Choked happiness
The secret to unhappiness is to live life in full independence from God. One might think that this can only happen to an atheist or agnostic, but it is something that can happen to a believer.
To prevent this from happening we need to recognize those things that affect our relationship with God. Not much theology is needed. If we want to understand a topic the best is to go as close to the source of the information as possible, in this case, the Bible, and even more specific, the words of Jesus.
The parable of the sower provides a clear teaching about the things that can cause us to miss the blessings that bring the word of God to our lives. It is clear that the purpose of the seed sown (the word) is to bear fruit (Mark 4: 8). This parable covers some cases in which the seed does not give its fruit, but we only want to cover the case where the result is under our control.
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. – Mark 4:18-19
These verses present some situations that prevent the word sown from giving fruit:
- The worries of this life
- The deceitfulness of wealth
- Desires for other things (greed)
If we analyze these we will see that these situations are based on a life lived in independence from God. When we become independent from God, achieving the things that we want become a worry, because we are not satisfied with the things that we really need, but we are in a constant search for something to fill the void in our lives. We try to fill the spiritual emptiness that produces the independence from God with material things and wealth.The result is that the word that we have received is choked and cannot bear fruit.
Living life independent from God is not necessarily a decision, but a process that occurs gradually and which we might not notice. That is why it is necessary to frequently reevaluate our relationship with God, and make all the required adjustments.
Do not allow anything to choke the opportunity to have a fruitful and abundant life.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. – John 10:10b
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