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“Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity (love), peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).
When we are young and full of ambition and energy, it is easy to want many things. The Bible calls these things “youthful lusts,” which simply means the things of this world that we would like to have. Sometimes there is nothing bad about those things, such as a car, a boat, a piece of property, nice clothes, and perhaps other things. Youthful lusts might even include activities like playing sports or traveling. A Christian might do all of these things, but if they are “what we live for,” then we need to “flee” them. If the things of this world fill our hearts, Christ will be forced out, and we will become spiritually poor.
On the other hand, if we follow Christ and look after His interests in this world, we can use all of the things listed above to serve the Lord and be a help to others. But they will not be “what we live for,” and if the Lord does not give them to us, we will not be upset. We must leave all of these things behind when we leave this world, but we can use the things we have down here to lay up treasure in heaven.
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