F4S: Money, sex and power—the primary goals of those of the world haven’t changed.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Money, sex and power—the primary goals of those of the world haven’t changed.


That's Kurt's free translation of what he said and is still true today. I say go study Mr. Augustine and the Bible. The cravings of the world are the same as before and the world has many categories of people (sportos, drama peeps, party animals, intellectual geeks etc.), but God only has three (the natural man, the carnal man, and the spiritual man) and what they each tend to go after is what they each have gone after in the past. But we'd all would do well to go after knowing the Lord before it all.

 When Augustine was here, he was influenced by Stoicism and Neo-Platonism, and he determined that the personal attributes needed for happiness were based in terms of character strengths. 
Do you deny yourself sometimes, or are you more into instant gratification? Basic to personal strength is delayed gratification and self-mastery. These require self-control instead of the control of others—as the desire for “money, sex, and power” does. 
From Augustine’s frame of mind and perspective, if happiness is the contentment of living an intentionally virtuous and well-examined life but one is ignorant of or resists that truth—feeling, thinking, for example, that happiness is the external pleasures wrought by money, sex, and power—guess what.. one will never truly be happy because these transient pleasures simply cannot last. 
Why be duped by the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and or the pride of life–you know, by Mr Lu-Cifer (the devil) and his minions (fallen angels)?
Augustine knew that we all typically want true happiness, and we want that to last in our lives here. So, observed and he concluded that some people are deluded about what truly makes for a so called happy or good life. 
Though people may say they want to be happy, if they do not understand that true happiness depends on a right relationship with Christ, with seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, with daily wanting to please Him, with godly wisdom that comes from Him to us.. within as the Holy Spirit leads is there and leads us… rather than from having gobs of cool possessions or certain circumstances that come from without minus having Christ living on the inside of you.

So many people carry around a counterfeit notion of what we as people all truly long for inside.

 You were made for a wonderful union, a right friendship with God, and you won’t ditch your inner unrest until you find yourself resting in Christ. I mean in the Bible Jesus. It's more blessed (meaning radically happy in a spiritual sorta way) to give than to receive, so I just dare you to give your life away.. to Him. And then go give your friends and other people His Gospel so that they too can become so blessed with His forgiveness, His presence, His love, His joy, His peace, and real life that He gives. Wanna know what He has to say about this?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“..nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:10
“Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.” Proverbs 15:27
“For an overseer (a.k.a. a Christian elder in a local church), as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain.” Titus 1:7
“They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” Ephesians 4:18-19
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside are full of greed and self-indulgence.” Matthew 23:25
“And many will follow their (popular false prophets and false teachers outside and even inside some so called Christian churches) sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction will not sleep.” 2 Peter 2:2-3
"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." 1 Corinthians 6:18
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
If you will be a delegated authority, then please bless the Lord with that, and go help the people. Why live primarily for power over people.. instead of all-out for the Lord of all power? 
That'd be dumb. Isn't that just an ugly ego trip? Why go after a mere position of high authority first ..so that you can just rule over all others ..when doing that really won't satisfy you inside, and there will still be One over you who will hold you accountable for such lame idolatry? A local church or Christian without a heart for winning the broken to the One who can heal the broken.. is broken! "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7
Want to visit: Kurt W. von Schleicher at 8:40 AM