Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
10 For the one who has once entered His rest has also rested from [the weariness and pain of] his [human] labors, just as God rested from [those labors uniquely] His own. 11 Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience [as those who died in the wilderness].12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b]soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Accountability is a big topic.
Does Integrity count for anything anymore?
Does Honesty count when, in this age of social media and the internet, we try so very hard to hide everything about us, who we are, every single thing we can in mindless minutiae, and cyber-cookies – just trying to get away with so much?
There are a whole lot of places to “hide stuff” on the internet in “cyberspace.”
Does Accountability matter?
Do we try too hard to let too much just slip into a state of cyber-anonymity?
“Who is going to know what to look for anyway?”
“Who has the time to look anyway?”
“Who has the energy to look anyway?”
“What are the chances of ever our “being discovered or found out?”
“Isn’t everybody too busy “minding their own business” anyway?
Do a quick google search!
You will find a whole lot of people are asking things like:
What is personal accountability?
What is the difference between responsibility and accountability?
What does the Bible say about accountability?
Why is personal accountability important?
And searching things like: How to hold people accountable, how to hold yourself accountable, and how to be accountable to others.
But around here, our primary interest is in what the Bible has to say on any matter, so the main question we want to answer today is, what does the Bible say about accountability?
We will strive to faithfully, hopefully, lovingly, prayerfully learn that personal accountability is a major key to living a life of victory, so of course, we want to strive to give practical application advice for how to hold yourself accountable.
What does the Bible Say about our Personal Accountability?
It’s hard to narrow the answer to this question down to just one verse, because there are so many facets to personal accountability. Of course, we will try to cover some of these facets and verses below, but if I had to choose one verse that kind of sums it all up, I think it would be this one from Hebrews 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b]soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.
Nothing whatsoever is hidden from the Lord our God, the Word of the Lord our God, the POWER behind the Word of the Lord our God and there’s not one single creature exists that is concealed from HIS sight, but ALL things are open and exposed, AND revealed to the EYES of HIM with whom we have to give account.
Psalm 139:1-12 Amplified Bible
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do]; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken], Behold, O Lord, You know it all. 5 You have enclosed me behind and before, And [You have] placed Your hand upon me. 6 Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me, And the night will be the only light around me,” 12 Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You, But the night shines as bright as the day; Darkness and light are alike to You.
What an incredibly stunning revelation spoken, penned, then sung by David!
The question that always seems to linger in my mind when I read these verses is what David’s emotional state was when he wrote and then sung these words.
Was he singing them from a place of hiding -from man, from God, or both?
Was he singing them from a place of intrigue?
Was he singing them from a place of joy?
Was he singing them from a place of gratitude?
Was he singing them from a place of thanksgiving?
Was he singing them from a place of fear and trembling?
Was he singing them from a place of anger?
Was he singing them from a place of anxiety?
Was he singing them from a place of depression?
Was he singing them from a place of deceit?
Was he singing them from a place of subterfuge?
Was he singing them from a place – “secure” in his knowledge he just pulled the wool over everyone’s eye – including God’s – In essence – committing criminal acts, conspiring to commit criminal acts, Mocking man and God?
Was he singing them from a place – secure in his absolute authority as King and anointed by God, being a child of God – “now I will get away with everything secure in the knowledge, belief, “because I know God will forgive me anyway?”
Was he singing them from a place of a soul needing to be humbled before God?
Was he singing them from a place of kneeling on his way towards repentance?
Any one of these starting places is fully and equally valid – even for us in 2022.
Whether trying to be honest or trying to be deceitful or somewhere in between,
Whether we accept it or not, the Bible is clear that we are all accountable to God, and since no one and nothing is ever hidden from Him, we WILL have to give an accurate account of ourselves. The excuses, manipulations we are all tempted to employ in this life simply just will not work when we’re standing before Him.
Since that’s true, let’s dig a little deeper to discover how to hold yourself accountable now so that when you stand before Him, you will be prepared.
