10
(Colossians 3:5). Jesus said that it is
impossible to serve both God and money
(Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13).
On this subject, as a football coach myself, I
am an insider - but ready to drop the job. So
any brother or sister who can help me find
work anywhere else, I am ready to relocate.
To the Pharisees, who were covetous, lovers
of money, Jesus said: “God knoweth your
hearts: for that which is highly esteemed
among men is abomination in the sight of
God” (Luke 16:15). So nothing you give up for
Christ in this life is worth comparison with
what you will gain one day (Mark 10:29-30;
Romans 8:17-18). Paul issued a solemn
warning against greed (1 Timothy 6:9-10).
Indeed, sports and money have led many into
the path of ruin and destruction (2 Timothy
3:1-2).
Finally our lives are to be totally given over
to the Lord Jesus. As Paul said: “For me to
live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21) and he
affirms that Christ is our life (Colossians 3:4).
Christ is to be the centre of all we do and say.
Our plans are to focus on him and the work of
the kingdom.
Great Celebrations
... continued ~
The Danger of Success
| Bro David Yelulani (Banket, Zimbabwe)
W
e live in a success-orientated society. If
someone has succeeded in business and
climbed the social scale, he is labeled
successful and wins the respect and
admiration of his fellows. Success can be a
wonderful experience. If it has been
achieved by hard work, the acceptance
of responsibility brings a sense of deep
satisfaction seldom coming in any other way.
But one of the dangers of success is that,
apart from pride, snobbishness can develop;
it can even turn a positive and radiant
personality into one who disowns humble
beginnings and refuses to acknowledge those
who helped him to achieve his high position.
Success, therefore, must always be handled
with care for, however successful, the possi-
bility of later failure, perhaps through
circumstances beyond our control, is ever
present (remember Haman in the book of
Esther!). So it is a sobering thought that
however successful you may be, there is
always that possibility of ultimate failure.
The important question is, has your success
equipped you to handle failure?
Wise is the person whose success is founded
on spiritual principles and who is constantly
reminded by prayer and meditation that all
achievements are given by God, to be held in
trust and used for His glory. Whatever comes
our way, success or failure, we will be able to
meet it with the guidance of His wisdom.
Bro David Banda Yelulani