Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word,But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life-and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Treasury of ScriptureAnd the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.the cares.And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excusedthe deceitfulness.Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanityand the lusts.That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of GodLove not the world, neither the things that are in the world. Lexicon butκαὶ (kai)ConjunctionAnd, even, also, namely.theαἱ (hai)Article - Nominative Feminine PluralThe, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.caresμέριμναι (merimnai)Noun - Nominative Feminine PluralCare, worry, anxiety.
1 John 2:15-17 ESV / 887 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. Proverbs 23:17 Do not envy sinners in your heart. Instead, continue to fear the Lord. There is indeed a future, and your hope will never be cut off. Proverbs 24:1-2 Don’t envy evil people or desire their company. For their hearts plot violence, and their words always stir up trouble. Put your focus on what really matters.
From merizo; solicitude.of this life,αἰῶνος (aiōnos)Noun - Genitive Masculine SingularFrom the same as aei; properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity; by implication, the world; specially a Messianic period.theἡ (hē)Article - Nominative Feminine SingularThe, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.deceitfulnessἀπάτη (apatē)Noun - Nominative Feminine SingularDeceit, deception, deceitfulness, delusion. From apatao; delusion.ofτοῦ (tou)Article - Genitive Masculine SingularThe, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.wealth,πλούτου (ploutou)Noun - Genitive Masculine SingularFrom the base of pletho; wealth, i.e. Money, possessions, or abundance, richness, valuable bestowment.andκαὶ (kai)ConjunctionAnd, even, also, namely.theαἱ (hai)Article - Nominative Feminine PluralThe, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.desireἐπιθυμίαι (epithymiai)Noun - Nominative Feminine PluralDesire, eagerness for, inordinate desire, lust.
From epithumeo; a longing.forπερὶ (peri)PrepositionFrom the base of peran; properly, through, i.e. Around; figuratively with respect to; used in various applications, of place, cause or time.other thingsλοιπὰ (loipa)Adjective - Accusative Neuter PluralLeft, left behind, the remainder, the rest, the others.
Masculine plural of a derivative of leipo; remaining ones.come inεἰσπορευόμεναι (eisporeuomenai)Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Feminine PluralTo journey in(to), I go in(to), enter, intervene. From eis and poreuomai; to enter.and chokeσυμπνίγουσιν (sympnigousin)Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralTo choke utterly, as weeds do plants; I crowd upon.
From sun and pnigo; to strangle completely, i.e. To drown, or to crowd.theτὸν (ton)Article - Accusative Masculine SingularThe, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.word,λόγον (logon)Noun - Accusative Masculine SingularFrom lego; something said; by implication, a topic, also reasoning or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, the Divine Expression.andκαὶ (kai)ConjunctionAnd, even, also, namely.it becomesγίνεται (ginetai)Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person SingularA prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e.
To become, used with great latitude.unfruitful.ἄκαρπος (akarpos)Adjective - Nominative Masculine SingularUnfruitful, barren, profitless. The cares of the world ( τοῦ αἰῶνος); literally, of the age; that is, temporal and secular cares, incident to the age in which our lot is cast, and which are common to all. These, like thorns, distress and trouble, and often wound the soul; while, on the other hand, the care of the soul and the thought of heavenly things compose and establish the mind. The deceitfulness of riches. Riches are aptly compared to thorns, because, like thorns, they pierce the soul. Paul speaks of some who, through the love of riches, 'have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.' Riches are deceitful, because they often seduce the soul from God and from salvation, and are the cause of many sins.
'How hardly,' says our Lord, ' shall a rich man enter into the kingdom of God I' They have a tendency to choke the Word of God, and to weaken the power of religion. 'Those are the only true riches,' says St.
Gregory, 'which make us rich in virtue.' 4:1-20 This parable contained instruction so important, that all capable of hearing were bound to attend to it. There are many things we are concerned to know; and if we understand not the plain truths of the gospel, how shall we learn those more difficult! It will help us to value the privileges we enjoy as disciples of Christ, if we seriously consider the deplorable state of all who have not such privileges. In the great field of the church, the word of God is dispensed to all.
