Nothing that we do means anything if the mind is not continuously fixed on God. All labor, all study, all service and sacrifice and suffering, are useless if we do not keep God before our mind, for none of it is serving its intended purpose. Here is the danger and deceptiveness of the flesh. Various aspects of the "work of the Truth" appeal to the natural inclinations of different people. Some like to debate and contend, some like to study, some like to teach, some like to do the active work: the cooking, the entertaining, the arranging, the procuring. All this is fine, and we should be thankful that it is so. But let us always remember: if we are not CONSCIOUSLY doing it for God -- in love of God -- it is fruitless and meaningless in any eternal sense. The mind fixed on God -- in total harmony with God -- is the ultimate goal and purpose of all. If any activity is not contributing to this purpose, but rather diverting the mind from it to its own self, then that activity is counter-productive and destructive, however "good" it may be. It has usurped the position of God in our heart and mind and thoughts. It has become idolatry

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