How MUCH of Life Do You PLAN?
Did you "fall" in love? You may, from having heard the expression, seen a number of Hollywood motion pictures, read a number of novels, THINK you did. But "falling" in love is IMPOSSIBLE!
Because LOVE is NOT THE RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT!
Genuine love, if the world only knew, is a deep, serious, OUTGOING CONCERN. It is pointed AWAY from self, a desire to help, to serve, to GIVE to the one who is the object of that love.
And NO one EVER just "happened" to want to GIVE THEIR LIVES, their energies, their time, labor, thoughts, cares, hopes and dreams to another human being BY ACCIDENT!
What many people call love today is NOT love, but LUST!
And LUST DOES occur by accident. It is the most frequent accident involving human beings of the opposite sex. It is the common accident in the hearts of humans who want to GET — whether money, or the things money can buy — instead of GIVE!
When you first meet someone, you say, "How do you do?" Or, "My name is . . ." accompanied with a friendly smile and, perhaps, a handshake.
Then comes a period of acquaintance. First, of course, is the appearance of the other person. Then the voice, the eyes, mouth, features, stature.
Gradually, in prolonged acquaintance, and long conversations, you learn about the background of the other person. Perhaps you ask, "What do you DO?" Meaning, of course, What is your occupation? Then you begin to learn the opinions, personal feelings, likes and dislikes, philosophies, and perhaps even religion of the other person.
Gradually, you can come to KNOW another person.
And that's no accident.
Love for another person, TRUE love, does not just "happen" accidentally. Rather, it is the end result of coming to truly KNOW another, and then admiring, deeply respecting, agreeing with the other — and a desire to GIVE of yourself — a desire to SHARE the experiences of life with the one who is loved.
The love of God is clearly defined in the WORD of God, and is the complete epitomization of OUTGOING actions toward God, and toward man. Read I John 5:3 and see. God's laws define how to love God, and How to love your neighbor!
Did you PLAN your marriage?
Did you come to KNOW yourself, know your background, your desires, hopes and dreams — and evaluate them honestly and candidly in the light of the Word of God — and THEN seek to find a mate with whom you could really SHARE these right and true goals in life?
Probably not. And you probably don't KNOW many who did.
Did you plan the exact type vocation you now pursue? Did you PLAN your education carefully?
Did you plan your social life, your business contacts, your personal habits? Or did most of these things just HAPPEN to you?
And today — Do YOU PLAN YOUR LIFE?
How many people do you know who live a carefully thought out and planned day? How many housewives prepare, plan, think out, and then execute the purchasing of groceries and planning of meals for as much as a WEEK IN ADVANCE?
How many husbands carefully plan a balance in home study, recreation, family activities, periods of instruction for his children — and then follow that plan?
How many families live within a PLANNED budget? Not very many.
Most people are impulse buyers. That's what ushered in the supermarket, and the "drug" store carrying everything from neckties to nostrums.
They see, they WANT, they buy! But the checkbook? The bank account? The budget? Well — they just never thought of that.
So, purchasing on time; repossession of automobiles, homes, furniture, payments on interest — these are the financial order of the day.
But God says a CURSE hangs over every family which fails to PLAN their financial lives. Another article in the June issue explains God's LAWS of FINANCE!
So look at your life. Look closely, and find out how much of your life is really just ACCIDENTAL — and not the result of careful planning, the following of rules and regulations, the obedience to laws and safety procedures!
MAN Is a PLANNED Creature!
God created man, and molded him carefully! David stood in AWE of the wonderful marvels of the physical creation. He said the human body and mind is fearfully and wonderfully made!
One of the arguments of evolution, that of comparative embryology, anatomy, or the skeletal structures of various creatures is actually one of the STRONGEST proofs of the existence of God! All of these studies prove a basic PLAN was formed — that a definite PATTERN was followed in the creation.
From the leaf of a tree to the wing of a fly, to the hand of man, to the web of a spider, one sees symmetry, uniformity, harmony, complexity, intricacy, exactness, precision, careful and meticulous thought and planning!
God is NOT the author Of ACCIDENTS!
Paul was inspired to write, "For God IS NOT THE AUTHOR Of confusion [and is confusion ever PLANNED, except by the Devil?], but of peace, as in all churches of the saints" (I Cor. 14:33).
