7 Virtues

MATTHEW 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

I want more. More time, more money, more recognition. I need newer stuff, better stuff, and more stuff. There HAS to be more to life than this! Ever heard that from your kids? Ever heard it from yourself? It seems to be the battle-cry of this age, doesn’t it? Most of us are too well-mannered to say it or talk about it, but really and truly....we want more! Oh sure, whatever we have as Christians is great...but it’s never enough, is it?

Herein lies the paradox....is it a bad thing to always want more? King Solomon was the world’s smartest guy...look it up...but even he couldn’t be happy with what he had or accomplished. Always chasing something better than he had, indulging himself, going off on wild binges...searching for more and finding less. Read Ecclesiastes sometime. He calls it "chasing the wind". Finally he realized, as we all need to, that we actually CAN be content with what we have. Would’ve saved a lot of time and trouble if we’d only started out with that realization!

Now, having said that, let me say this...you should want more! Does that shock you? You should never be satisfied with just what’s in front of you or content with just what you have. That’s a recipe for emptiness and will wither away your soul. Wanting more is not the problem...we should want more of God, shouldn’t we? I think the main problem is that we seek after things that don’t satisfy or even things that satisfy only temporarily. Jesus said in MAT 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We should desire the things of God, the treasures in heaven, not the corruptible ones here on earth. I don’t care how rich you are or how much "stuff" you have, it ain’t going with you when you go. Someone once said "if I can’t take it with me when I go, then I’m not going".....guess again! Think about it this way...even if you could take it with you, do you really want to gather up junk to spend eternity with? Most of it goes into the garage sale anyway after a few years...think how you’d feel about having all that junk around for eternity!

No, wanting isn’t the problem. We just have to learn how to want more and less at the same time. What? Yes...more. Jesus says back in MATTHEW 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. We should want more of God, of His goodness, His Kingdom, His righteousness. The trick is to know the difference between what is from God and what is from our own selfish desires.

Did you know that if you are a Christian you already posses everything you need? Turn to 2 PETER 1:3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Then why do we fail sometimes if we have everything we need? Usually it’s because we don’t use what we have.

I have a recording studio at my house. I should have the ability to record CD’s. I told Coy this fact. I can’t record CD’s right now, though. It’s not set up. I have it, but I can’t use it right now. Usually it’s our own laziness that keeps us from using what God has given to us!

Everything you need for life and Godliness you have! 1 PETER 1:5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.