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“and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”
-Proverbs 6:11
Solomon has been talking in these last verses about the slothful, or lazy. Here he has a very practical warning, but it is a warning that we too little heed.
Americans are loaded down with debt, and it’s usually over the silliest of things. I hear people complaining about how much they owe all the time, but they have really nice televisions and cars and go out to eat three times a week.
And it is really those little things that get you. You know, eating out a meal doesn’t hurt too much, but continuing to do it really bites into the budget (pun intended). For me, it was books and movies. One book doesn’t cost that much, but ten do, and I was having such difficulty with my budget because I kept buying books.
A small thing, but it can hurt.
A lot of that can be solved by eating at home more and going to the library rather than the bookstore. A lot of it is solved by settling for an ugly used car rather than the brand new one you don’t need. But a lot of it is your work ethic.
There are people who are deep in debt who just need to get a second job. And they don’t want to, because they don’t want to work that hard. Some people just need to get a FIRST job! Some people need to start working hard at work so they will get a good raise.
I’ll tell you the truth – if you get a steady job and watch what you’re spending, you’re probably going to do fine financially. If you work hard and get a raise or get promoted, you’ll do better.
If you spend all of your money on foolish things, then poverty is going to creep up on you fast.
God has given us time and money to steward, not to waste on whatever we want. It’s not our time. It’s not our money. It’s His, and He has given it to us to use properly. When we waste them, we are saying that our own desires for things, comfort, and pleasure are worth more to us than He is worth.
As Paul tells us, if we are saved, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The context here is in sexual sin, but the meaning goes into all areas. How do we conduct ourselves with our time? Are you lazy? If you are not, are you trying to glorify Him with your time, or are you glorifying yourself?
If you are not glorifying Him, repent of this sin and have faith in Him. Jesus paid the price for your sins when He died upon the Cross. Confess your sin to Him. The Spirit will work in you for a change, but your hope lies in Him alone.
We will continue to sin in this way or another (or likely both), but Jesus continues to intercede for us with the Father. Trust in Him for your sanctification.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
So many reruns, so little time!
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,”
-Proverbs 6:10
We could almost rewrite this warning against laziness to add a few modern conveniences. A little Facebook, a little television, a little movie-going, a little Wii, etc. Our time rests better than any other times. In the great scheme of history, our 40-hour work week isn’t terribly much. There usually isn’t too much to do around the house either. Modern conveniences have made cooking and cleaning much easier than in past generations. We don’t have many intellectual or spiritual pursuits. Our evenings are typically filled up with entertainment.
It is easy to see how too much of that corrupts us. Just look around. We have overweight children all over the place. I mean, I’m overweight now, but I couldn’t have been back then. Everything I wanted to do involved running! As many medical advancements as we have made in the last decades, heart disease still ranks as the number one killer in America.
We are drowning in debt, partially because we charge all of our entertainment, and partially because we’re not working hard enough to pay it off.
In the Church, we have malnourished congregations. So few (and even few preachers) take the time to try to understand our faith or our God. We go to listen to the music and get a pep talk, or to have the preacher tell us we’re awesome and we’re going to be rich.
Instead, the television becomes our little false gods. We turn every chair in the living toward it as though it were an altar, and we set our lives according to what it is going to show.
Slothfulness is a sin, and it’s a sin for exactly that reason. It causes you to focus inwardly only, to seek after your own pleasures and comfort, rather than outward toward God and toward others.
The effects of this sin can be seen on every street, in every company, and in every church. We have lost the will to make an effort.
These things may seem minor, but they are not. Laziness has an effect on your life, and it has an effect on your relationship with God. Worst of all, when we are lazy, we are rejecting God in favor of ourselves. We are rebelling against Him and His Law so that we can watch some mindless show on television. I mean, if my wife did that to me, I would be offended! If I had asked for an evening together, and she declined so that she could watch a rerun of Seinfeld, I’d be pretty hacked off.
But God is more deserving still, and we were created for His glory.
I am far too often in error over this one. I am far too often putting in a DVD when I should be reading the Word. It’s not that we should not rest. Obviously, we must sleep. God has set aside a day every week for rest as well. But we take that rest and spread it around to every evening and every day. We live for it!
Because of Jesus’ death upon the Cross, we can be forgiven even of this sin. Even though we turn away from Him in favor of playing on Facebook all day, yet still He would forgive us if we would turn from that in repentance and faith. He paid the price we owe when He was upon that Roman Cross. He paid the price even for the sin of ignoring Him.
