0110 – The Keeper of Your Soul 你灵魂的守护者

There once was a town high up on the Alps that straddled the banks of a beautiful stream. The stream was fed by springs that were old as the earth and deep as the sea. The water was clear like crystal. Children laughed and played beside it, swans and geese swam on it. You could see the rainbow trout that swam near the rocks and sand in the crystal-clear water. There was an old man who lived upstream who was hired to keep the springs clear of branches, fallen leaves and debris that might pollute the water. His work was unseen. One day, the town council decided to fire the old man due to the lack of funds and the old man left his post. Soon the unattended springs began to be clogged by twigs, fallen branches and leaves that muddied the liquid flow. Mud and silt compacted the creek bed, farm water wastes turned parts of the stream into stagnant bogs. Nobody in the village noticed until the stream turned brackish. The swans and geese flew away to live elsewhere and children stopped playing by the stream. There was no longer a crisp scent from the stream. People started to grow ill in the village. The life of the village depended on the stream, and the life of the stream depended on the keeper. The city council rehired the old man and yet again the stream came back to life when he tended to the springs. Children started to play beside it. The swans and geese returned to swim on it and the village came back to life. The life of the village depended on the health of the stream. The stream is your soul. And you are the keeper. (The Keeper of the Stream excerpt taken from Soul Keeping by John Ortberg)The soul of man is the unrenewed part of us although we are a born-again Christian. The soul is made up of:
1) The Mind – intellect, brain, thinking and evaluation
2) The Emotion – feelings, desires and mood
3)The Will -decision and volitionAre you being a good keeper of your soul while you are climbing up the corporate ladder or growing your business?

1 Timothy 6:10 (NKJV) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

The desire to be rich or richer, the love of money, foolish and harmful lust and the greediness of men have caused people to have many sorrows. Our soul is hurt because we have not kept it well and it could be blinded by the pursuit of riches.

Remember, just like the old man who was the keeper of the springs that brought fresh water to the stream, we are the keeper of our soul. How we think, how we manage our emotions and the decisions that we make based on their priority will affect our soul. Therefore, we need to have wisdom to ensure that we make the right decisions, renew our mind with the Word in order for us to prosper in our soul!

Our Christian values should be GOD first, FAMILY second and CAREER third in this order of priority and decision making. This is important for us to remember especially now as it will help us to make the right decision regarding what is really important to us.

Sermon Series: Balancing Godliness and Riches (Part 1)

你灵魂的守护者

从前在阿尔卑斯山上有一座城镇，横跨在一条美丽的小溪之上。这条小溪是由古老如地土、深沉如大海的泉水所滋养着。溪水清澈晶莹。孩子们在溪边嬉笑玩耍，天鹅和大雁在其上自在悠游。虹鳟在清澈的水中游近岩石和沙子。溪水的上游住着一位老人，他受雇专职清理溪水中的树枝、落叶和其他会弄脏溪水的杂物。这是一份不起眼的工作。一天，镇委因资金不足决定解雇老人，他就离岗了。很快，无人照看的溪水开始被细枝、掉落的树枝和树叶所堵塞，使溪水变得浑浊。河床里满是淤泥，农田里的废水把部分溪流变成了一潭死水。在村人的不知不觉间溪水变成了咸水。天鹅和大雁迁离了，孩子们不再来溪边玩耍。溪水失去了清香的气息。村里的人陆陆续续开始生病。村庄的生命仰赖溪水，而溪水的生命则仰赖那个守护者。镇委重新雇用了这位老人，当他开始照料溪水，溪水又恢复了生机。孩子们开始在溪边玩耍。天鹅和大雁回来浮游，村子重新焕发出生命力。村庄的生命仰赖溪流的健康。溪流就是你的灵魂。而你就是那守护者。
(小溪的守护者摘自《灵魂的守护者》作者：约翰. 奥伯格）

虽然我们是重生的基督徒，但魂是我们未更新的部分。魂由以下部分组成：
1）思维 -智力、大脑、思维和评估
2）情感 -感觉、欲望和情绪
3）意志 -决定和意志力

当你为升职或生意而奋斗时，你是否同时在悉心守护你的灵魂？

提摩太前书6:10贪财是万恶之根。有人贪恋钱财，就被引诱离了真道，用许多愁苦把自己刺透了.

发家致富或变得更富有的渴望，对金钱的热爱，愚蠢有害的欲望，以及人的贪婪，已经为许多人招致了愁苦。我们的魂受伤，因为我们没有好好守护它，它可能会因追逐财富而被蒙蔽。

记住，就像那个溪水的守护者使淡水汇入小溪，我们就是自己灵魂的守护者。我们思考问题的方式，对情绪的管理，以及我们按照优先次序所做的决定都会影响我们的灵魂。因此，我们需要智慧来确保我们做出正确的决定，用神的话语更新我们的思想，好叫我们的魂兴盛！

我们基督徒的价值观应该是上帝第一，家庭第二，事业第三，按照这个优先次序做决策。这对我们来说很重要，特别是现在，因为它将帮助我们对那些真正重要的事作出正确的决定。

讲章系列：平衡敬虔和富足（第一部分）