What is Personal Accountability?
Before we go too much further into answering the question, “What does the Bible say about accountability,” let’s take some time to define exactly what personal accountability is and why it’s important.
To understand personal accountability, we really just have to break the word down and find some definitions.
The root of the word is account, and the definition of account, in this case, is a report or description of an event or experience (Oxford).
So, to be accountable for something is to be “able to give an account,” or to have the capacity to report or describe that thing.
To be accountable to someone is to have the responsibility of offering an account to that person.
Most of us are accountable to someone (a boss, partner, board members, or shareholders) in our jobs, but that’s not personal accountability, that is corporate accountability.
So, what is personal accountability?
Romans 14:11-12Amplified Bible
11 For it is written [in Scripture],
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
As we’ve already discovered,
GOD SEES IT ALL!
GOD KNOWS IT ALL!
GOD HAS HEARD IT ALL!
We are all going to have to give a personal account to God.
That means, we are all going to have to answer to Him for our own lives. Not anyone else’s. That is what personal accountability is, and whether we choose to accept it or not, none of us will be able to escape from our God’s Judgement.
If you and I want to take that even .01% seriously, you and I will have to learn how to hold ourselves accountable to someone here. And just as no one will have to answer for you or me before God, no one can do it for us here either.
Accountability vs. Responsibility
Many people will think and believe that accountability and responsibility are the same thing. In fact, many sources will even use one of these words to define the other. But in reality, there is a very important difference between the two.
The word responsibility carries with it culpability or fault, while accountability simply necessitates giving an answer.
In the corporate world we can see this easily demonstrated in the relationship between boss and employee. The boss is not responsible to do the job of each employee but is accountable for whether or not the job gets done and the job gets done according to established manufacturers’ specifications correctly.
In our personal lives too, we’re not responsible for each and every detail.
Much of it is out of our control.
We don’t have any say in whether or not people treat us well, how certain events play out, or a thousand other little incontrollable details.
But according to the Bible,
We are still, will remain, 100% accountable to God for every detail of our lives.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Generous God, you are my soul’s provider, you give me everything I need. Our prosperity is only found in you. Give me clarity of mind and thought as I face difficulties and confusion in my life. Help me make choices that are obedient to your word and your will for my life. Help me to walk in your ways, obey your commands and trust in the name of Jesus. Help me to do this and prosper in everything I do, wherever I go. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
5 Thus says the Lord, “Cursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind, Making [weak, faulty human] flesh his strength, And whose mind and heart turn away from the Lord. 6 “For he will be like a shrub in the [parched] desert; And shall not see prosperity when it comes, But shall live in the rocky places of the wilderness, In an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord And whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord. 8 “For he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters, That spreads out its roots by the river; And will not fear the heat when it comes; But its leaves will be green and moist. And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought Nor stop bearing fruit.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
On the surface, spiritual laziness looks like not getting up early enough to pray and read your Bible, but it really goes much, much deeper than that.
When I searched the Internet on this topic, the vast majority of articles and blog posts focused on the necessary disciplines of bible study, Scripture Reading and Prayer time, busy at “work” versus quiet time, going to church, serving others.
And all of those things are critically important in the life in God’s backyard.
However, from personal experience, those disciplines and commitments are almost impossible to stick with unless the root of spiritual laziness is dug up and destroyed.
Not praying regularly, reading the Bible daily, and committing to regular fellowship with other believers are usually symptoms of something buried much deeper in our souls.
It’s kind of like trying to be losing weight. You won’t stick with a diet until your heart, mind, and soul are aligned and motivated to do so. You may persevere for a brief while based on sheer willpower and stubbornness, but it won’t become a lifestyle until the spiritual battle is won within the deepest parts of your being.
So, what is spiritual laziness if it’s not the failure to regularly implementing the classic Christian activities and routines?