We all, at times, are a little more interested in rest than we should be. But God has offered His life in our place so that we can be forgiven.
-Proverbs 6:10
We could almost rewrite this warning against laziness to add a few modern conveniences. A little Facebook, a little television, a little movie-going, a little Wii, etc. Our time rests better than any other times. In the great scheme of history, our 40-hour work week isn’t terribly much. There usually isn’t too much to do around the house either. Modern conveniences have made cooking and cleaning much easier than in past generations. We don’t have many intellectual or spiritual pursuits. Our evenings are typically filled up with entertainment.
It is easy to see how too much of that corrupts us. Just look around. We have overweight children all over the place. I mean, I’m overweight now, but I couldn’t have been back then. Everything I wanted to do involved running! As many medical advancements as we have made in the last decades, heart disease still ranks as the number one killer in America.
We are drowning in debt, partially because we charge all of our entertainment, and partially because we’re not working hard enough to pay it off.
In the Church, we have malnourished congregations. So few (and even few preachers) take the time to try to understand our faith or our God. We go to listen to the music and get a pep talk, or to have the preacher tell us we’re awesome and we’re going to be rich.
Instead, the television becomes our little false gods. We turn every chair in the living toward it as though it were an altar, and we set our lives according to what it is going to show.
Slothfulness is a sin, and it’s a sin for exactly that reason. It causes you to focus inwardly only, to seek after your own pleasures and comfort, rather than outward toward God and toward others.
The effects of this sin can be seen on every street, in every company, and in every church. We have lost the will to make an effort.
These things may seem minor, but they are not. Laziness has an effect on your life, and it has an effect on your relationship with God. Worst of all, when we are lazy, we are rejecting God in favor of ourselves. We are rebelling against Him and His Law so that we can watch some mindless show on television. I mean, if my wife did that to me, I would be offended! If I had asked for an evening together, and she declined so that she could watch a rerun of Seinfeld, I’d be pretty hacked off.
But God is more deserving still, and we were created for His glory.
I am far too often in error over this one. I am far too often putting in a DVD when I should be reading the Word. It’s not that we should not rest. Obviously, we must sleep. God has set aside a day every week for rest as well. But we take that rest and spread it around to every evening and every day. We live for it!
Because of Jesus’ death upon the Cross, we can be forgiven even of this sin. Even though we turn away from Him in favor of playing on Facebook all day, yet still He would forgive us if we would turn from that in repentance and faith. He paid the price we owe when He was upon that Roman Cross. He paid the price even for the sin of ignoring Him.
We all, at times, are a little more interested in rest than we should be. But God has offered His life in our place so that we can be forgiven.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Crazy early in the morning
“How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?”
-Proverbs 6:9
My friends think I’m a little strange. More times than not, I’m up by about 6:30 on weekends. Work days, I’m up earlier, but even if I don’t have to be anywhere, I get up rather early.
A lot of it is from habit, but most of the reason I get up early is because I was saved out of what this verse is talking about.
When I first started college, I would sleep late in the day, didn’t really clean up much, and basically lived a very lazy life. I played a lot of video games, watched a lot of television, etc. To an extent, it got better when I got a job in the evenings, but I would end up sleeping later in the day to make up for the time I spent at work late at night.
I was a complete night-owl, and I tried to schedule absolutely nothing, even classes, in the mornings so I could sleep in. On weekends, unless I was working, I would barely leave the apartment. More honestly, I would barely leave the couch.
Over the years, God has used a lot of different events and situations to convict me of my laziness. By His grace, I’ve gotten a lot better. I don’t like wasting time now. I really want to get up and get working on whatever it is that needs done now.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not perfect in this area yet. I’ve wasted time this very day, and probably will tomorrow too. I’m still not taking exercise as seriously as I should (which is evident by the shape I’m still in). But the Spirit is working on me.
Laziness is a sin. We don’t really want to admit that staying in bed is sinful, but often it is. Not all the time – we do need to rest, but to overdo it is sinful. We were made to bring honor to God, and we use the time He gave us for entertainment or just slothfully laying around.
I’m not telling you this to guilt you into jumping up right now and taking a jog. That’s not what I want from this. What I want is for you to do the only worthwhile thing we can do with any sin – to confess it to God and to look to the Cross for forgiveness.
