ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

As Jesus said earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” later saying, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 6:21, 16:26). I enjoy eating good food, wearing nice clothes, and traveling to exciting places. However, an inner alarm goes off if I start obsess- ing over them. It seems the older I get, it doesn’t matter as much. Although I wouldn’t call myself a minimalist, I’m all about simplify- ing and creating more margin in my life. Connie Mack, who managed teams from 1894-1950, is the winningest coach in the history of the Major League Baseball at 3,731 victories. He didn’t start out so good, however, as his teams finished sixth, seventh, and eighth in his first three seasons.Taking the blame for these bad performances, he demoted himself to the minor leagues to learn how to better handle his players.Returning later to the majors, he was very successful, developing the best teams the world had ever seen up to that time. Mack possessed another key coaching skill – he didn’t worry. “I discovered,” he explained, “that worry was threatening to wreck my career as a baseball manager. I saw how foolish it was and I forced myself to get so busy preparing to win games that I had no time left to worry over the ones that were already lost.You can’t grind grain with water that has already gone down the creek.” The battle over worry is winnable. Seek God first, preparing yourself for blessings, not only in this life, but the one to come as well.

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