“Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to.”
― Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven
JEREMIAH 14-16
19Lord, my strength and my fortress,
my refuge in time of distress,
to you the nations will come
from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,
worthless idols that did them no good.
20Do people make their own gods?
Yes, but they are not gods!” (16:19-20)
1 TIMOTHY 5
8Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
It is very clear from these verses that man is to do all he can with what he has to provide for himself and his family in obedience to God. He is to trust God and God only and is not to be consumed with things that are not God.JOURNAL
This is such a tough word yet it is pretty cut and dry. To follow this means that I am willing to give up pursuit of anything other than God and his direction as my ultimate goal. This means that every action, encounter, situation and circumstance has to be put through the filter of this obedience. Obedience to God has to be my ultimate objective or else I am not really a believer. I see no other way of interpreting scripture. Sometimes though that is hard to determine God's direction...especially given the emotions I will experience moment to moment. Yet that's why scripture is so vital...many times what may seem to be the obvious choice may come to be a path that's opposite of God's direction. Following God is a daily, moment by moment pursuit.
However once obedience to God is my ultimate pursuit then many things will follow that pursuit. Humility, diligence, generosity, honesty, sacrifice, courage, joy and love. Obedience must come first and then God has created us so that when it does and we do the hard thing in surrendering our will then he releases the rest to us. It's the equivalent of good roots. When a plant has good roots and nutrients it thrives but when the roots are bad and the nutrients are lacking...it's doomed. To live life with these attributes being poured out of my life becomes a life that is the best of which I can give. It is a life that I am honored to live and one in which I will have no regrets.
17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
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