To discover this answer, we can turn to the Biblical analogy of trees and fruit, which is used more than a hundred times throughout scripture.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
In these verses, we discover that trust in God — a deep, abiding, unwavering, uncompromising trust — is the key to a fruitful life.
That means that not trusting in God for anything and everything — i.e., being worrying, trying to control outcomes, not submitting to God’s sovereignty — is at its core true spiritual laziness.
Therefore, all of those wonderful and incredibly vital habits I mentioned earlier are the fruit of being spiritually active, but they are not the tree itself.
The tree described in Jeremiah is fruitful because it’s rooted in the trust of the Lord, day and night, season after season, storm after storm.
If you and I are feeling mightily slapped in the face right now, please know that I and uncountable numbers of other “Christians” are right there with you.
If I were to reveal my list of weaknesses, laziness has never been in my top 10.
If anything, I am at times too energetic and too driven.
A former supervisor of mine once said to me, “Your level of energy and dedication and devotion to your work makes your co-workers nervous.”
And he did not entirely mean it as any kind of high and glorious complement, and now many years later I have come to understand why – “its unheard of.”
I’ve also realized that what shows up in my work habits is just as spiritually connected as what comes out in my sacred disciplines for the Lord.
Outwardly I appear to have it all together.
My actions indicate a preponderance of fruitful behaviors and activities, but truthfully, they only mask a deep, soul-level weakness — an overwhelming need to outperform, to overdo, to achieve — all because I have unrecognized or unacknowledged or unconfessed, unrepented trust issues with our God.
This is why being busy with the tasks of proper spirituality or duties of religion has in the past left me feeling drained, empty, and disconnected from God. But until recently I never genuinely realized “laziness” had anything to do with it.
If this still doesn’t make sense to you, bear with me for a few moments more.
The connection between laziness and mistrust is simply this: striving to trust God for everything takes great effort, put forth on a continual, consistent basis.
And not just for a few weeks or months.
Trust grows in layers throughout your lifetime.
One decision or trial at a time.
That means trusting Him even when we walk through long seasons of waiting, difficulties, or disappointments.
When we do not trust the Lord, it bubbles out into our lives in the form of busyness, trying to control situations or others, legalism, worrying, anxiety, escapism, the pursuit of accolades, or wealth, grumbling and complaining, and a whole host of other manifestations.
Eugene Peterson, the editor of The Message version of the Bible puts it this way:
“Sloth is most often evidenced in busyness … in frantic running around, trying to be everything to everyone, and then having no time to listen or pray, no time to become the person who is doing these things.”
An August 11, 2012, mental health article in the New York Times titled “The Anxious Idiot” illustrates Peterson’s point beautifully.
“Laziness: it isn’t a characteristic usually associated with the anxious. If anything, people tend to view the anxious as more active and motivated than normal, because they are more haunted by the specter of failure. And yet long experience has taught me that it is laziness … that is the foremost enemy of the anxiety sufferer, for laziness prevents him from countering the very patterns of thought that make him anxious in the first place.”
You may or may not be much of a worrier.
Anxiety may be the last thing you resort to when times get tough.
if we struggle with anger or a need for control, then we also likely struggle with trusting God when difficult people or disturbing situations come into our life.
While the article in the NY Times was written without any spiritual connotations or recommendations, it definitely gets to the heart of the matter: every person has a decisive choice to make when confronted with the daily decisions of life.
We can make the genuine effort to trust in God, genuinely let go of our own desires, and genuinely implement His divine recommendations for a healthy, fruitful life, or we can genuinely slide down the path of least mental resistance into our comfortable, but usually very genuinely detrimental, very bad habits.
This is why Paul says our faith is like running a race.
He doesn’t say it’s like sitting in a meadow on a sunny day having a picnic.
Our participation and consistent effort are required.
Hebrews 12:1-2a says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of our faith.”
One of the best parables of the Bible encourages us to risk everything we hold dear in order to walk closely with God.
