BY AZEMOBOR GREGORY

Every human being is essentially a spirit that lives in a physical body. The real you is not your body, but your spirit being. Your body is only a garment that your spirit wears. If you like, your body is a house in which your spirit dwells. While your body is mortal, your spirit is immortal. Your body is destructive. it is a product of the earth and some day it will be destroyed and returned back to the earth where it belongs. Your spirit on the other hand has its source from God. It is an extension of God. It was created in the image and likeness of God. It is Godlike in nature! This is the true composition of every human being on earth irrespective of your religion, gender, language, colour or race.
Now, it is also important to emphasize here, that the Spirit of God dwells in every one of us and it does not matter which religion you profess: whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Traditional worshipper or you could even be an agnostic or atheist, as far as you are alive, the spirit dwells in your body. In the secular parlance, it is called ‘conscience’ - that moral voice that constantly nudges you towards the path of rectitude. I just needed to say this in order to clear the air of misconception amongst us that share the Christian faith about the ‘baptism of the spirit”. The ‘baptism of the spirit’ does not give a new spirit; rather it reawakens the dormant spirit that is resident in you.
Our lives are either controlled by the desires of the flesh (your physical body) or the spirit that dwells in us. The desires of the body are contrary to the desires of the spirit. The spirit and the body are constantly at ‘war’ to gain control over your soul. They are constantly trying to ‘win’ you over to each other. So they continually speak to you. You hear their voices in your mind. The voice of the body is very logical in its argument to win you to its side because it shows you physical proof of things or circumstances you can perceive with your physical senses, while the voice of the spirit relies on moral conviction to persuade you to do anything. Many at times, what the voice of the spirit says does not make ‘logical sense’ because it does not operate based on human reason. It functions in the realm of faith- the belief in astral realities.
The body for instance is selfish and self-centred. It likes to accumulate, possess and hoard. The spirit on the other hand is selfless and self-sacrificing-It likes to give, share and distribute. The body is incapable of expressing love to others, because of it selfish nature, but the spirit loves and it is compassionate towards other people. Let me explain this, with the experience we usually have when somebody asks us for something. This happens to every one of us. There is usually a conversation that goes on in our mind: the voice of the body would tell you“ don’t give him, you know you are going to use this money for something else; he is lazy . Can’t he work to earn some money instead of begging………” the voice of the body gives you plethora of reasons why you should not help the person. The voice of the spirit is rather compassionate and it urges you from a moral point of view to help the person in need. It is usually not loud and forceful; it does not have empirical evidence to back up its persuasion. It only relies on ‘moral conviction’. So at the end of the day, you would either give to gratify your spirit and deny your flesh or you refuse to give to gratify the body and deny your spirit. When you give the spirit is happy and the flesh is pained!


Now, this is the crux of the matter. I want you to reflect on your life right now as you read this piece. Look at the motivations that drive your life: the desires and cravings that you seek to gratify. Are you living for the spirit or the flesh?. The material wealth that God has blessed you with; do you use it to gratify the body or the spirit. When what you have is used to bless others it gratifies the spirit, but if it is accumulated for selfish use, you are gratifying the flesh. Now hear this, being prosperous is not a sin, as long as others can benefit from it. The purpose why God blesses you is for your life to be a blessing to others. Remember all material wealth come from God. You are wealthy just because you are alive: And God is the giver of life. If He owns your life, then He owns all that you have.
Beloved, I beseech you to live a life that would satisfy the spirit at all times. Satiating the desires of the spirit is the Path of True Life. Do not spend your life pursuing vanities!. Do not waste your time on earth on gratify of the inordinate desires of the flesh. The body is lustful and its cravings are insatiable. No amount of money can satisfy a soul that afflicted with the ‘cancer’ of GREED; no amount of material possessions can satiate the desires of the body. If your search for ‘fulfillment’ is predicated on material achievement, you are living a life of illusion!
You know what I am talking about, in spite of your earthly ‘achievements’: the elegant houses; the latest exotic cars packed in your garage; your academic certificates; your professional accomplishment and your fat bank account. You still feel a sense of emptiness- a void within. The simple reason is that you are living for the body and not for the spirit. Fulfillment and a feeling of inner joy can only come when you live for the spirit- a life that is dedicated to selfless service to humanity.

Azemobor Gregory, an Apostle of humanity, is the International Coordinator Voice of Change Network- (an organization promoting Godliness through selfless service to humanity)
Follow him on twitters: @gazemobor
www.vocinternational.com, www.projecthelpachild.com

SOURCE: http://vocnewsonline.com/what-do-you-live-for-to-satisfy-the-desires-of-your-body-or-spirit/