Christian Living

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BY COMMENTING
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE As A Member OR Visitor
Message Writer
Hire Writer
Report Article

Track Writer

Add to Favorites

by Brother Carlton

03/24/21
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

Have you ever asked yourself why you are where you are when

it comes to your mental, emotional and financial wellbeing?

Sometimes we adults do the dumbest things don't we?

Even teenagers do the dumbest things wouldn't you agree?

It is sad but true.

Just reflect on your own life for several minutes. Stop what you are doing

and write down some of the biggest, worse mistakes, sins or failures you made growing up or in the past 5-20 years.

Were you close to God at the time?

If so were you focused on achieving a positive and excellent result or outcome or were you

just unfocused and living as though you had all the time in the world?

Were you sloppy and lazy in your work and study and preparation?

I could write a book on all the mistakes I've made in my life and I certainly don't wish them on anybody.

At some point you have to stop and ask yourself why you

are not making more progress with what God has given you.

It's a fair question don't you think?

The Bible warns to whom much is given much shall be required. Luke 12:48

Ponder that truth. Study it and see if you will start to change.

Now, a Bible verse has always come to mind when I start to beat myself up too much for my lack of success and that is Romans 8:28

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Conversely, I once heard it said at a Bible study back in the 1980's that "All things work together for bad to them who hate God; to them who are not the called according to his purpose."

I know people with great intellect and other skills that are not where they should be nor where they could be and if you were to ask these people why they haven't achieved more they might give you many and varied excuses.

Ask a speaker whose speech failed to get the desired response why his/her message failed and you might hear something like the audience just wasn't receptive

or the audience didn't appreciate my arguments or jokes or the value of my topc etc

Maybe the speaker didn't make adequate preparation.

When I joined Toastmasters during my college years I did so with the intention of improving my public speaking ability and while I was a communication major in college I joined the speech team and learned some techniques from the best speakers in my class.

Soon I got very good at impromptu and extemporaneous speeches and won a few tournaments but it took practice and commitment and the accumulation of everything God had taught me about life and other matters up to that point.

In other words I was not an overnight success.

The late Christian businessman, author and speaker Jim Rohn once said

that if you want to be successful you need a better philosophy.

You can't keep blaming everybody else and other circumstances for your failures.

At some point you have to realize the blame lies with your perspective or philosophy of life.

After having pennies in his pocket and nothing in the bank Mr. Rohn found a mentor

who helped him change his way of thinking and in 5 years Mr. Rohn became a millionaire at about age 31.

To become a millionaire at 31 is quite a feat because when you think about it most people are not even millionaires when they die and that's ok. Thankfully God doesn't require it as a condition for entering heaven.

Now think about your health.

Imagine a person who wanted to be healthy but who never exercised and who ate nothing but junk food and who smoked and drank alcohol excessively.

Would you take him or her seriously?

If a person wanted to be successful but never took the time to study what successful people do then you might conclude such a person is nothing but a dreamer with no real plan.

Jim Rohn also said and it makes sense to me,

If you want to be successful you need to study success.

If you want to be healthy you need to study health and

if you want to be wealthy you need to study wealth.

How about happiness?

Yes, the same thing goes for the attainment of happiness.

In Matthew 5:3-8 we read what Jesus taught about happiness.

Where the teacher is the students will gather so let us gather around these verses and ponder them carefully.

And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

If you study these beatitudes you discover that every single one is pointing to the fact that the truly happy person is a child of God because they are the ones whose sins are forgiven and they are the ones who shall spend eternity with God.

How do I know this?

Because only the poor in spirit who mourn for their sins and who show mercy to other sinners and who hunger and thirst to be righteous like the Lord Jesus and who have hearts that are pure because of the faith of Jesus Christ are "born again" and will have a home in heaven.

Regardless of their earthly condition they are blessed or happy

Ultimately salvation is a gift rather than a result of just study but God draws his elect to himself and by studying what scripture teaches about happiness we too can be happy if we seek it.

Seek and ye shall find.

In high school I knew if I wanted to be a good chess player I had to study chess

so I did but actually my study began a year earlier when I was living in a foster home and a friend of my parents named Chuck Blaylock bought me a book on chess.

Never before had I read a book on chess. I just played the game using my limited understanding of how the pieces moved and a few basic tricks but nothing strategic or

sophisticated and I did ok.

I read and studied that book and learned the philosophy of playing a good game of chess.

First I learned basic openings and then forking techniques using the knight and then the power of a good defense when being attacked by various opposing

pieces.

Eventually I became the best in my school winning a few trophies at tournaments.

I put the game aside for many years but then a few years ago I jumped online and started playing people from all over the world and the competition was much greater. I started losing in many cases but I got better with practice.

My game moved to a higher level and studied some very desireable outcomes if

I played the right combination of moves.

WARNING: Chess can become an addiction like anything else and an obsession as it was with Bobby Fisher and other champions.

I don't recommend this at all but it was the price these champions paid to become

the best in the world.

Now, think about this fact if all these champions and so called "winners" died without Christ then they had their earthly reward. They will never spend eternity in heaven experiencing happiness and joy surrounded by saints who love and rejoice in God's salvation from sin.

We all as professing Christians run a race and only those who run to the end will attain the prize of the high calling of God in Christ which is eternal life and blessedness including the peace of God and forgiveness of sins.

Let us focus on the one thing needful that will get us the greatest result and reward imaginable.

The lesser rewards of good health, money or financial independence and so called success are not to be despised but they pale in comparison to true happiness for only that person who is truly happy can be considered a success in God's eyes.

Carlton Pruitt ministers the gospel to the Los Angeles area. Formerly a Hollywood actor (SAG member) and junk removal expert he now spends most of his time studying the scriptures, writing articles, hymns and poems and doing street preaching. See all his videos on https://www.YouTube.com/user/LAStreetPreacher CONTACT at [email protected]

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR

Reader Count & Comments

Date