What are the building blocks that we need to ensure that we live a long and meaningful life?

Our hearts are saddened by the sudden and tragic death of the fantastic singer Whitney Houston. Our prayers and thoughts go out to the bereaving family and friends that remain. This is yet another superstar that has been cut down in their prime. Although they gave so much pleasure to so many people, many of those who are billed as stars had real problems in their private lives.  For me there is no dichotomy between the private and public sphere. How we operate inside must tally up with how we behave outside. This is why we cannot accommodate both the virtues and the vices in our lives and hope to demonstrate how to live a life that is pleasing to God and those we live to serve. Hence our private worlds must be ordered. Irrespective of our past, we are mandated to live lives that are pleasing to our God and father. So we are encouraged by the writer of Colossians 3:8 to jettison vices such as anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from our mouths. And put on and embrace and clothe ourselves with virtues such as: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, v.12.  Notice that the writer, Apostle Paul juxtaposes five vices against five virtues. And so we must juxtapose our public behaviour with what we do behind closed doors. In our church service yesterday a little lad was giving his testimony of how the Lord helped him overcome the fear to read in public and sandwiched between his words he kept saying “God is not asleep”, “God is not asleep.” For us to live a long and prosperous life, we need to remember:-

1God is not asleep

1. Our steps should be ordered by the Lord
2. This is only done when we allow the principles written in his word to permeate all areas of our lives, both private and public.

So live a life that is transparent and visible and a real example to those coming behind. Read Colossians 3.