Originally, this earth was in perfect HARMONY and beautiful order. God created it NOT chaotic and in confusion (Hebrew: tohu and bohu), but to be inhabited! (Isa. 45:18)
But the earth BECAME chaotic, disordered — a lifeless waste! (Gen. 1:2)
How did it get that way?
By the planner of accidents, the enemy of order, the author of confusion, the inventor of lies, and the first rebel of all time, Satan the Devil!
Read the accounts in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 of how Lucifer, the original "light bringer" of order and beauty became instead the CORRUPTER, and became UGLY!
And how UGLY are accidents, and the results of them! How chaotic the charred embers of a burnt home; the twisted steel of a wrecked automobile; the scattered bodies after a battle! How depressing, how UGLY is the "accidental" art, music, literature — and the very lives people live, today!
You didn't HAPPEN. You were PUT here for a great purpose! And a great PART of that purpose was to learn how to avoid accidents!
Since you are a PLANNED creature — it's time you learned how to PLAN YOUR LIFE!
SAFETY Regulations!
Rules and regulations of safety are designed to PROTECT.
Always, safety regulations are designed by one who KNOWS THE DANGERS inherent in the area, the product, the situation better than the novices who will be concerned with them.
Parents know the terrible harm that can come to their children in certain circumstances, and seek to PROTECT their children from such harm.
But, most children just "can't see it that way!" They don't KNOW there is any real DANGER involved — they think Dad and Mom are just trying to hold them back — or just don't want them to have any fun! And, not KNOWING the dangers — they don't KNOW that they don't know them!
And most adult human beings are EXACTLY of that same attitude toward GOD and HIS safety regulations for life — the Bible!
Because the Bible is a book of SAFETY! It IS a book on HOW TO AVOID ACCIDENTS!
It is a statistical analysis of the most devastating, the most pathetic accidents in all history! The first lie, the first murder, the first adultery, robbery, the first war — they're all there! And Paul said under inspiration of the Holy Spirit — they are WRITTEN FOR OUR rebuke and correction — because WE are the ones living in the last times! (I Cor. 10:11)
The Bible was designed to PROTECT you against the mistakes and accidents of life — to point the way to avoid them!
It tells youngsters WHY it is a TERRIBLE MISTAKE TO NECK before marriage! It explains carefully why PERVERSION and SELF-INDULGENCE are terrible mistakes.
It illustrates every gamut of human emotion, every intrigue, every plot, jealousy, insidious plan, every attempt at subversion — and warns against each!
It shows you HOW TO AVOID POOR HEALTH, how to keep from PHYSICAL DISABILITY, how to skirt around financial danger, how to keep from mental depression and fear, how to budget your time, how to plan your vacations, how to enjoy your visit with others, how to spend your every day!
Yes, it really does!
The Bible is God's book of SAFETY! It is His handbook to man on RULES and REGULATIONS to PROTECT, to PRESERVE, to WARN you away from dangers that can hurt you, either physically or mentally!
Sin is the breaking of God's Ten Commandments — the transgression of His LAW. (I John 3:4) Write for our fine booklet on the Ten Commandments, and read how each one is so tremendously applicable today — in this modern age of science!
To sin, means, literally, to "miss the mark." In other words, to SLIP, to make a mistake, to HAVE AN ACCIDENT!
And MOST sin, especially sin which is the result of HUMAN LUST, JEALOUSY AND GREED — HUMAN VANITY, is an ACCIDENTAL type of sin!
God wants you to AVOID accidents! He wants you to FLEE SIN! And why? Because to sin is to have an accident — and accidents HURT! It's about time you began PLANNING your life! It's high time you tried to avoid the terrible ACCIDENTS of life, and began living safely, happily, ABUNDANTLY!
The best possible way to begin is to find out MORE about that wonderful Book of Safety, that Guide to Every Day — the Bible! WRITE for the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course — now illustrated! Ask for our FREE booklet on the Seven Laws of Success. Have you read our booklet on Ending Your Financial Worries? What about the article "How to Get Out of Debt"? And here's a wonderful article you can USE EVERY DAY — "HOW TO Conquer Your Fears."
Above all, keep listening to The WORLD TOMORROW program, and reading The PLAIN TRUTH magazine — CHECK UP on what you hear, and what you read.
Then, once you've really PROVED everything to yourself, ACT on it — begin to PLAN your actions, your beliefs, your opinions, your job, your marriage.
It's the only way to avoid living accidentally.