It is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that changes us, not some pep talk. It is the work of that Spirit that forms us into something better, not self-help. Let’s face it, if we could really save ourselves, our lives wouldn’t look like they do. But in Christ, we can be reconciled with God.
I’m not talking about a prayer that will instantly make you thin. I wish! I’m talking about the conviction of sin that will bring about works in keeping with repentance. For me, being convicted over my laziness has resulted in me being a bit more careful with my time. It’s not something I have forced out of myself. Instead, it is the only thing I COULD do after being convicted by my sin.
It is the Cross that heals us. How long are you going to lay there? Repent and be forgiven!
-Proverbs 6:9
My friends think I’m a little strange. More times than not, I’m up by about 6:30 on weekends. Work days, I’m up earlier, but even if I don’t have to be anywhere, I get up rather early.
A lot of it is from habit, but most of the reason I get up early is because I was saved out of what this verse is talking about.
When I first started college, I would sleep late in the day, didn’t really clean up much, and basically lived a very lazy life. I played a lot of video games, watched a lot of television, etc. To an extent, it got better when I got a job in the evenings, but I would end up sleeping later in the day to make up for the time I spent at work late at night.
I was a complete night-owl, and I tried to schedule absolutely nothing, even classes, in the mornings so I could sleep in. On weekends, unless I was working, I would barely leave the apartment. More honestly, I would barely leave the couch.
Over the years, God has used a lot of different events and situations to convict me of my laziness. By His grace, I’ve gotten a lot better. I don’t like wasting time now. I really want to get up and get working on whatever it is that needs done now.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not perfect in this area yet. I’ve wasted time this very day, and probably will tomorrow too. I’m still not taking exercise as seriously as I should (which is evident by the shape I’m still in). But the Spirit is working on me.
Laziness is a sin. We don’t really want to admit that staying in bed is sinful, but often it is. Not all the time – we do need to rest, but to overdo it is sinful. We were made to bring honor to God, and we use the time He gave us for entertainment or just slothfully laying around.
I’m not telling you this to guilt you into jumping up right now and taking a jog. That’s not what I want from this. What I want is for you to do the only worthwhile thing we can do with any sin – to confess it to God and to look to the Cross for forgiveness.
It is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that changes us, not some pep talk. It is the work of that Spirit that forms us into something better, not self-help. Let’s face it, if we could really save ourselves, our lives wouldn’t look like they do. But in Christ, we can be reconciled with God.
I’m not talking about a prayer that will instantly make you thin. I wish! I’m talking about the conviction of sin that will bring about works in keeping with repentance. For me, being convicted over my laziness has resulted in me being a bit more careful with my time. It’s not something I have forced out of myself. Instead, it is the only thing I COULD do after being convicted by my sin.
It is the Cross that heals us. How long are you going to lay there? Repent and be forgiven!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Working by faith
“she [the ant] prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”
-Proverbs 6:8
All ages have had lazy people, but I think our age makes the problems so much worse. In older times, you could sleep late if you wished, but that would make it hard later to eat. When you had to grow your own food, the amount of work you put in had a direct result on the amount of food you got out of it.
But what if I slept late and didn’t work very hard today? It could be that my boss would fire me, depending on how late I was coming in and how bad of a job I was doing. More likely, I just wouldn’t get a very good raise at the end of the year. That might not be so bad. At my last job, in fact, everyone in the organization got the exact same percentage raise every year. It was a government job, and they cut out merit raises before I got there. So a little laziness there, as long as it didn’t get me fired, would probably have no effect at all!
So we’ve lost something in our understanding of laziness. We’ve lost that understanding that being lazy would have immediately and severe consequences. We could actually say that about a lot of the sins now. In a society that blames no one, we’ve done our best to get rid of any consequences at all for anyone’s actions.
Laziness is, however, a sin. And no matter what this society does to remove the consequences of sin, the heart of those consequences remain. That gradual numbing that sin brings remains, the numbing that continues unto death.
It is a deserved death too. We have lost the understanding of the value of things. We have lost the understanding of the value of time and resources. They are God’s! They are God’s, and He has loaned to us time, breath, resources, and even our bodies. They are not ours to do with as we wish. They are His, and we treat them so casually.
The wages of sin is death. We have offended God in all of our sins, including lust, pride, arrogance, hatred, greed, and even laziness. We have taken what we His and treated it with rebellion and distain.
