|
S25
51.594
E28 12.777
DVD - Bediening
Navrae / Enquiries:
076-589-6666
Fax: 086 635 8140
DVD@Filadelfia.co.za |
EXCHANGED VALUES
Author unknown
Contributed by Lorraine Scholtz |
An old proverb says that "The world is a
net; the more we stir in it, the more we are entangled."
Max Lucado tells the story about a prank that occurred years
ago: It seems a couple of prowlers broke into a department
store in a large city. They successfully entered the store,
stayed long enough to do what they came to do, and escaped
unnoticed.
|
 |
What is unusual about the story is what
these fellows did. They took nothing. Absolutely nothing. No
merchandise was stolen. No items were removed. But what they
did do was ridiculous. Instead of stealing anything, they
changed the cost of everything. Price tags were swapped.
Values were exchanged. These clever pranksters took the tag
off a $395.00 camera and stuck it on a $5.00 box of
stationery. The $5.95 sticker on a paperback book was
removed and placed on an outboard motor. They repriced
everything in the store!
Crazy? You bet. But the craziest part of this story took
place the next morning. The store opened as usual. Employees
went to work. Customers began to shop. The place functioned
as normal for four hours before anyone noticed what had
happened. Four hours! Some people got some great bargains.
Others got fleeced. For four solid hours no one noticed that
the values had been swapped.
How Does This Apply to Our Lives?
As price tags were exchanged, valuable goods became cheap,
and the cheap became valuable. This can happen to us. We
exchange things that are important for those that, in
comparison, are unimportant - the world honors success and
hard work, so we devote ourselves to jobs we can't wait to
retire from, while ignoring marriages that we entered in to
for a lifetime. |
We seek clean, healthy homes, but let them
become dumping grounds for the pollution contained in some
television programs, movies and popular music; and, we want
our children to have strong character traits like honesty
and integrity, but spend far more time taking them to
athletic events and other activities than tending to their
spiritual and moral needs.
Yes, the world is a net; the more we stir in it, the more we
are entangled. Seeking "happiness" and acceptance, we buy
into the world's values and do what is popular. But if the
world's values can produce true happiness, why is there a
constant effort to create and promote new forms of amusement
and entertainment? Focus your time and attention on what is
valuable to you. While doing so, put your spiritual needs
at the top of the list.
Nothing should come before your relationship with a man
named Jesus. Even though he was dead, he is now alive,
seated at the right hand of the throne of God. He
understands, he knows, he cares. And he nourishes those who
seek to be fed.
As Erwin Lutzer observed ... If you are not nourished by
the Bread from heaven, you will stuff yourself with crumbs
from the world. Real nourishment comes only from Jesus
Christ. You'll be eternally sorry if you exchange real
nourishment for crumbs.
"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet
forfeit his soul?" ( Mark 8:36 ) |
|
|
Filadelfia
gemeente van Sewendedag Adventiste Centurion Pretoria |
Updated on/Op datum gebring op
Thursday, June 10, 2010 07:54:00
deur de Wet
Vorster
|
Filadelfia Congregation of Seventh-day Adventists Centurion Pretoria |