Matthew 25:14-30 Amplified Bible
Parable of the Talents
14 “For it is just like a man who was about to take a journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his possessions. 15 To one he gave five [a]talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and then he went on his journey. 16 The one who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he [made a profit and] gained five more. 17 Likewise the one who had two [made a profit and] gained two more. 18 But the one who had received the one went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 And the one who had received the five talents came and brought him five more, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted to me five talents. See, I have [made a profit and] gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’
22 “Also the one who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have [made a profit and] gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’
24 “The one who had received one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a harsh and demanding man, reaping [the harvest] where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter seed. 25 So I was afraid [to lose the talent], and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is your own.’
26 “But his master answered him, ‘You wicked, lazy servant, you knew that I reap [the harvest] where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money with the bankers, and at my return I would have received my money back with interest. 28 So take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
29 “For to everyone who has [and values his blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], more will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away. 30 And throw out the worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place [of grief and torment] there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].
We read here about the parable of the talents, which tells the story of a wealthy business owner who gives three employees each a sum of money and asks them to take care of it for him while he is away on a trip.
Two of them immediately invested the money so that it would earn interest.
The third one was fearful of what would happen if he made a mistake, so he simply buried the money for safekeeping.
When the owner returned, this is what happened:
“But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?” And then the passage closes with this warning: “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
In commenting on this parable, Oswald Chambers said,
“The person who is lazy naturally is always captious (i.e., sully or a whining). ‘I haven’t had a decent chance,’ and the one who is lazy spiritually is captious with God. Lazy people always strike out on an independent line.”
Of course, our definition of independence is different today than it was back then (circa 1900).
Today we typically use the word independence in a much more positive fashion than Chambers intended.
His implication is that lazy believers chart their course separately from God’s recommended path.
Therefore, when it comes to “spiritual matters,” they can all too easily use the excuse of independence — or what they believe to be our unique situation — to justify laziness, rebellion, or fear and so very much more.
Jesus, on the other hand, calls us to be utterly dependent on Him.
As Oswald Chambers further says in his writings, we should never forget that our ability to trust in God and to serve Him with boldness — despite the risks to ourselves — isn’t measured by what we are capable of or what we desire to do.
Instead, our abilities should be grounded in the promises of God never to fail us, leave us, or ask us to do something that He cannot achieve through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us.
In fact, the greatest miracles of life come when we are at our weakest and trust God to perform His work within us for the benefit of others and His glory.
2 Corinthians 4:7-11 NLT says, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”
So, these verses imply that the weaker or more fearful you and I may be of what God has asked you and I to do, the greater becomes the opportunity for Him to work miracles and display His genuine glory.
Theologically, all of this may sound like solid truth to you, but if you are still wondering what it all means for the day-to-day living and walking with Jesus, perhaps the following words of wisdom from the Book of Proverbs will help you turn these spiritual implications into daily actions.
As with most Biblical truth, there is great irony in God’s command to trust Him in Proverbs 3:5-6, which says simply:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
These verses contain two actions for us to follow: trust and submit.
We must genuinely participate in the process.
To bear fruit like the tree, we must remain planted by streams of living water.
Yet to keep ourselves out of spiritual laziness and make the efforts required of this command, we must simultaneously learn to simply rest.
Yes, you and I absolutely read that right.
To overcome laziness, we have to learn to be still.
When we build Sabbath margin into our daily lives — not just on Sunday — we will have the time to breathe, think clearly, and engage our complete being — mind, body, and soul — in genuine pursuit of Rabbi Jesus and Savior Christ.
The tree grows because it is beside the river of life.
We will only grow in Christ when we take the time to drink of His strength and learn of His wisdom.
So, while I said at the beginning of this devotional message that prayer, Bible study, meditation, and worship are the first fruits of trust, they also become the essential building blocks of greater, greatest, trust as we faithfully apply them.
But we will never see them appear, nor be able to taste them as long as we allow busyness to proliferate in our lives, numb us to the real laziness of our hearts.
When we allow laziness to dominate our decisions and motivations, we only end up serving a false god, and not the true King of Glory.
