Does Life Really Suck?

​Exodus 16:3,8

And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.“
Can these Israelites really be complaining about the life they have? They have just seen first-hand His outstanding miracles. The pillar of clouds and pillar of fire, the fire barrier, and the parting of the sea. How can they be complaining?

When I complain about life, and I do, I’m not really blaming the world or world system am I? I’m just being ungrateful to God, because He provides all things. And I’m not having the faith to see where God is bringing me in and through what I’m facing.

Lord, thank You for Your reminder again. Sorry for all the times that I have complained or compared. Help me really look to Your face again everyday.

The Miraculous Rending Of The Veil

Not written by me. Excerpted from J. Oswald Sanders’, The Incomparable Christ. From Chapter 31. Beautiful beautiful book. Everyone should read it.

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The rending of the veil signified the end of the old order and the ushering in of the new. J. Gregory Mantle sees in it a four-fold significance.

It was the end of symbolism. The old economy had fulfilled its purpose and yielded place to the new. Christ, the great High Priest, was the perfect fulfillment of the shadows and ritual of the law.

It envisaged the end of sin. The veil was rent at the very moment Jesus, who was “made… to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

It was the end of sacerdotalism. No longer was there any need for a priesthood and sacrificial system. The ministration of the priesthood that had held a central place in Jewish national life had come to an end.

It betokened, the end of separation. The veil that had for a millenium and a half been a barrier to God’s presence now became a gateway. Every penitent soul is now invited to enter the Holiest of All by virtue of the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19).

The Difference Between Needs, Wants, And Preference

We throw around the word ‘need’ quite a lot these days without knowing its true meaning. Misuse of this word causes exaggeration and misinformation.

And GAH it’s annoying.

(Got this image from Says.com. They make yummy articles)

If you’ve been to college, you’ll probably have learnt of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. He taught us what ‘needs’ are, and how important they are… they’re really important. For example, not dying is a need. Even the feeling of accomplishment is considered a need. But that coconut ice cream waffle was not a need!

I know how you feel though. I have wants and desires too hehe. And I would use the word ‘need’ just to enhance my chance of getting it (and also to convince myself it was worth buying or doing). But no no no. I’m training myself (and my wife(I have a wife now)) to say ‘want’ because that’s what we really meant. Wants aren’t always urgent nor always important. In fact, they usually aren’t. They’re just there to demand satisfaction for a moment of vanity or to entertain or to waste time (I know this is not a very accurate description haha but it’s how I view it). For example: Any decision made because you are lazy is just a want. What I’m really saying here is: Do Not Prioritize Wants Over Needs.

Now there’s another thing that makes life more complicated. Our preferences. Here’s the explanation ‘preference define’ gave me on Google: a greater liking for one alternative over another or others. You can see where I’m going with this can’t you? 

Today I’d like people to know that decision making skills are important. And knowing what is important and urgent is important to know. Haha I love that sentence so much. Take your time. Here’s the next point, we not only have to make decisions for ourselves, but very often for others as well. From where to go for a drink to financial decisions for your company. So we do have to consider people’s preferences. It’s not as simple as just needs and wants.

So, on the scale of importance, needs are of top priority, wants are of lowest priority, and preference helps to make better needs choices so it’s kind of a medium to pretty high priority depending on situation. (I’m not helping very much am I?)

From this I hope you do not abuse the word ‘need’ but use ‘want’ and ‘prefer’ more often to help in your self or even group decision making sessions (which is all the time everyday).

Know this, life is complicated. Being a good leader/mom/boss/driver/brother/cook/student/shoppaholic/friend/human is not easy. So we can pray for wisdom to make the right choices even in the little things (starting from ‘should I get up or snooze that alarm?).

And we can pray for the peace to accept the fact that there are lots of things in this life we don’t actually need. AKA Stop giving the entertainment and luxury industry more money.

Alright. Class over. You can go back to Facebooking. No free ABC for you.

More Expensive Than Rubies!~

Proverbs 31:10 (NKJV)  Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.