Of the many that hear the word of the gospel, but few receive it, so as to bring forth fruit. Many are much affected with the word for the present, who yet receive no abiding benefit.
The word does not leave abiding impressions upon the minds of men, because their hearts are not duly disposed to receive it. The devil is very busy about careless hearers, as the fowls of the air go about the seed that lies above ground. Many continue in a barren, false profession, and go down to hell. Impressions that are not deep, will not last. Many do not mind heart-work, without which religion is nothing. Others are hindered from profiting by the word of God, by abundance of the world.
And those who have but little of the world, may yet be ruined by indulging the body. God expects and requires fruit from those who enjoy the gospel, a temper of mind and Christian graces daily exercised, Christian duties duly performed. Let us look to the Lord, that by his new-creating grace our hearts may become good ground, and that the good seed of the word may produce in our lives those good words and works which are through Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God the Father.
Source: microcosmos/ShutterstockThere's a brutal truth in life that some people refuse to accept: You have no control over many of the things that happen in your life.Some people who resist this truth become control freaks. They micromanage, refuse to delegate tasks, and try to force other people to change. They think if they can gain enough control over other people and the situations they find themselves in, they can prevent bad things from happening.Others know they can't prevent bad things from happening, but they worry about them anyway. They fret about everything from natural disasters to deadly diseases. Their worries keep them occupied, but ultimately they waste their time and energy, because worrying doesn't do any good.If you find yourself wasting time worrying about things you can't control, here are six things that can help:1.
Determine what you can control.When you find yourself worrying, take a minute to examine the things you have control over. You can't prevent a storm from coming, but you can prepare for it. You can't control how someone else behaves, but you can control how you react.Recognize that, sometimes, all you can control is your effort and your attitude. When you put your energy into the things you can control, you'll be much more effective.2. Focus on your influence.You can influence people and circumstances, but you can't force things to go your way. So while you can give your child the tools he needs to get good grades, for example, you can't make him get a 4.0 GPA. And while you can plan a good party, you can't make people have fun.To have the most influence, focus on changing your behavior.
Be a good role model and set healthy boundaries for yourself. When you have concerns about someone else's choices, share your opinion, but only share it once. Don't try to fix people who don't want to be fixed.3.
Identify your fears.Ask yourself what you are afraid will happen: Are you predicting a catastrophic outcome? Do you doubt your ability to cope with disappointment? Usually, the worst-case scenario isn't as tragic as you might envision. There's a good chance you're stronger than you think.But sometimes people are so busy thinking things like 'I can't allow my business to fail' that they don't take the time to ask themselves, 'What would I do if my business failed?' Acknowledging that you can handle the worst-case scenario can help you put your energy into more productive exercises.4. Differentiate between ruminating and problem-solving.Replaying conversations in your head or imagining catastrophic outcomes over and over again isn't helpful. But solving a problem is.Ask yourself whether your thinking is productive.
If you are actively solving a problem, such as by trying to find ways to increase your chances of success, keep working on solutions.If, however, you're wasting your time ruminating, change the channel in your brain. Acknowledge that your thoughts aren't helpful, and get up and go do something else for a few minutes to get your brain focused on something more productive.5. Create a plan to manage your.Exercising, eating healthy, and getting plenty of sleep are just a few key things you need to do to take care of yourself.
You also have to make time to manage your stress so you can operate more efficiently.Find healthy stress relievers, like meditation, an engaging hobby, or time with friends. Pay to your stress level, and notice how you cope with distress. Eliminate unhealthy coping skills like complaining to others or drinking too much.6. Develop healthy affirmations.I have two phrases I use to remind myself to either take action or calm down. The first is, Make it happen. Whenever I catch myself saying something like, 'I hope I do OK today,' I remind myself, 'Make it happen.' It reminds me that I'm in control of my actions.Then, when I find myself thinking about something I have no control over, like, 'I hope it doesn't rain on Saturday,' I tell myself, I can handle it.
Those quick little phrases I have on hand keep me from wasting my time on things I can't control. I'll either do what I can to make it happen or deal with the things I have no control over.Develop a few. Those sayings will help you combat self-doubt, catastrophic predictions, and endless rumination.To learn more about how to give up the bad habits that rob you of mental strength, pick up a copy of.