I think of temporary happiness as things that give us selfish gratifications. When people smoke, they do not care for the people, they do not care if they get sick from second hand smoking. Nonetheless, they do not care about harming themselves, they just want that temporary good feeling. When people drink to get drunk, they do not realize that other people have to help them. They have to make sure they do not do anything they will regret (fighting, sex, driving home, etc.). Getting drunk is something that people want to do for themselves, and the reasons can be celebrating or trying to avoid their problems. When people argue or fight, they want to win the argument or fight, not necessarily to make the other person feel good. Sometimes people argue and fight with people to attempt to show that they have authority over you. People may even want to hurt you to make themselves feel good. There are other examples of being selfish, and I believe being selfishness hurts you as well as it hurts others. We have to see the bigger picture, we cannot be so narrow minded in selfishness, that we forget to see how our decisions are effecting other people around us.
Instant success is something I am guilty of thinking of, I think about having millions of dollars and thinking of the ideas I would do with my money. So I think that if I could somehow get a lot of money now, I would know what to do with it. In reality, people are becoming broke after winning the lottery and athletes are declaring bankruptcy after making millions. Why? Because when we have little, we realize that we do not need as much and are happy with what we have. When we have a lot, all of a sudden we are under the impression that we need more because we have more. You must work hard for your success because once you become successful, you will realize that you do not need as much and can give to others
You will see other people struggling and you will use your money to help others. That is how the circle of life should work. Whether you have grown up in a poor family or a rich family, you should not feel bitter or feel bad towards other people. If you grew up with a little and you are able to gain a lot, do not be selfish and tell yourself that since you worked hard for every penny, that it is all yours. Instead realize what struggles and mistakes you made, and share that with others. Give people that were once in your position, the chance to pursue greatness.
God gives us a testimony to share, and He enriches us so we can help those in need. (You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11). God gives us EVERYTHING, whether you start with a little or a lot. If you start with a lot, wear your blessings well. People may think you have it easier then those who are poor, but in reality you miss out on some struggles that poor people go through. Struggling makes you stronger, both sides of the coin have to overcome their situations. I have heard stories from poor people that did not have a lot and those stories humble me and I gain more appreciation for my life. I have heard stories from rich people and I have seen what they do. There are people that use their money for the better of others and not necessarily for themselves, because they want to see joy in other people's faces, and there is no dollar sign on that, it is priceless...I have seen poor people give up and say this life is too hard...I have seen rich people use their money for selfish reasons...We are all given a situation, it is your decision in whether you want to use it for the glory of God or for the glory of yourself.
Do not believe that if you have more, you will be better off. The reason why you do not get a promotion, is because you are not giving your best effort in the position you are in. You may think, "But if I get a promotion I will give better effort." Me for example, I do not necessarily want to be an assistant coach. I want to be a head coach at the highest level. And I believe I can be a good head coach right now. But I have to be the best assistant coach I can possibly be. I cannot pout as an assistant and think that will get me promoted to a head coach. When I am ready, I will move up the ladder. The keys to moving up the ladder is to have faith in the little things and taking your job seriously. You may make fun of someone for taking their job seriously, but the ones that do take it seriously, will get paid more and move up the success ladder quicker than you. When you paint the bigger picture, you have to make sure every little detail is in place. The little things you paint, create the big picture. You could have an ugly past, but once you learn from the mistakes you have made, your future will look good.
I want to leave you with a rhetorical question that I want you to ask yourselves...What gives me the right to be selfish?
God gave all of us life, we should not glorify ourselves. Jesus SAVED all of our lives, we should live for Him. We all are grateful to our mothers for giving birth to us and we all are grateful to people that save our lives. So we need to see the bigger picture and realize that God gave us this life and Jesus saved us. He continues to save us and protect us, and I realize that now that I am saved, He has been saving me even when I did not have a relationship with Him...We all want to inherit the kingdom of God and spend eternity in Heaven, we can only do that if we have a relationship with Christ. Jesus has saved us, but it is our calling to live for Him.
We have to be obedient to Him, if we SAY we believe in Christ but do not follow His ways, that does not mean we have a relationship with Him. If I am a coach, and I tell my team to run a play, and they don't, that means my team does not believe in me. If someone asks my players, "Who is your coach?" They will say it is me, but that still does not mean they believe in me. If you do not do what Jesus asks you to do, then you do not believe in Him, you are just using Him. You are just declaring that He saved your life and you do not owe Him anything. The mindset of, "Thank you Jesus for saving my life, but I am going to do my own thing now, see you in Heaven." does not work. Jesus did not save your life so you can turn away from Him, He said that whoever believes in Him, will never die. (...everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. John 3:15). Saying you believe is not enough, being obedient is believing in Jesus. Anyone can raise their hand and declare Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but it is what you do after that, and after declaring He is Lord, you must develop a relationship with Him that will set you free and break you away from the bondage and uncertainty of sin.
Thank you for reading! Feedback and personal stories are encouraged! Please share with anyone you believe needs to read this!
Sincerely,
Christopher Edward Perez
Twitter: C_P_2
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