[Biblemat] A) WHO DO YOU LOVE?

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Tuesday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my recent files:

WHO DO YOU LOVE?

     Paul wrote of difficult times in 2 Tim. 3:1-9.  Interestingly,
he mentions four different loves.  There are lovers of self,
lovers of money and lovers of pleasure.  These are all contras-
ted with lovers of God.

     Which one are we?

     Our age is one of selfishness.  It is all about getting what
we want right now.  Look at the rising debt our nation contin-
ues to have across the board.

     James demonstrated that Christians can be lovers of self
even while they think they are being spiritually minded.  In
Jas. 4:3, he talked to people who prayed.  But their prayers
were doing them no good because they were selfish.

     In Phil. 2:3,4, Paul provides the rule against selfishness.
If we are going to be lovers of God, we must put others be-
fore ourselves.  That means putting our spouses before our-
selvesl, our kids, our parents, our friends, our neighbors, our
employers, and employees and even our enemies before our-
selves.

     Hand in hand with selfishness is the love of money.  We are a money 
centered society.  Power and fame depend on
wealth.  Just the other day while in a hospital waiting room I
saw a magazine entitled Billionaire that is all about the rich
people, how they got that way and how we can too.

     If you don't think our society loves money, look at the num-
ber of lottery tickest sold everywhere.  And if you don't think
Christians are impacted by this misplaced love, look at the
number of Christians who have started defending buying those emblems of 
covetousness.

     When we love God, we will be content with whatever we
have (1 Tim. 6:8-10).  Further we need to be generous with
the blessings God has given us, sharing and storing up our
treasures in heaven (1 Tim. 6:17,18).

     Finally, is there any doubt we are pleasure driven people?
Everything we do seems to be governed by how fun and en-
joyable it is.  Drinking, drugs, immoral sex and any number of
sins come down to people pleasure hunting.  But sadly, even
those who do not fall prey to these "major" sins are often 
driven by pleasure.  Isn't procrastination merely a means of
seeking pleasure, putting off the hard while we spend our
time on fun and looking for the easy life?

     Then consider the number of Christians who think the only way to attract 
folks to Jesus is if it is fun.  Entertainment
centered "worship" is the rule of the day as folks try to draw
in the crowds by pleasing their flesh.

     If we are lovers of God, we will mortify the flesh and its
lusts, following after the Spirit and His fruit (Rom. 8:13).

     Who do you love?    ------- Edwin L. Crozier via Gospel
Power, Vol. 14, No. 21, May 27, 2007.   </HTML>
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