Fruitful Abundance

I read this th other day and I really liked what it had to say.

Is my behavior governed by what other people do, say, think of me?
What others do should not govern what I do. I read something Martin L. Jones wrote on loving our enemies this past weekend - so spot on - I thought I would quote some/plus paraphrase some of it here:

"...He (she) must be detached from others in the sense that his behavior is not governed by what they do. But still more important, he should be detached from himself, for until a man is detached from himself he will never be detached from what others do to that self. . .

As long as a man is living for himself, he is sensitive, always watchful. . . jealous; he is envious and is therefore always reacting immediately to what others do. . .

The only way to detach yourself from what others do to you is that you first of all detach yourself - from YOURSELF.

The christian is a man/woman who is taken out of this present evil world. He is placed in a position apart and lives on a higher level. He belongs to a different kingdom. He is a new man, a new creature, a new creation. No longer governed by others.

Because of that, he sees everything differently, and therefore reacts in a different manner. . . he is in a position of detachment. . .

Meaning - no longer exclusively governed by what other people do to you; you will have something within you that will determine your conduct and behavior. . .

And it is no longer other people. But God.

. . .I think that if we examine ourselves, we shall see at a glance that one of the most tragic things about us is that our lives are so much governed by other people and by what they do to us and think of us. . .

Try to recall a single day of your life. Think of the unkind and cruel thoughts that have come into your mind or heart. What produced them? Somebody else! How much of our thinking and acting and behavior is entirely governed by other people!

It is one of the things that makes life so wretched. You see a particular person and your spirit is upset. If you had not seen that person you would have not felt like that. Other people are controlling you.

Christ calls us to get out of that condition!

Our love must become such, our lives must become such - that we are no longer governed and controlled by what people say or do. Our lives must be governed by a new principle - the principle of love. . .

Love for God. Love for others. The moment God is who governs, and not people, we see people in a different way. . ."

We must detach ourselves from ourself.

~We will see life in a different way.
We will stop reacting to what people do, or think of us, or say. We will stop the over sensitivity and get a life!
Life in Jesus Christ.