FOR WRITERS

FOR READERS

FOR PUBLISHERS




FREE CHRISTIAN REPRINT ARTICLES

Christian Articles for All of your Publishing Needs!

LIKE US
Translate this Page Here

FOR WRITERS

FOR READERS

FOR PUBLISHERS




Word Count: 1244

Send Article To Friend Print/Use Article

Contact Angela Willingham


Gift or Prize, You Decide!

by Angela Willingham  
5/26/2009 / Christian Living


Minister Kimberley McNeil says that we have to see ourselves as a gift, not a prize. The question I had to ask myself and you are probably asking yourself is what does that really mean? What is the difference between a gift and a prize? Why should we choose to be considered one over the other?

A gift is something that is given. A prize is something that is awarded or won in a competition. A prize actually becomes property. I kept thinking about it and for those of you who are sports fans or have participated in any type of competition, I would put it this way, a prize could be a trophy. It is given the person or team that was the best at any given time. The example that came to my mind was professional athletics. At the end of each season whether in the NBA or the NFL an Eastern and Western Conference championship is played and decided based on how they played that year and prizes or trophies are awarded. Then the championships are played and the one team that wins is given a trophy that identifies them as the best team that year. Notice that in either case you had to do something to win the prize or trophy and it is just for that year. Next year you will have to do something else if you want to win the prize or trophy again. That is not a gift, because you had to work for it.

The difference then in being a gift or a prize is that a person has to work for a prize or trophy and they don't get to keep it. Next year the prize or trophy will go to someone else. If you receive a gift it is yours to keep. Okay, so I ask myself and you should ask yourself do you want to be a gift that is given out of love and caring the way God gave us the gift of eternal life or do you want to be a trophy or prize that has value or meaning for a time, but next year will be passed to who ever plays better or presents the best offering.

As a prize or trophy will I still have the same value to the recipient if I can no longer play the game, if my looks are gone or if I gain weight? Prizes some how seem to lose their value as time goes on as the are replaced the bigger and better, but gifts because they come from the heart seem to grow in value. If you don't believe me check out something that was given to you with love. Do you still have that gift? Does it still have a fond place in your heart? Do you still cherish the place it came from? Do you remember the prizes you won? Do you know where they are? Do they have the same level of importance they once had? Prizes usually don't they get pushed to the side. Think of some of the gifts you have received and then make a decision about yourself, do you want to be a gift or a prize.

In relationships, we have found ourselves as either the pursuer or the pursued and at the end of the day when the person that was doing the pursuing gets what they want they stop pursuing. You are no longer the thing they want and now they are pursuing something else. Why? Because when you are going after a prize or trophy getting it is the goal. Keeping it and working with it was not in the plan. Okay, I tiptoed around it let's make it real. That person that wanted to sleep with you as part of the relationship, when you knew that was wrong was treating you like a prize, a conquest. If you can hold on and see yourself as a gift, something to be cherished it will change things including your view of yourself. Remember that a gift is only given once, but a trophy or prize can be won over and over and over again by different contestants. The reasons that the different contestants want to win the trophy or prize are all different, but are they trying to win it for the right reason? Now I ask the question again, do you want to be a gift or a prize?

Maybe you see yourself as a gift, but the world says that you have to give yourself to a man or woman in a relationship to keep them. The question you have to ask yourself is which standard you will follow, the one set by the world or the one set by the Word. The world is speaking loudly and you will have to be strong in what you believe to keep your mind focused on being a gift, but you can do it. Remember that your body is not your own. You have been bought with a very high price and part of our saying thank you and expressing our gratitude to God for that is by honoring Him with our bodies physically, by working it out and keeping it healthy and by not abusing it with sex outside of marriage or any other harmful substances. If you give yourself away to the wrong person you are in essence giving away someone else's gift, because the truth is, whether we realize it or not we are all gifts, not trophies or prizes. The only option we have is how we will present ourselves. I am a gift and so are you. A gift to be given at the proper time to the proper person, the person God chose for us. If you give yourself to someone else you are giving away a gift to the wrong person. You would never think to give the gift you bought for your mother to the grocery store clerk, but when we give our bodies to someone that is not our spouse that is what we are doing, giving away something that is valuable to someone that was not supposed to receive it. No matter how much you might think you love or care for that person, it is not their gift and you have placed your self in the position of having to be re-gifted, wrapped back up and given away again. This is not a message of condemnation if you have already found yourself in that place. It is a message of encouragement that you can stop now. Many of us have had to be re-wrapped in new paper. Because of what we have been through we are not the same as we were when we gave ourselves away the first time, but we are being made over and God can and will work in you to restore you to the place He intended. Don't keep going down the same road. Change your thinking and begin to see yourself as a gift, fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God to be given as a gift not won like an NBA championship trophy that will be given to another contender next year.

Scripture Reference:

Psalm 139:13-14:
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marveloushow well I know it.

Angela Willingham, CEO New Beginnings Holistic Fitness Ministries, Inc.
www.mynewtemple.org
Copyright New Beginnings Holistic Fitness Ministries, Inc.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Angela Willingham

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

User Comments

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:


Not readable? Change text.



The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer


Main FaithWriters Site | Acceptable Use Policy

By using this site you agree to our Acceptable Use Policy .

© FaithWriters.com. All rights reserved.