Pursuits

 We are so dedicated to the pursuit of material, external things as if they somehow are the source of happiness. The happiness they afford is just as temporary as they are. What's that old saying? "If there's too much, something is missing." The life that satisfies is the one that gives us the joy that can sing in any trouble and the peace that is incomprehensibly steadfast in the midst of the fiercest whirlwind. We know that, but we so often get swept up in the pursuit of the things that don't matter. And when God allows us to obtain them, we wonder why they bring us no joy, peace, or contentment. It's because they are worthless; they are efficacious for nothing. Stop and honestly ask yourself "what am I pursuing?" My list of priorities will clearly explain my apathy toward the things of God.  They are a revealing list of what I have committed my energies to other than my love for Christ--the things I covet more than I desire a deepening relationship to Him, more than I desire the "Well done, good and faithful servant."  And parents, don't think for a moment that your kids don't notice what's important to you. Pursue what you know is real--a life founded on obedience to the Savior of your souls who tells us to "set your heart on His kingdom and His goodness, and all these things will come to you as a matter of course." And who warns us, "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." We know that He pleads with us to pursue His face--His presence, to draw nearer to Him. Don't go in the other direction in pursuit of earth's emptiness. Willful sin is self-inflicted pain.