Laziness, or not trusting God, like any other sin feels good for a season.
Other than busyness, it often shows up in forms of escapism, like mindless TV watching, endless smartphone use, endless devotion to video games, endless social media surfing, or a myriad of physical indulgences, coping mechanisms.
But when we look it square in the eye and call it for what it is, we realize it’s all about our trusting or not trusting the unseen God to do what He says He will do.
Today, I would ask you, fellow traveler, where are you and I planted?
Are we putting “a few roots down” near the river of life, while allowing others to seek their comfort in the tainted soils of self-reliance or personal comfort?
If so, ask God to help you find them again, dig them up, and transplant them into His unending goodness and strength.
It won’t happen overnight, but when you wake each morning, His mercies will be new, and God’s miracles will be waiting to sustain us through this “process.”
For Further Reflection and Daily Spiritual Journaling
The questions and readings below can be used for a single-day study or for our re-organization, re-prioritization of our daily quiet time throughout the week.
Day 1 – Describe in your own the words the difference between striving to perform for God (i.e., doing something out of duty or to achieve) and participating in God’s work in your life.
Read Ephesians 2:8-9 and James 2:14-26.
Why do you think you are sometimes motivated toward busyness or performance?
What is God leading us to change? How? Write them out as a prayer to Him.
Day 2 – Read Lamentations 3:22-23. In what ways are you experiencing God’s mercies today or have in the past? How are they new or different to you now than they were yesterday? If you’re in a place of struggle right now, ask God to help you recognize and receive His mercies.
Day 3 – Read, re-read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. How are you and I similar to the good servants? In what ways are you and I being like the fearful servant? Journal about why you think that is, and what the Holy Spirit is revealing in your heart.
Day 4 – Take some time to be still before the Lord today.
Begin by reading Proverbs 3:5-6 and then meditating on it.
Ask God to interrupt you and I at any moment with what He wants to whisper to yours and my heart.
For more about “being busy” and practicing stillness and what it means,
Day 5 – Spend some time reflecting on our schedules and our commitments at work, home, church, in your community, and other volunteering roles.
Read Luke 10:38-42.
Luke 10:38-42Amplified Bible
Martha and Mary
38 Now while they were on their way, Jesus entered a village [called Bethany], and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was continually listening to His teaching. 40 But Martha was very busy and distracted with all of her serving responsibilities; and she approached Him and said, “Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Tell her to help me and do her part.” 41 But the Lord replied to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered and anxious about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part [that which is to her advantage], which will not be taken away from her.”
Go to God in prayer and ask Him to reveal areas where you, I, are too busy like Martha and where you and I need to be more studious and quieter like Mary.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
All-Knowing Father, you authored my life, you know and direct my future. You make all things work together for my good. Pray! Help me to trust you as I think about my future. Give me peace of mind. Whatever happens, I know that you are working for my good and your glory. Help me to live with freedom, knowing that my future is in your mighty hand. I do not know what is around the corner, but nothing can take you by surprise. I face uncertainty but I can be certain that you are in control and that you are good. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
6 Go to the ant, O lazy one; Observe her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no chief, Overseer or ruler, 8 She prepares her food in the summer And brings in her provisions [of food for the winter] in the harvest. 9 How long will you lie down, O lazy one? When will you arise from your sleep [and learn self-discipline]? 10 “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to lie down and rest”— 11 So, your poverty will come like an approaching prowler who walks [slowly, but surely] And your need [will come] like an armed man [making you helpless].
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
It is always reassuring to see how our God can take even the smallest creatures of creation to teach us a high value lesson in his provision and in our role in making provision for ourselves and working in the Kingdom of God.
As we go about our daily lives, we often overlook some of the most simple yet still most powerful lessons to be learned from God’s very tiniest of creations.
One such incident is found in this passage from the Book of Proverbs 6:6-8.
It would serve us, both believers and non-believers well to closely examine the habits of the ants and see what we can learn from them.
