Me: That is an excellent sand castle!

Prodigal: Thank you!

This is from the book The Applause of Heaven by Max Lucado

The push for power has come to shove. And most of us are either pushing or being pushed.

I might point out the difference between a passion for excellence and a passion for power. The desire for excellence is a gift of God, much needed in society. It is characterized by respect for quality and a yearning to use God’s gifts in a way that pleases him.

There are certain things you can do that no one else can. Perhaps it is parenting, or constructing houses, or encouraging the discouraged. There are things that only you can do, and you have an instrument and a song, and you owe it to God to play them both sublimely.

But there is a canyon of difference between doing your best to glorify God and doing whatever it takes to glorify yourself. The quest for excellence is a mark of maturity. The quest for power is childish.

God wants you to know that the person really is seeking power. There is a cleaver mask. The real selfish motive has not been discovered yet. Do not allow the charming mask to persuade you to invest to deeply in this person. We are to avoid entanglements with others who are pursing self and not God. Distant yourself and don’t start down this path with them.

Mark 10:25

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodialpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org