The Bible warns us against covetousness but admonishes us to ear-nestly covet the best spiritual gifts. The value of the soul of a man is not measured by the abundance of his material possessions. What shall it benefit you if your purse of money is full and your heart is empty of grace? Everyone who labours to enrich himself with the ma-terial things of this life at the expense of his impoverished soul can best be described as a fool.

Worldly pleasure is a fleeting experience and those that partake of it shall soon find themselves in the chambers of death. There is no prof-it for any man that seeks to enjoy life in this world at the detriment of his own soul. Those given to sinful pleasure are dead while they live: their love for pleasure outweighs their love for God. Life in this world, no matter how sweet, is only for a moment.

The joy derived from the pleasures of sin is transient, yet many are being deceived to go for it instead of the eternal joy that comes with righteousness. Moses made an unpopular choice, although he knew it would cost him the throne of Egypt. He counted the cost of accepting to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter: although it would guaran-tee temporal enjoyment, the door of heaven would be shut against him.

You may be doing a righteous work in the kingdom of God without heart perfection or holiness. But without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Although Asa could not remove the high places which was part of his assignment, he worked with a perfect heart. God is more concerned about the life or walk of his children than their work. In summary, life is better than ministry.

As a man thinks in his heart so is he: you are the product of your thoughts. Unbelievers are not concerned about going to heaven, so their affection is set on earthly things. They are worldly because the god of this world controls them. Believers should not be conformed to this world because although they are in the world, they are not of the world. Every believer should therefore seek to have the mind of Christ.