The answer to this problem is not to try harder and see if you can earn your way into good favor. It’s faith. See, without faith we cannot please God. So the work of God is to believe in Him whom He sent. In repentance and faith we will be forgiven.
When we are forgiven, we are given His Spirit to guide us. The Spirit makes it so we can walk in accordance to His desires – no longer by sheer force of will, but by faith.
I don’t have to harvest my own food. But when I go to work, I can bring honor to God by working in faith. Even that, by grace, we can do in faith. It’s hard to be lazy when the Spirit has moved you so much.
If this is a problem, your first step is to repent and look to the Cross for forgiveness. If you fail tomorrow, then repent again. Over time, the Spirit will work in you. He will change you to look a little more like Him.
-Proverbs 6:8
All ages have had lazy people, but I think our age makes the problems so much worse. In older times, you could sleep late if you wished, but that would make it hard later to eat. When you had to grow your own food, the amount of work you put in had a direct result on the amount of food you got out of it.
But what if I slept late and didn’t work very hard today? It could be that my boss would fire me, depending on how late I was coming in and how bad of a job I was doing. More likely, I just wouldn’t get a very good raise at the end of the year. That might not be so bad. At my last job, in fact, everyone in the organization got the exact same percentage raise every year. It was a government job, and they cut out merit raises before I got there. So a little laziness there, as long as it didn’t get me fired, would probably have no effect at all!
So we’ve lost something in our understanding of laziness. We’ve lost that understanding that being lazy would have immediately and severe consequences. We could actually say that about a lot of the sins now. In a society that blames no one, we’ve done our best to get rid of any consequences at all for anyone’s actions.
Laziness is, however, a sin. And no matter what this society does to remove the consequences of sin, the heart of those consequences remain. That gradual numbing that sin brings remains, the numbing that continues unto death.
It is a deserved death too. We have lost the understanding of the value of things. We have lost the understanding of the value of time and resources. They are God’s! They are God’s, and He has loaned to us time, breath, resources, and even our bodies. They are not ours to do with as we wish. They are His, and we treat them so casually.
The wages of sin is death. We have offended God in all of our sins, including lust, pride, arrogance, hatred, greed, and even laziness. We have taken what we His and treated it with rebellion and distain.
The answer to this problem is not to try harder and see if you can earn your way into good favor. It’s faith. See, without faith we cannot please God. So the work of God is to believe in Him whom He sent. In repentance and faith we will be forgiven.
When we are forgiven, we are given His Spirit to guide us. The Spirit makes it so we can walk in accordance to His desires – no longer by sheer force of will, but by faith.
I don’t have to harvest my own food. But when I go to work, I can bring honor to God by working in faith. Even that, by grace, we can do in faith. It’s hard to be lazy when the Spirit has moved you so much.
If this is a problem, your first step is to repent and look to the Cross for forgiveness. If you fail tomorrow, then repent again. Over time, the Spirit will work in you. He will change you to look a little more like Him.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Hey! Get off the couch and get a job!
“Without having any chief, officer, or ruler,”
-Proverbs 6:7
Have you ever just sat and watched an ant? I suppose everyone has in childhood. They are fascinating. You’ll see one ant scouting about. Talk about self-motivation! He doesn’t seem to ever rest. He finds some source of food, and before long, he’s told several hundred of his friends. Now they are lined up, back and forth, carrying food back to the anthill then going to get more. They are so efficient and quick about their work.
I would be able to get so much done if I have such focus and drive. I would be writing scores of pages every day. I would get more done at work. I would spend more time with my wife, and she would be thrilled at the attention. I’d have the Bible memorized, in Greek and Hebrew, in a couple of years. I’d also invent a transporter like in Star Trek. That’s right. And a phaser too. I would be awesome.
But I don’t. Solomon is pointing to the ant here to inspire us to action, but isn’t expecting us to literally act like ants. But in pointing to these, one of the least of God’s creation, he is pointing out something in us. The ant runs and works and does not stop, even if there is no supervisor around to force him to work. We, on the other hand, are prone to laziness.
And that’s a terrible thing to say in the grand scheme of things. We’re the ones made in the image of God, after all. We’re the ones who have dominion over the whole earth. And a bunch of ants show us up. Terrible!
