{"id":509,"date":"2015-04-05T21:16:16","date_gmt":"2015-04-05T21:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=509"},"modified":"2015-04-05T21:16:16","modified_gmt":"2015-04-05T21:16:16","slug":"fighting-our-way-to-the-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=509","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Our Way to the Top"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"16\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0 Howdy Prodigal, Are you climbing?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prodigal:\u00a0 Yes, I am trying to make it to the top as fast as I can.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0 What happens when you make it to the top?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prodigal:\u00a0 You know, I have not figure that out yet.\u00a0 I think it means everything will be perfect.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0 No, that is not quite true.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Gills talks about fighting to the top in the book The Unseen Essential.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Many of us go through life trying to climb to the top of our professional fields.\u00a0 We want to be the very best.\u00a0 Science, medicine, economics, business, or education–it matters little.\u00a0 The race to the top is the same, regardless.\u00a0 Fighting and elbowing our way to the pinnacle of our respective pile, we wind up on the bottom of life because we’re missing the very center, which is Christ.\u00a0 We must come to a point of agreement where we understand who He is, who we are in relation to Him, and what He considers important.\u00a0 Climbing to the top or having the most “toys” is not what pleases God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oftentimes, our line of sight is fixed only on the horizontal.\u00a0 Today’s philosophies train young people early to value things more than people.\u00a0 We all focus on what we can acquire rather than on what we can give.\u00a0 Such an attitude of consumerism has become\u00a0 a way of life, crossing the boundaries into Christian camps.\u00a0 It has insidiously wormed its way in and destroyed the Church’s sense of values concerning this most important of all relationships.\u00a0 Many of us want to know exactly what the church can do for us before we join.\u00a0 Before some us will even give our lives to Jesus Christ, we want to know the complete “benefits package,” as we would before accepting an employment opportunity.\u00a0 From that moment on, we pray, asking Him to give, give, give.\u00a0 Selfishness reigns.\u00a0 How many people go to church just to share or, better yet, live their lives filled with a desire to give to God?\u00a0 Not many.\u00a0 Can we expect to grow close to Him when we haven’t the faintest idea of what it means to be in a relationship with Him–the Creator of heaven and earth?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What does it mean to me, to be in a relationship with God?<\/p>\n

It means I value that relationship.<\/p>\n

It means I nurture it everyday.<\/p>\n

It means sometimes I don’t agree with God but I surrender to Him.<\/p>\n

It means I don’t understand God but I am obedient to Him.<\/p>\n

It means that I listen to His voice and tune out the voice of men.<\/p>\n

It means that I have a love that is worthy of holding onto, fighting for and cherishing because it has changed me for the better.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jeremiah 31:3<\/p>\n

The Lord appeared to him from far away.\u00a0 I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jennifer Van Allen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

www.faithincounseling.org<\/p>\n

www.theprodigalpig.com<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Me:\u00a0 Howdy Prodigal, Are you climbing?   Prodigal:\u00a0 Yes, I am trying to make it to the top as fast as I can.   Me:\u00a0 What happens when you make it to the top?   Prodigal:\u00a0 You know, I have not figure that out yet.\u00a0 I think it means everything will be perfect.   … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFighting Our Way to the Top - The Prodigal Pig<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=509\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fighting Our Way to the Top - 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