After all, the Word of God tells us to “go to the ant”, in other words go check them out.
Invite some friends and neighbors and complete strangers ….
Have a Picnic!
Have a church or community event ….
Plan a Barbeque ….
Go to your backyard
Go to a Park and reserve a Pavillion ….
Cook your food, unpack your picnic baskets ….
Sit on the Ground on your Blankets ….
See how long it takes for those ever-ubiquitous ants to show up ….
See what they do and how they do it and learn we you can because even though they may be among the very smallest insects on earth, they have learned to build colonies and build “cities” if you will, under the earth and have survived since the dawn of creation by doing the things that come to them by instinct.
How many of you would like to feast and prosper and survive like the ants?
It’s nearly impossible to stop them from spreading all over your lawn.
They are always at every backyard picnic, even when they don’t get an engraved invitation. They are some of the busiest, most industrious creatures on earth!
When have you or I ever seen a lazy ant?
I’ve never seen a live ant just standing still, lying around on the sofa, watching Television, staring at smartphones, playing video games or just doing nothing.
There are no such things anywhere at any time called “couch potato” ants.
They are constantly moving. No moss is growing under their feet. They carry not only their own share of the load, but many have been known to carry as much as 100 times or more of their own body weight with a relative ease.
Oh, that we could find enough Christians who were just willing to shoulder their part of the load, much less carry the load for 100 other Christians.
There are a few of these kinds of workers in the church, but very precious few.
I do know that there is a lot of “couch potato” Christians. I dare say that very few, if any, of us don’t have a little bit of a lazy streak from time to time.
We can call it burn out, we can call it “charging our batteries” or whatever we like but the truth is we just have to have our times to kick back and do nothing.
As hard as it is for us to acknowledge or accept, one thing that we all must realize is that God did not create us to only just sit around doing nothing.
We were created to work, to build, to grow, to be industrious, and to continually learn to work, build more. We were created for service to God’s neighborhood.
God set an example for us when he began the Bible by saying that he worked to create all things and then rested from his work on the seventh day. Work and industriousness is the very character and nature of God.
Most of us wake up in the morning and say, “Oh no, it’s morning!”
What we should say is “thank God for another day to do his work”.
Work is a blessing, not a curse.
After all what could we accomplish without putting forth some effort?
Every good thing in life requires work and effort.
It can even be said that most of us are known by the “work” we do.
Some of us are secretaries, some are accountants, some are construction workers, some are teachers, and some are Mechanics, some are electricians, some are students, some are homemakers, some are electronics technicians, computer repair people, or software programmers, and the list goes on and on.
There are a lot of people who don’t know and will never ever know our name, but they will most definitely be able to identify us by what we do as workers.
Work gives life high value and significant meaning.
If you don’t think that’s true, then consider these statistics from the Social Security Administration.
A 65-year-old can expect to live another 19 to 21.5 years, on average, according to the Social Security Administration. What’s more, the government agency says a third of 65-year-olds will hit age 90, and 1 in 7 will live beyond age 95. Those numbers show a significant improvement in life expectancy over time.
Why do people choose to continue to work when they can just as easy retire?
People who continue to work after retirement often remain more active and socially connected, which can mean better overall health and fewer medical issues. Us, working part-time can give one a sense of being part of something fulfilling, meaningful, valuable without being tied to a career and long hours.
Why? I believe it is because after they retire, life loses a lot of its original zest.
Most don’t have or not want any part of any reason to even get out of bed in the morning after but a few months of retirement. “Hey! I earned this time of rest!”
It’s as though they cannot wait to leave their work just to just do nothing at all.
I do not believe that God created man to ever “retire” and quit doing any work.
There has to be something out there to replace your work.
Some hobby, some charity work, or something that will pique their interest and give them a reason to keep on living and to keep on thriving and also surviving.
People who give up and just go home to rock on the front porch without a dream or a vision for their future are not living, just existing, and it won’t be long until the body is so out of shape that it may well begin to fail to function as it should.
