It is good to aspire to greater things ...and to improve upon ourselves.

Most of us want to improve our lives. And part of that includes having more tomorrow than we have today.

Isn't it good to want more than we have? It perhaps means having an improved relationship with our parents, spouse, and children ...and I cannot think of an instance where that wouldn't be great!

But how about having more things ...doesn't that make us happy? Actually, it often goes hand-in-hand, with improving our relationships with family ...by acquiring more things. So we aspire to acquire ... to improve our relationships.

But let's be careful here ...in aspiring to improve our relationships, shouldn't we also improve our relationship with God? And the slippery slope of the tenth Commandment of God addresses that which we may not be ready to scratch below the surface on!

Many of us who have much, say we "earn" what we have. Yet those who don't have much may say they deserve more. Contentment is difficult in both situations, whether it is in viewing others, or in viewing ourselves. If we have much, how much do we share? If we have little, how much do we want others to share?

And to take it further, if others share a little, do we then want them to share more and more? Or if we have much, do we want more and more ...and more?

I'm going to address that last statement. There are many venues in life that can be addressed. Let's look at the rival gangs that exist in many large cities. If one of the gangs suddenly becomes peaceful, it's unlikely the other gangs will then attempt to rival that peacefulness ...and be competitive in who can do the nicest things. I believe the greater tendency is towards attempting to capitalize on the situation.

On a larger scale, let's look at World War II. ---Was there contentment; or would they only be content in conquering the world?

I cannot personally conceive what would possibly feed that sort of drivenness ...or can I?

Doesn't it begin small, within individuals who talk to other discontent individuals? Cruel rule can take place in a household, a corporation, a nation, or internationally ...driven like they were during World War II. Or perhaps hate factions spring up all around ...easily motivated because of similar discontent, and breeding like a virus that travels about until it builds to epidemic proportion.

Do we more easily associate with what makes us happy, or with what upsets us?

Even though that varies, there have been devastating times throughout history where large groups of people were discontent. The question is: Can we make people content?

Can we make people agree upon what's acceptable, and what is not? And is there an actual way to measure the success of it?

Let's take your job ...either working outside the home, or within. Do you really like what you do?

Let's take someone who was supposed to be real focused, who had to lose his entire focus upon becoming blind before he could have real sight and insight ...the apostle Paul. He said that the good that he would do, he does not ...but that which he would not do, he does! So, what is that?

I'll tell you what it is ...it's someone who is admitting that he can do nothing on his own, without his Savior.

The Apostle Peter tells us that we should take account ...that the longsuffering, or the tolerance which our Lord has towards us is ...salvation. That is why for every moment that a breath can be taken, salvation can come to another human being.

So, to back up a bit, we either reject the message of salvation, and set out in our life to do as we feel fit ...with nothing to measure our actions aside from the popular belief of the time, or our own conceived ideas. Perhaps we feel we are in need of nothing quite that clandestine, as those many practiced speeches ...telling us what we are in need of, to find meaning in life.

Or we accept that which we know we can never achieve on our own ...and continue to strive for what we believe in, looking not at our own successes, but for the day when we will not be brought down by every thing that gets in the way of those strivings ...ultimately becoming not for our own, but for communion with our Heavenly Father.

Our strivings will be stripped away at that time ...and the only standing we'll have is by standing with the One who was willing to give His life for us ...the only One who can save us!

If the other strivings were also present, then Heaven would be no better than Earth ...and you may have less of a standing than you do now. Yet, in separating the two, what do you think would happen?

Heaven would become what it will be ...what it is! But now it is without us; then it will include us ...if we value the truth and accept it. But if we accept the truth of Jesus, it already includes us ...we just have not fully arrived yet.

But without Jesus providing us the way, things would become ...and will become, worse than you can ever imagine!

But what could you possibly expect? One place is going to be run one way ...access provided by Jesus. The other place, sponsored by Satan, is filled with things even he wouldn't want to imagine.

But imagining doesn't get us anywhere! Initially, Satan imagined himself being like God. But he led a rebellion to try to bring it about ...and he continues to lead one. With all that said, be certain to realize that you don't have to choose to stand with Satan to stand with him. All you have to do is choose not to stand with Jesus.

And with that, breeds a rebellion of the combined terror of every horrifying experience anyone has ever had to go through ...which often does not get much notice, unless it reaches the national scale, or perhaps international scale such as declared war affecting nations. And what it usually leaves us with, is not the question of who is stronger, or who can fight better ...but rather about who feels more justified.

None of us are justified, but we can live eternally in a place where God's love rules ...justified through willingly turning our hearts to Jesus.