Sacrifice the Pleasure of Things, to Gain the Pleasure of Life.

What would you accept in trade for the fruit of the Spirit in your life? What
material possession, what amount of money, what position or title would you exchange
for the love, joy, peace and patience that you enjoy with Christ? "Nothing" we all
probably agree. But how does your day-to-day practice answer those questions? Where
is the majority of your time, energy and money being invested? Is it in Temporal or
eternal endeavour? All too often, the chief end of fallen humanity is to be happy
as animals rather than to be blessed as children of God.

Jesus discussed this very conflict with two of his closest friends, Mary and Martha
(Luke 10:38-42). During Jesus' visit, Martha was caught up in material things,
focusing on meal preparation and service, while Mary centered her attention on
Jesus and His Word. Martha's tendency was to love things and use people, but Jesus
indicated that Mary had chosen "the best part" (verse 42) by loving people and
using things. Victory over self comes as we learn to love people and use things,
and not get those two activities mixed up.
By Nicodemus Ahamazie.
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