Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

The culture that we grow up in has a massive impact on the way we behave and operate. When I was a child growing up in the Caribbean everyone who lived in the locality or moved into the locality was acquainted with someone who already lived there. Every morning people would greet one another with pleasantries and when you passed someone on the roadside you would acknowledge them with a nod or a raising of the hand when saying ‘good morning’. Now we may live on a street for twenty years and don’t know the person living next door but one. We drive to work or to school and when we return we lock our gates and doors and are not seen again until the morning. In many countries we place bars on our windows and around our houses to keep unwanted guests out but more importantly it keeps us trapped in as prisoners in our own homes. This is the danger or materialism. Everybody wants the nice things in life and many will kill for it. As stated yesterday, things have won the day. It has many people and there are those who want what others have and will go to extraordinary lengths to get it. This was not the model of blessings that God envisaged. I believe our primary aim must be for wholesome relationships, where we can rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. Live life to the full and enjoy the opportunities that God brings your way. However, we must avoid the spirit of jealousy and envy because they come to destroy our relationships and will leave you isolated, alone and trapped in your own castle.  Today be aware, materialism is beneficial but has great danger. Read Ecclesiastes 2