heaven, because there’s something better that gives all the intimacy and joy of marriage, elevated and perfected. There are no debates or friendly arguments, because we’ll come to the truth together, directly, and delightfully. There’s no more hope because we’ll possess what we’ve longed for completely.

What we leave behind, we leave only to receive more. Again, heaven is all gain. No loss.

Four

Intimacy with God

But the best part of birth isn’t just a richer experience. It’s the encounter. Let’s return one last time to the baby in the womb: Who surrounds the baby? The mother. She’s the source of all the baby’s nourishment, warmth, and comfort. But the baby hasn’t met her. He hears the beat of her heart, maybe a muffled word, but he hasn’t seen her.

Then birth happens. And suddenly, he sees the one who has loved him all along. He sees her smile. He feels her embrace. He looks into her eyes. And for the first time, he understands love. That’s heaven. Right now, God sustains us, surrounds us, gives us everything, but we haven’t seen Him yet.

One day, we will. And in that moment, we’ll feel the fullness of His love. We’ll see His face, His smile, His beauty. And everything in us will finally be at rest. That will be the best part of heaven. That’s what we’re made for.

Five

Responding to FOMO and YOLO

So, a Christian striving for heaven shouldn’t waste a moment fearing what the world calls “missing out.” To someone afraid of not experiencing enough in this life, we say, “Don’t worry. Anything you miss here is waiting for you there, infinitely better, and forever.”

To someone who says, “You only live once,” we say, “That’s not true. You live three times: in the womb, in the world, and in heaven. And the last is the best—and it never ends.”

Dear Lord, help us to keep our eyes on heaven, so we can live with courage now, and embrace You with overflowing joy on the other side.

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you. 

• Whatever you feel the most attached to, whatever you want more than Heaven, spend time thinking about the ways in which, in Heaven, it will be perfect. Foster the desire for its perfection in Heaven.

• Of course, we will truly come to know God in Heaven, but we can begin that relationship now by spending time in quiet personal prayer with Him, sharing our feelings and listening quietly to His inspirations.

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