Remove far from me vanity and lies.
Proverbs 30:8
"The happiest state of a Christian is the holiest state.
--As there is the most heat nearest to the sun,
--so there is the most happiness nearest to Christ.
No Christian enjoys comfort when his eyes are fixed on vanity—he finds no satisfaction unless his soul is quickened in the ways of God.
***I do not blame ungodly men for rushing to their pleasures. Why should I? Let them have their fill. That is all they have to enjoy.***
Christians must seek their delights in a higher sphere than the
insipid frivolities or sinful enjoyments of the world. Vain pursuits are dangerous to renewed souls. No Christian is safe when his soul is slothful, and his God is far from him.
Satan does not often attack a Christian who is living near to God. It is when the Christian departs from his God, becomes spiritually starved, and endeavors to feed on vanities, that the devil discovers his vantage hour.
He may sometimes stand foot to foot with the child of God who is active in his Master's service, but the battle is generally short: he who slips as he goes down into the Valley of Humiliation, every time he takes a false step invites Apollyon to assail him."
Charles Spurgeon