Ambition

In life, men are always striving - striving for a better job with higher income, striving for excellence, and so on. We are on a quest for great achievement and happiness. Everyone wants to be somebody.

A lot of people are driven to do evil to achieve much. Maybe we are born evil beings - evil tendencies "kick in" at the right time. It is a struggle to be good (rather than evil), to always make wise choices, to resist temptation, and so on. Keep up the fight!

Songs that remind us we can easily be greedy and evil.....

I Want It All
"I want it all, the fame and the fortune and more....."

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5xxSRvl5VM&index=3&list=PLmYXTlZN4bBLiYNV-KrhlU0dV3NS6jpHQ)


I'm Bad By Michael Jackson
"You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it...."

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd4SJVsTulc&list=PLmYXTlZN4bBLiYNV-KrhlU0dV3NS6jpHQ&index=5)

MainMessageForToday
Stories, fables, words of wisdom warn us to be contented with what we have because chasing riches/money or going after that something that is better can lead us to temptation, lead us to make horrible choices, lead us down the wrong path, and lead us to destruction.  

Song 'Just Can't Get Enough' by The Black Eyed Peas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrTyD7rjBpw

"Pleasure is the greatest incentive to evil."
- Plato

"Many a man thinks he is buying pleasure, when he is really selling himself to it."
- Benjamin Franklin

"Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it."
- Thomas Jefferson

"There are many roads in this world that will guide you to pleasurable, fun, and exciting destinations that do not end in any form of lasting happiness. So before you step on an enticing path, figure out where it leads."
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, & Grumblings for Every Day of the Year

MainMessageForToday
Things tempt us because they offer pleasure and happiness. There may be more than meets the eye.

Theme for the week 3/6 - 3/12: Pleasure, which follows last week's theme Temptation.

From the song 'The Weakness In Me' by Keisha White:

Why do you come here when you know I got troubles enough?
Why do you call me when you know I cant answer the phone?
Make me lie when I don't want to
and make someone else some kind of unknowing fool
You make me stay when I should not.
Are you so strong or is the weakness in me?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlGYSiym0us

"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage — pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically — to say ’no’ to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger ’yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ’best’ is often the ’good.’"
- Stephen Covey

"If I’ve already thought through a situation and have a response prepared ahead of time in the event temptation rears its ugly head, it is that much easier to resist."
- Tim Tebow, Through My Eyes: A Quarterback's Journey: Young Reader's Edition

"I once faced a temptation that was so persistent and so overwhelming that I literally believed my whole world would go dark if I refused to give in to it," he said. "All I could do was scream to the Holy Spirit to keep me from it."
- Wesley Hill, Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality

"The Word of God has always been our best defense against Satan’s temptations..."
- Gotquestions.org, What are the keys to resisting temptation?
http://www.gotquestions.org/resisting-temptation.html

MainMessageForToday
How do you deal with temptation? Maybe the secret is in how you prepare for and react to temptation.

How difficult is it to resist temptation?......

"Temptation, temptation, temptation
I can't resist"
- From the song 'Temptation' by Diana Krall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J9bwNLRiJU

"The devil can get you through your flesh. He knows the button to press on your flesh and have a way into your mind. The flesh becomes a transport medium for evil things if not killed for God. If Christ makes a home in your mind, satan can't get there."
- Israelmore Ayivor

"A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is.... A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in."
- C.S. Lewis

"You never know what you're made of until temptation comes knocking. The only temptation I've given in to is to have one more slice."
- Donna Lynn Hope

"For every man there exists a bait which he cannot resist swallowing."
- Friedrich Nietzsche