Fade.

When it all comes down, and all the things of this life, the accolades, the accomplishments, the desire for more, more money, more retirement, more wealth, no longer mattering, no longer allowing to define a man on a sinking ship, I think it will only be then that we can see what really mattered the entire time.

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.- Psalm 136:26 

When a day comes, there are no accomplishments, there is no great writing for the day, no awesome gym workout, the clothes don't fit like they used to, old photos are nothing more than reminder of previous youthful looks, negating the happy times they were indicated for, we are still loved. No matter what the social group, the status quo is, if we fail to meet it, we can relax because we are loved. We are loved no matter what we do. We are loved when we screw up. We are loved when our hair is a mess, or we wear the improper clothing items to the work event. We are loved when we no longer feel inspired or motivated to accomplish a task.

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.- Romans 5:8 

Even the love of our own parents will be tested, for they can admit that they did not like us very much at times, as well as us to our own kids. It doesn't matter what the world thinks, the world is dying. The world is in pain. The more cell phones, the more cameras, the more pieces of a puzzle put together, and the sadder the picture looks. The facade of an image, the underlying impure acts-adultery, infidelity, sinful desires lay within, all driving behaviors, and yet we justify the actions as pure. The specifics here are your own to figure out. Taking the time to discover a part of yourself that you'd rather avoid is a task worth taking on. It is only in the true motive of actions that someone can determine what they need to work on.

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.- 2 Corinthians 11:3

I want your love, so I write something I think you'll love, offensive, and downright shameful. A superficial putting together of ideas with the underlying fear of offending. Endorsements, and advertisements do this to people, to companies. No matter how far you can go within the limits of the company's contract, if the company sponsoring you does something you don't agree with, you are bound to it. If it all goes down, you will go down with it.

My love is not perfect, some days I question my love for others. I get stuck in this self-righteous thought process that is difficult to break. Rather, I know that while I can admit the nature of my wrongs, I can see that throughout this process I am loved, no matter what I do or don't do. I am heard in my prayers, I am watched knowing there is a bigger plan through my failures. I cannot control or manipulate as well as I think I can. I cannot allow myself to be controlled by others either.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you. - James 4:7

It's the largest chain you can break when you allow yourself to turn away from the world, turn back to God and see that the physical status of anything here, fades. This is a guarantee, for I am not a profit, but a simple-minded person who asks the question, "What are we doing here?" Satan has painted these false pictures that we want to live in, ideas of material and status, and doing what it takes to get there will make us happy, on the inside. Yet, for those who have achieved understand, relying on the accomplishment to provide happiness or contentment is not what works. Being happy poor means you will be happy rich. Happiness is not a given, nor is it contingent on status, or accomplishment.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.- Ephesians 6:11

Checking my own motive really left me seeing the shallow man I was, through many times, over and over, self reflection has taught me, that why I do something, may actually make me the most selfish man of all. This is not showing Gods love, but giving in to Satan's desire for me to rely on the world to make me. The world does not make me, and in the end it may want to kill me. However, this is all good because I know how brief this life is, how short a stint we live here, and in the end, my eternity in heaven because I am loved keeps me satisfied. Though I have to remind myself from time to time, "what am I doing this for?"

God Bless