ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

Unfortunately , judging by appearance has worked its way into the church as seen from this passage of Scripture: “For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes and you say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?” (James 2:2-4).We’re thrilled with prospects who make us look good and contribute to the cause – not so much with those who need our assistance. Intelligence. The Scriptural truth that “Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies (1 Corinthians 8:1) hasn’t stopped most people in their quest to obtain information at the expense of ado- ration.As a pastor, I grieve that so many parents eagerly desire that their children excel academically while showing little concern for their spiritual development. Certainly one should strive to get as much education as possi- ble, yet we shouldn’t judge people on the basis of what they’ve been able to obtain. In addition to their genes, some are simply in a better position environmentally to obtain more education.And, it’s safe to say there’s little positive correlation between high intelligence and spiritual growth. In fact, it could even be a detriment since ex- tremely smart, fact-oriented people sometime struggle to accept the simple faith based message of the Gospel. Possessions. Sadly, in this fallen world, people define others by the amount of stuff they’ve accumulated.As someone once said, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Never mind the fact that the debt the person amassed may have contributed to their demise.As humorist and entertainerWill Rogers quipped, “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like.” Despite Jesus’s words that “It is easier for a camel to go

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