In examining these ants, our own slothfulness reveals itself, doesn’t it? I mean, I will compare myself with coworkers and think, “Well, I’m working pretty hard.” I compare myself with the ant, and I realize how easy I have it, and how much rest I really take.
It’s convicting, and it should be. God has given us the time we have on this earth, and we basically waste it. We were given this time to glorify Him, but instead we use it to entertain ourselves.
Is it really that serious? I think so. What if you went to work every day and, instead of doing work, watched television, played on Facebook, and basically wasted your time there? If you had even a halfway attentive boss, you would be called in for a talk pretty quick!
God is infinitely more worthy of your time than any boss, especially because He’s the one who gave it to you. He is the one who gives you every breath you breathe. He is so gracious with what He has given you, in fact, that He asks you to take a day off every week to rest!
How easy it is for all of us to slip into a self-centered attitude. We don’t even realize we’re doing it. We just go about our day without given a second thought to how much time we are spending on ourselves rather than God.
These ants show us just how lost we are. When we don’t have to worry about our next meal, our minds go directly to whatever will entertain us.
When Jesus came, He showed us how it was done. He spent His life in service, in teaching, and in worship. He set a standard that I could never hope to meet. Thankfully, He did not come to just show us how it is done, but to bring forgiveness because we cannot do it alone.
Though I cannot count the minutes, hours, days, months, and years that I have wasted in chasing my own desires, Jesus paid for that time upon the Cross. In His Blood He paid for the sins that I have committed. Justice has been served, and I will be welcomed into eternal life because of what He did.
The Spirit is constantly convicting me on this one. By Grace, I think I’m getting better about using the time God has given me. I am so thankful for another day to give it a whirl, but I am more thankful for the forgiveness offered to me when I fail yet again.
-Proverbs 6:7
Have you ever just sat and watched an ant? I suppose everyone has in childhood. They are fascinating. You’ll see one ant scouting about. Talk about self-motivation! He doesn’t seem to ever rest. He finds some source of food, and before long, he’s told several hundred of his friends. Now they are lined up, back and forth, carrying food back to the anthill then going to get more. They are so efficient and quick about their work.
I would be able to get so much done if I have such focus and drive. I would be writing scores of pages every day. I would get more done at work. I would spend more time with my wife, and she would be thrilled at the attention. I’d have the Bible memorized, in Greek and Hebrew, in a couple of years. I’d also invent a transporter like in Star Trek. That’s right. And a phaser too. I would be awesome.
But I don’t. Solomon is pointing to the ant here to inspire us to action, but isn’t expecting us to literally act like ants. But in pointing to these, one of the least of God’s creation, he is pointing out something in us. The ant runs and works and does not stop, even if there is no supervisor around to force him to work. We, on the other hand, are prone to laziness.
And that’s a terrible thing to say in the grand scheme of things. We’re the ones made in the image of God, after all. We’re the ones who have dominion over the whole earth. And a bunch of ants show us up. Terrible!
In examining these ants, our own slothfulness reveals itself, doesn’t it? I mean, I will compare myself with coworkers and think, “Well, I’m working pretty hard.” I compare myself with the ant, and I realize how easy I have it, and how much rest I really take.
It’s convicting, and it should be. God has given us the time we have on this earth, and we basically waste it. We were given this time to glorify Him, but instead we use it to entertain ourselves.
Is it really that serious? I think so. What if you went to work every day and, instead of doing work, watched television, played on Facebook, and basically wasted your time there? If you had even a halfway attentive boss, you would be called in for a talk pretty quick!
God is infinitely more worthy of your time than any boss, especially because He’s the one who gave it to you. He is the one who gives you every breath you breathe. He is so gracious with what He has given you, in fact, that He asks you to take a day off every week to rest!
How easy it is for all of us to slip into a self-centered attitude. We don’t even realize we’re doing it. We just go about our day without given a second thought to how much time we are spending on ourselves rather than God.
These ants show us just how lost we are. When we don’t have to worry about our next meal, our minds go directly to whatever will entertain us.
When Jesus came, He showed us how it was done. He spent His life in service, in teaching, and in worship. He set a standard that I could never hope to meet. Thankfully, He did not come to just show us how it is done, but to bring forgiveness because we cannot do it alone.
Though I cannot count the minutes, hours, days, months, and years that I have wasted in chasing my own desires, Jesus paid for that time upon the Cross. In His Blood He paid for the sins that I have committed. Justice has been served, and I will be welcomed into eternal life because of what He did.
