How much is enough?

‘Trop est avare à qui Dieu ne suffit.'
You're too greedy if God is not enough for you.

It reminds me that we must find joy from within, in having the peace of christ, in knowing that he will not forsake you if you live or him. You might have lost all the money in your 401k, or are being pursued by debt collectors, or were damaged by the hurricanes in the southeast, or faced racism, or sexism. Through our trials and our joy, we must find our peace in christ. The father would never abandon his children. Realize that your trials are here to strengthen you and prepare you for a future full of hope. If you feel like you need more money, or a new car, or a bigger house, or new clothes, or power, or fame. Then you really need to look inward and find out why you are addicted to smoking, alcohol, pornography, strip clubs, drugs, sex, violence or anger. If you pray about it, then you will find your answers, seek counsel from someone you trust, and surround yourself with people who will support you.

When you see the face of god in the people who are your closest friends then you are on the right track. But when you surround yourself with people who support your addictions, your pain, or your anger, who make you feel sinful or guilty : then it is time to find new friends.

Did you find your friends at parties, or nightclubs, or when you were running with bad influences. Most of us know when we are doing something that is essentially wrong or damaging to ourself or others. The difficult thing is to make a lifestyle change to remove the actions that are hurting us. A couple years ago I was overweight. So I started making a conscious effort to give up on soda, and high calorie drinks, as well as to start going to the gym. And after a few months I started to see my body taking on a new shape.

If you give up smoking or drugs, you too might see your body change into something better then the few minutes of buzz you get from alcohol or smoking.

I have seen my friends who drink and smoke a lot. And the ones who are my age look a lot older than I do. They have killed off so many cells in their body and caused themselves to age faster. I gave up alcohol a long time ago, becaue I ended up in a police station. And I never wanted that to happen again. So I chose to abstain from alcohol. And I used to go to parties where people were taking drugs. And I just decided that those are not the people I want to surround myself with.

Is god enough for you?
I pose that for those of you who do not believe, or for those of you with addictions. When you get an urge to go to your habitual sin: take a moment to read the bible, or pray, or listen to praise music, or call your prayer partner. When the evil one tempts us, that is exactly the moment when we must pray and ask for his strength. Just know that god has planned better things for you. His wisdom is so much higher then our own thoughts.

Even if you are already married or in a relationship. Make sure god is present when you make big decisions. Because otherwise you will not be married for long. Or what if god took away your partner, if you dont have god in your life, then you could spin down a bad cycle if you were to lose your partner.

I am a firm believer in doing the little things each day, in building good habits everyday. To set your standards high, and expect greatness out of yourself, and then you will inspire others who see your service and the fruits of your faith.

If you are addicted to sex, then read about the theology of the body. For the body reveals god.
Are you using other people as objects for your own pleasure. Would you want people to do that to your mother or your sisters, or your daughters. Jerry Buss the lakers owner subscribes to playboy and partied with hugh hefner. But when his daughter took pics in playboy he didnt even read the issue. Your children will learn from your choices. You must lead your family to make good choices. Or are you only interested in forming a bond with yourself, and gaining pleasure for yourself. That is a selfish attitude. Would you trade a lifetime of masturbation for a relationship with god. I promise to you that if you develop your relationship with god first, that how you act and serve our lord will attract that special person into your life. Is your low self esteem and addiction to food or alcohol causing you to be overweight, and not as attractive as you feel you should be. Food can be as addictive as drugs and alcohol. A lot of people do what is called emotional eating and make poor nutrition choices, because they dont believe they can change their body,or that it is too late. I am a personal trainer, let me tell you firmly it is never to late to change your body. You just have to make new choices with exercise and nutrition. If you do the same thing every day, you will always get the same result. You need to make new choices to get new results including with the shape of your body and fitness. If you eat donuts, soda, beer, chips, and 500 calories coffee drinks: then you will get the so called beer belly that everyone dreads. Or if you watch tv and munch all day, you will have low endurance and a high body fat percentage. Stop watching tv, go outside, go for a walk, play sports, or better yet learn a new sport, find a workout partner, hire a persoal trainer, take a yoga class: do anything fun, but dont sit on your butt and watch tv all day.

Christians are known by what they do and not what they say. Create habits and a lifestyle that will attract others into a life with christ.

The early christians faced torture, and lions, and death for their beliefs. Are you willing to die for your faith, and do you have the peace in your heart to be courageous with your faith. If you died today, do you believe god would bring you into eternity with him?