Spirit of Createyourself

On this wonderful Thursday, we are starting Part II of How to Createyourself where we talk about how spirituality is the key. Sorry for the "attraction" photo; this article doesn't really talk about the Spirit of St. Louis, even though it is a great story.

Question!

How do you define prosperity?

Most of us believe that wealth and prosperity are interchangeable terms. This is not true! Wealth might be one factor that is calculated to define our prosperity, but this is not the only aspect. Prosperity refers to the state of being WELL. You may be rich and can afford all the luxuries of life, but that doesn’t mean you are happy or healthy. Being well entails enjoying life to the fullest in every aspect, such as health, relationships, work, spirituality, etc. Accumulation of wealth doesn’t guarantee success and happiness in your life. Now you might be wondering how you can achieve prosperity. I have a simple answer to this question. If you want to become more prosperous, become more spiritual.

Let’s first understand what spirituality is.

People often relate spirituality with religion. Your religious beliefs and practices may help you in becoming spiritual. But not every religious person is necessarily spiritual. Abiding by the laws and rules of your religion and dutifully participating in activities sponsored by your faith organization does not mean you are living spiritually in your faith. Spirituality is all about finding the true meaning and purpose of your life. It is about connecting yourself to the divine forces which are larger than yourself.

I have encountered numerous people in my life who spend much of their time worshipping God, yet they are not spiritual in their true connection with Him. They don’t have that deep bonding with the divine power of God. Being spiritual means focusing on who you are, your relationship with God, and why you exist in this world.

BTW, in my world and family, our God is the God of Jesus Christ. Your god may be something else to your preferences and beliefs.

In all faiths, it is not doing the works that sound good to you and others. As you develop a purpose in your life that is aligned with your spiritual connection to God, you will become more focused and directed towards that purpose.

There is a young man named John. His parents introduced him to Christ and raised him in a Christian church, but now that John is older, he doesn’t fulfill his religious duties regularly. He doesn’t go to church every week. He doesn’t congregate with other believers regularly. However, he strongly believes that his creator is responsible for everything that happens in his life. He knows he has been sent to this world to help others with their adversities and miseries. Every day he talks with God about his pursuits; he thanks Him for providing his daily needs, and he asks Jesus to be with him throughout the day and help guide him in his ways.

It’s interesting for John because not only does he have people mocking him for believing in Christ and communicating with God, but there are also those who are “religious” that berate Adam as well for not attending church or publicly doing “good works.” But John’s spirituality is genuinely great, and his belief in God is grand. He knows there is more than just what this world sees in John. John is incredibly happy and satisfied with his life, and he believes he is quite prosperous, and that this is because he believes God is with him.

I, too, am a follower of Jesus Christ, where I believe He is the Son of God who died for my sins, but even those of us who call ourselves Christians have difficulty living as Jesus expects us to live. This is what non-believers debate us about, especially when we knowingly sin. They say, “how can you do that when you are a Christian?”

Our response is that we are all sinners. That choice was made for us by Adam and Eve when they rejected the opportunity to live how God intentionally created us. But He did give us free will and the choice to make our own decision. The problem was that the first two humans created with a free will made the wrong choice for themselves and all of their descendants — us.

Those who are saved because they have accepted Jesus as their Savior and that do hold the Holy Spirit in their hearts are being spiritual in the context above. As spirituality relates to wealth, we read 1 Timothy 6:6-10, again as it is written,

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

You should understand from this passage that if we are not living our spiritual path, even if we believe in our Creator, the riches we gain will always be a burden to us and give us more than our fair share of trials and tribulations. The burden tempts us to live not as a happy, healthy, and prosperous people, but instead, LOVE of the things that money brings will be our destruction.

Just research how many who have won lotteries are now broke financially, and their families are a mess because of the greed that ensued from that rapid wealth. It is not having wealth that corrupts the mind, it is desiring the wealth over everything else in our lives like God, family, friends, or humanity itself that is found to be sinful.

If you ever want to speak with me directly, just reach out via LinkedIn or through our mobile community app, Createyourself.com

Have a great week, Gordon

PS - Feel free to buy our Kindle version of How to Createyourself

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