The Spirit is constantly convicting me on this one. By Grace, I think I’m getting better about using the time God has given me. I am so thankful for another day to give it a whirl, but I am more thankful for the forgiveness offered to me when I fail yet again.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Lazy bones!
“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”
-Proverbs 6:6
I am still upset about my own laziness last weekend. Granted, it was a long week, and I am totally in favor of having a day of rest every week. Even so, I’ll still use one of the weekend days to get some writing done, record and post the podcast, and that sort of thing. Not last weekend. Last weekend, I couldn’t summon the energy to get anything done at all.
To my defense, I had worked a lot of hours last week, and I had to push myself even harder because I was behind on a couple of projects. I was just worn out. Still, come Monday morning, I was shocked at how badly I had wasted the time.
Not that I’m any stranger to wasting time. Especially in my late teens and early twenties, I spent all my time with television and video games and the like. That troubles me too. Somewhere along the road (and it was probably literally on the road – when an 18-wheeler almost killed me), I think God revealed to me that I don’t have all the time in the world, and that hours of Final Fantasy every night probably wasn’t a good use of the time.
We have been given a certain period of time in this life. It’s not long, even for those who live to be over 100. In the grand scheme of things, we don’t have much time. At the same time, these years we have are a gift from God, a little bit of grace for all of us.
Like the gift of money, resources, talents, intelligence, and the like, we are expected to steward our time well. How have you used your time? Has it been serving God or playing Final Fantasy?
I’m not saying that a little TV is bad. We need rest, and we are instructed by God to have a day of rest every week. Considering the benefits to stress level, health, family, and spiritual life this day has, it is a good way to steward your time.
The problem is this – I still waste time. I try not to, but I do. And it is a sin to serve my own self-interest with my time rather than to serve God. When we do that, we are putting our own desires about the God who created us and the world around us and gave us the time we are so casual about. If I were judged by the way I use my time, I would fall far short of the perfect standard set by God.
In Christ, though, I am forgiven. By His Blood He paid the price I owe for my own selfishness. In His death He made it so I can live.
And when He saved me, He gave to me the Holy Spirit to guide me in the ways of righteousness. The Holy Spirit points out to me when I’m wasting time, when I’m about to sin, when I am thinking of myself more than about God.
I still sin, and Jesus is still the means of my forgiveness. But by His Grace, I am studying those ants more now. I don’t want to waste my time.
-Proverbs 6:6
I am still upset about my own laziness last weekend. Granted, it was a long week, and I am totally in favor of having a day of rest every week. Even so, I’ll still use one of the weekend days to get some writing done, record and post the podcast, and that sort of thing. Not last weekend. Last weekend, I couldn’t summon the energy to get anything done at all.
To my defense, I had worked a lot of hours last week, and I had to push myself even harder because I was behind on a couple of projects. I was just worn out. Still, come Monday morning, I was shocked at how badly I had wasted the time.
Not that I’m any stranger to wasting time. Especially in my late teens and early twenties, I spent all my time with television and video games and the like. That troubles me too. Somewhere along the road (and it was probably literally on the road – when an 18-wheeler almost killed me), I think God revealed to me that I don’t have all the time in the world, and that hours of Final Fantasy every night probably wasn’t a good use of the time.
We have been given a certain period of time in this life. It’s not long, even for those who live to be over 100. In the grand scheme of things, we don’t have much time. At the same time, these years we have are a gift from God, a little bit of grace for all of us.
Like the gift of money, resources, talents, intelligence, and the like, we are expected to steward our time well. How have you used your time? Has it been serving God or playing Final Fantasy?
I’m not saying that a little TV is bad. We need rest, and we are instructed by God to have a day of rest every week. Considering the benefits to stress level, health, family, and spiritual life this day has, it is a good way to steward your time.
The problem is this – I still waste time. I try not to, but I do. And it is a sin to serve my own self-interest with my time rather than to serve God. When we do that, we are putting our own desires about the God who created us and the world around us and gave us the time we are so casual about. If I were judged by the way I use my time, I would fall far short of the perfect standard set by God.
In Christ, though, I am forgiven. By His Blood He paid the price I owe for my own selfishness. In His death He made it so I can live.
And when He saved me, He gave to me the Holy Spirit to guide me in the ways of righteousness. The Holy Spirit points out to me when I’m wasting time, when I’m about to sin, when I am thinking of myself more than about God.
