I don't believe in love at first sight - there is no such thing. What youre actually feeling is lust at first sight. The strong desire you feel for someone that you just met shows itself in the form of lust. If the person you desire is married or other wise unavailable to you in some way then it turns into lustful covetous and greedy desire. It is human nature to want what we dont have. Lusting after more or for the things that do not belong to us is improper thinking taking control over anything else in our life. Because of this improper thinking we deeply desire things that do not belong to us, like another mans wife, another womans husband, or someone elses money, house, or property. It is wrong to covet what does not belong to us, and yet, we still do it. It is very hard not to want things. It is true, we all want stuff, but what makes some of us greedy and some of us not? God can take us out of our feelings of lust and greed if we ask him. The individual who does not go after lustful desires doesnt THINK in their hearts greedily because they are already content and satisfied in their life. They are satisfied with what they have? It is as simple as that! They are fulfilled with what they already have because they have a relationship with the living God and believe in the purpose for Jesus Christ. They have allowed Christ to channel His Spirit through their life as much as they possibly can. For instance, Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty coins, thats greed! Then one of the twelve-the one called Judas of Iscariot went to the chief priests and asked, What are you willing to give me if I hand him (Jesus) over to you? So they counted out for him thirty coins. From then on Jesus watched for an opportunity to hand him over. Matthew 26:14-15 Judass greedy desire for money and status would not have been attained would he have followed Jesus, so he betrayed Jesus in exchange for money and favor with the religious leaders. It took him a while, but Judas realized that Jesus mission was not a physical or political one, but a spiritual one. Many of us today do this very same thing. We deny Jesus Christ by being friends with depraved worldly things and people. We get so caught up with our selfish desires, we forget all about Jesus and what He has done for us. Greed and lust blind us to Gods guidance. If we lack in spiritual guidance and counsel we become not satisfied with life and we seek outside sources to bring satisfaction into our life. But usually these outside sources involve immoral and covetous behavior. What about seeking satisfaction from within our selves? Will that work? There is absolutely nothing wrong with ambition in life. I believe we are to strive for our aspirations and goals as long as doing so does not involve lusting after, hurting, and using others. God wants us to be all that we can be but not at the expense of others! Thats when it becomes wrong. But sometimes we confuse ambition with lustful desire. And a lot of the times we confuse lust for love. So how can we tell the difference? Lust is a strong emotion that people confuse for love, especially young people that have never had a chance to love the opposite sex. Being "in lust" for someone and being "in love" are two separate feelings. Lust can survive without sharing, giving and compassion, love cannot. Lust is a selfish desire from the physical aspects of who we are, while love is a giving desire from the heart. Lust doesn't recognize the whole picture of marriage or other relationship with seriousness, but rather recognizes what it can gain out of the relationship. Lust is a selfish desire, which can give off the impression of love for a while, but soon disintegrates into a dead end marriage or relationship. Love on the other hand is a growth process that two people share through giving and receiving. One does not instantly fall "in love" like you read in Harlequin Romance books. Actually they have fallen in lust with one another, thinking it is love. Only time and growth with each other brings about the process of being or feeling "in love." To be in love with someone you must share the same things, get to know, understand, and accept one another. Lust doesnt need any of those things to survive. For instance, its easy to buy your girl friend or wife a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates but it's a bit more complex to accept and tolerate her for the way she is. Both of these things take action to accomplish one takes shopping and the other takes loving action. Which is easiest for you? Inappropriate ambition is greed in disguise. Many big organizations and corporations are covetous and greedy. Greed is a never-ending story; greed hurts, manipulates and uses, it keeps lusting for more power and profit at the expense of others. Appropriate ambition is selfless. It is thoughtful and considerate of others while still attaining its goals and objectives. Do nothing out of SELFISH AMBITION or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should not look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4 Being humble involves knowing who we are and what we want. Humbleness comes from those who are already satisfied with what they have. Satisfaction comes from knowing and loving God above all other things and then placing our ambitions upon the foundation of Gods wisdom and truth. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so you will not be dependent on anybody. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 |
