Optimism Rules!

It can be really hard to separate ourselves from the wants of today.

They seem so important right here, right now.
It's just so enticing.
To have more money.
To have more fame.
It's just something we all want and I can't tell you why.

And a lot of the time, deceitful schemes are involved to get more gain.
A white lie here.
A white lie there.
Boom. Instant recipe for money/fame.
Then you collect your winnings and be on your merry way.
Right?
RIGHT?!

Let me ask you this. Do you think thousands of years from now, up in heaven, you will say, "Oh man, I wish I would have lied more to get more money" ?
Probably not.

Haha, I know it seems comical putting it that way, but I'm serious.
I'm willing to bet that you'll be glad that you didn't lie for money (hopefully). That just seems really selfish, and it will probably be embarrassing.
At the end of it all, we're not going to wish we lied for more money during our mortal life.
So next time you are faced with an easy way for money, think of the question I proposed. If it entails lying/cheating, DON'T DO IT.
I mean, it could also entail death.
In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira lie about keeping a portion of property from the church, and they lost their lives. Yikes.

Continuing on in Acts 5 we find that Peter and John get arrested and beaten for testifying of Christ.
A lot of the time, we are told that we will be protected for loving/serving the Lord. For most of us, if we got beaten we'd probably think, "Thanks Lord...? I defended you and I got beaten. What is that about?!"
But that's not what Peter/John thought.
I actually really love their reaction.
In verse 41 it says, "And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer same for his name"
They felt honored to be beaten!
If you need a good example for optimism, look at Peter and John.
That's optimism.
Instead of being bitter, they were better.
I like those two words, "bitter" and "better", because if you look at the difference between bitter and better, it's the "i". Being focused on "I" or myself makes us bitter. Remember that :)

Don't forget to be awesome!