THE MASTER OF PREOCCUPATION

We live in a selfish world and the needs of other people aren’t even noticed anymore. People are too busy thinking only of themselves and spend too much time on their jobs, hobbies, and the pursuit of worldly pleasures. The devil is a master of preoccupation and if you’ll let him he’ll consume all your time thus preventing you from having the time and resources to bless others. Selfishness is a work of the flesh and Paul writes in Gal. 5:19-21 MSG,

“It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time:

Repetitive, loveless, cheap sex;

A stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage;

Frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; Trinket gods; magic-show religion;

Paranoid loneliness;

Cut-throat competition;

All-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants;

A brutal temper;

An impotence to love or be loved;

Divided homes and divided lives;

Small-minded and lopsided pursuits;

The vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival;

Uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions;

Ugly parodies of community.

I could go on.”

Love, on the other hand, freely gives, and this is what separates devilish giving from Godly giving. The word “give’ is in the Bible some 2,000 times, and giving is the greatest expression of love there is. Giving is not what you do, it’s what you are! God is love, and love gives. Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Gal. 2:20a Jesus freely gave Himself to you, and now you must give yourself to somebody else.

Don’t do this mournfully and act like it’s a burden to you. Giving brings joy, so put a smile on your face and help somebody cheerfully and willingly. Jesus said in John 13:17, “If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.” The joy of the Lord is your strength Neh. 8:10 and sadness makes you weak.

If all you do is think of yourself you’ll be sad and weak all the time, and it’s a bad witness to the world for a believer to be depressed.

Remember, the world is watching you. If you help others you’ll be stronger, happier, and more blessed than if you did something for yourself. We all have limits on our time, money, and resources and what you spend on yourself you can’t spend on somebody else. It’s a choice you’ll have to make.

If you live only for yourself you’ll lose your life and it will slip away like sand flowing through your fingers. Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. He let Himself be sacrificed and we have to have the same mindset. And when we, like Jesus, put others firstwe also will have joy unspeakable.

Jesus is saying to each of us, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Your love for God is demonstrated by your love for people. You can’t separate God from His children and if want to be close to God you must treat His children in a loving, proper manner.

Husbands, your father-in-law is God and you best remember that the next time you want to behave rudely toward your wife. Loving others begins at home and your love for other people is all based on your love for God. When He is the center of your universe you can love Gods’ way.

Paul writes, “But what happens when we live Gods’ way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way.

Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good - crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its’ implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original” Gal. 5:22-26 MSG.

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