THE APARTMENT MANAGER

“The following conversation was overheard when two friends reunited after several years.  “I heard you sold your apartment building so where are you living now?  It must be nice to be away from the difficult woman on the third floor.”

“Oh, Ms. Know-it-all?  She’s still there as she has tenure so won’t be gone until the building is no more. I’m still living on the ground floor but the new owner brought in his resident trainer to live on the second floor and he’s teaching me how to manage the building using the Apartment Managers Handbook so I can deal with her better. It was slow at first because I was new at it, but you know, she can’t help her attitude; it’s her nature. I’m learning to discern between her voice and His. You know what?  I’m tired of talking, let’s go shopping!”

As they left , I was envisioning that scenario, and it occurred to me:  I’m that building!  I am body, soul, and spirit!  When I was constructed at birth my body and soul were born but my spirit wasn’t alive until I accepted the new Owner’s offer to purchase me.  I've had been living on the ground floor with Ms. Flesh on the third floor and the second room on the second floor was empty.   Her voice of criticism, fearfulness, and doubt, is the heaviest weapon she wields to discourage and terrorizes me.  

When I accepted the price Jesus paid for me.  He moved in the Holy Spirit, who faithfully reminds me to study the Bible with Him and that I have to take responsibility of making the right choices in listening to the voices!  It’s an ongoing struggle but His weapons have, and still do, supersede hers, and Satan.  I am the manager, the one who is in charge, based on grounding in His word, the Bible, the apartment manager’s manual.  I am the apartment manager; I have to take responsibility.   

I also meet with other managers who want to be the best they can be for the new Owner, and we help newborn managers learn be the best apartment managers they can be. There are many of us out there, and we love to encourage!”

 Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, 

who is in you, whom you have from God, that you are not your own?   

For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify 

God in your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 

Paul encourages: 

”Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.  

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh 

so that you may not do the things that you please.”    

(22- 25)

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,

 kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, 

against such things there is no law.”

Galations 5:16 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might, put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle isn’t against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

Ephesians 6:10-18  

Written by
Sandy Schott

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