Mark 7:20-23
King James Version
20 And he said,
That which cometh out of the man,
that defileth the man.
21 For from within,
out of the heart of men,
proceed evil thoughts,
adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness,
deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within,
and defile the man.
Vanity is an abomination to the Lord.
Everything that distracts us from the Lord, is usually vanity.
Our pursuit for beauty, power, glory, wealth, and popularity are not acceptable to the Lord.
It creates sin, division, jealousy, competition, and addiction to what people think.
It keeps our hearts away from God.
We become our own god.
And God does hate idolatry of any sort.
A true follower of Jesus, a born again, only focuses on the will of God.
Everything of the world has been set aside, so we can focus on obeying God.
It's the greatest delight of the born again heart, to serve the Lord.
The sins of the flesh distract us from worshiping the Lord.
All GLORY belong to GOD alone.
Everything we have in this world can be gone in the twinkling of an eye.
Where we're all going, we carry nothing with us.
Here's the apparent truth of it:
Job 1:21
King James Version
21 And said,
Naked came I out of my mother's womb,
and naked shall I return thither:
the Lord gave,
and the Lord hath taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.
Ecclesiastes 5:15
King James Version
15 As he came forth of his mother's womb,
naked shall he return to go as he came,
and shall take nothing of his labour,
which he may carry away in his hand.
1 Timothy 6:7
King James Version
7 For we brought nothing into this world,
and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
We must focus on God alone, and on what His will is.
All glory really belong to God.
That must be our supreme focus, and not self.
Related material:
ENDING the PREOCCUPATION with SELF