I still sin, and Jesus is still the means of my forgiveness. But by His Grace, I am studying those ants more now. I don’t want to waste my time.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Like a squirrel up a tree
“save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.”
-Proverbs 6:5
I very much like nature. I like watching birds and squirrels and the like. There is little much more exotic in the city where I live, but at times I can sneak up on a squirrel on a tree trunk. I never get really close, of course. Usually, if I’m close enough that I can see him well, I won’t try to get any nearer.
The squirrel doesn’t know that I don’t mean him harm. As soon as him figures I’ve gotten a little too close, he’ll scurry up the tree faster than my eye can even follow.
It’s this sort of image that Solomon is trying to convey here – that of speed. He has been talking to us about what to do if we find we’ve made some financial or social mistake. He tells us to go to the offended party and try to make it right.
Most of us know we should do that, but we try to wait. Let things settle down. Maybe the other person will forget. Solomon tells us to go immediately. Move as quickly as a squirrel up a tree to get yourself out of this trap.
The gazelle can’t always get away from the hunter. The bird can’t always get away from the fowler. I’ve never caught one, but I know that squirrels have been caught before they can get up that tree. It doesn’t mean they don’t try their best to get away.
In the same way, when we have wronged someone, we should hurry to resolution, even if we cannot achieve our goals here. If you’ve made a bad financial decision, go try to make it right. If you’ve said something that offended someone else, go try to make it right. Go this very day!
The Bible never assumes that we can actually live good and moral lives. The Word assumes that we will mess up. Other religions may tell you to work really hard to earn your way into heaven, but not Christianity. The very core of the Christian faith is the understanding that we are not perfect (far from it!), but that Jesus is.
That matters quite a bit, because Christians should never claim to be good people, just forgiven people. As Solomon here bids us do when making these errors, we confess our sins to the Father, and in Grace are forgiven. This can only happen because of the death of Jesus. God is holy and righteous, and He does not simply allow sin to go unpunished. But when Jesus died on the Cross, He took upon Himself the punishment for those sins.
When we repent and have faith, we are forgiven because of His action, not our own.
When you sin, take Solomon’s advice. Seek out Him whom you wronged and ask forgiveness. Don’t wait. Go to Him today. As quick as a squirrel up a tree.
-Proverbs 6:5
I very much like nature. I like watching birds and squirrels and the like. There is little much more exotic in the city where I live, but at times I can sneak up on a squirrel on a tree trunk. I never get really close, of course. Usually, if I’m close enough that I can see him well, I won’t try to get any nearer.
The squirrel doesn’t know that I don’t mean him harm. As soon as him figures I’ve gotten a little too close, he’ll scurry up the tree faster than my eye can even follow.
It’s this sort of image that Solomon is trying to convey here – that of speed. He has been talking to us about what to do if we find we’ve made some financial or social mistake. He tells us to go to the offended party and try to make it right.
Most of us know we should do that, but we try to wait. Let things settle down. Maybe the other person will forget. Solomon tells us to go immediately. Move as quickly as a squirrel up a tree to get yourself out of this trap.
The gazelle can’t always get away from the hunter. The bird can’t always get away from the fowler. I’ve never caught one, but I know that squirrels have been caught before they can get up that tree. It doesn’t mean they don’t try their best to get away.
In the same way, when we have wronged someone, we should hurry to resolution, even if we cannot achieve our goals here. If you’ve made a bad financial decision, go try to make it right. If you’ve said something that offended someone else, go try to make it right. Go this very day!
The Bible never assumes that we can actually live good and moral lives. The Word assumes that we will mess up. Other religions may tell you to work really hard to earn your way into heaven, but not Christianity. The very core of the Christian faith is the understanding that we are not perfect (far from it!), but that Jesus is.
That matters quite a bit, because Christians should never claim to be good people, just forgiven people. As Solomon here bids us do when making these errors, we confess our sins to the Father, and in Grace are forgiven. This can only happen because of the death of Jesus. God is holy and righteous, and He does not simply allow sin to go unpunished. But when Jesus died on the Cross, He took upon Himself the punishment for those sins.
When we repent and have faith, we are forgiven because of His action, not our own.
When you sin, take Solomon’s advice. Seek out Him whom you wronged and ask forgiveness. Don’t wait. Go to Him today. As quick as a squirrel up a tree.
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