Bible Snack #26

For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. (1 John 2:16).
 
I have long contended that people marry out of the lust of the flesh. This is true whether the society is such that abstains from sex before marriage, or freely indulges.
 
The Bible says that no one shall separate what God has joined together. God does not operate through the flesh. He operates through His own Spirit, speaking to the human spirit and telling that person who to marry. When you know who you’re going to marry before you fall in love with the person, there’s a good chance God brought the two of you together.
 
What is lust of the eyes? Quite simple. You see it. You want it. Now you’re operating on the level of the soul and again, God doesn’t operate there.

​The pride of life? Ask yourself. What are you proud of? Get rid of it. That is if you want the life of the Father operating in you and not the life of the world.
 
A certain missionary I knew told me he bought a refrigerator with an ice dispenser in the door. One day he was passing by and noticed how good it felt to own such an appliance. He stopped in his tracks and called for his wife. He told her to get rid of that refrigerator immediately and get one with the old ice trays.
 
She, not being a woman attached to this world, gladly carried out his orders. This example may seem extreme, but it is what worked in this man’s life.
 
How about yours? Can you identify your own pride of life? Pride is one of the nastiest of the values of the devil so work at eliminating it.