IT IS NECESSARY TO BE WHOLLY GOD'S.

I. The means we must employ to be totally the Lord's is detachment from the world. If your position does not allow you to share your possessions with the poor, at least detach your heart from riches and worldly vanities. You cannot serve two masters at once; you cannot be both God's and the world's at the same time. Choose, of these two paths, the one that is more advantageous to you. Is it necessary to think too much when it comes to giving yourself to You, O my God?

II. Consider the rewards the world bestows on those who serve it. Solomon was showered with all the goods of the earth, and yet he declared that everything is vanity. Ask yourself: Is it not true that you are already dissatisfied with the goods of the world as soon as you possess them; that your spirit has never been fully content and that something has always been lacking in your happiness?  Deceitful world, why do you promise us so many things you cannot give?

III. If you truly wish to confess the truth, you will agree with me that you have never been happier or more content than after performing some act of virtue. If Jesus Christ rewards you so generously in this world, what will He not reserve for you in the next? If the pleasures the devil offers are tinged with such bitterness, what torments await you! Surrender yourself to God, and you will see that there is no pleasure comparable to that which is found in the service of this most loving Lord.