I am one of those looking forward to the day that I can leave the JOB, but not to do nothing. I feel sorry for those who have no future after their job is gone.
One begins to sense that perhaps it’s time to get a real life and realize that God isn’t near finished with us yet.
I want to do so much, and I have so much to do caring for my wife that I almost don’t have time to go to a job anymore.
The prospect of entering God’s Neighborhood, serving the Lord in ministry is far more rewarding than going to the job but the bills must be paid and so we just keep right on doing what we have to do until God sees fit to change things.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”
That means that God labored for six days, expects us work, in every area of our lives, just as though we were working for him, because we are working for him.
Everything we do in His Neighborhood reflects upon our Christian character.
An ant works because that’s what ants do.
No one has to watch over him to make sure he is doing his job.
He doesn’t have to punch a time clock because his workday never ends.
He doesn’t worry about how much he is being paid because he knows all the other ants are doing their part too and that the needs of the colony will be met.
I only wish that Christians could have that much faith in their Heavenly Father.
We are too busy chasing the dollar to give God the time and energy that our God deserves from us.
If your boss on the job has to watch over you all day to make sure that you are doing your work; if all you ever do is complain of the low wages, bad working conditions, and you have a don’t care attitude about your company, that’s a terrible witness of the Love of God that is supposed to be in your heart.
God absolutely expects integrity.
God absolutely expects a disciplined and sound work ethic.
We all ought to love to work in God’s house.
We all ought to love to labor in God’s Vineyard.
We all ought to love laboring in God’s Neighborhood.
The work we do for the Lord ought to be extremely satisfying and exciting.
That ought to be, should be the same attitude we have on the job too.
Looking back at that ant colony we can easily see that it takes hard work and strict discipline on the part of every single ant to see that the colony thrives.
The worker ants can’t go on strike because they don’t get paid more than the others. The queen ant can’t refuse to do her work, or the whole colony dies.
Those that dig the channels, tend to the eggs, go forth from the nest to secure sources of food for the young in the nest and who protect the nest all have their tasks to do and it takes them all working in synch together to get the job done.
Teamwork is a necessary part of our work for the Lord too.
There are no unimportant people. Even those who won’t or don’t carry their part of the workload are still important, but they would be even more important if they would just put both of their shoulder to the wheel when they are needed.
Another thing is that I have never seen a colony of ants sitting in a motivational seminar in an attempt to get them to move.
They are too busy to need motivation.
I don’t see an ant standing along the trail every few inches with a prod in his hand making the others keep moving.
They just keep moving because they are self-motivated by their own survival.
There is nothing harder in the world than to try to motivate someone who is unmotivated.
Have you ever tried to get a teenager to work when they don’t want to?
Have you ever tried to make yourself get up and go take out the trash, mow the grass, trim the hedges, sweep the floor, wash windows or doing those dishes?
We will hold our motivational seminars, how-to classes and dream building sessions in an effort to make ourselves move. I’ve heard it said that our problem is not so much a lack of ‘proper’ motivation as it is the lack of a dream or vision.
There is a lot of truth to that.
Just to prove this point let’s see what happens if we offer to pay that teenager $25 to do the job instead of just ordering them to do it?
Perhaps the thought of having that $25 in their hands and the things that it can buy for them is or will become the primary motivating factor?
What about if our boss promises to give us a 15% raise in salary and benefits if we can “go that extra mile” to meet that “super critical” deadline in our jobs?
My, my, how much faster and more efficiently we can work then! Just offer us anything that is worthwhile having and worth the price of the work and watch us go! You see, it’s not driven by the lack of motivation, it’s driven by the lack of a prophetic vision. Give us a vision to chase after and we’ll get 100% motivated.
Brothers and Sister in Christ, Beloved Children of the Most-High God, we can learn so much from the ants if we would only take a close look at their habits.
But obviously, people aren’t ants.
We don’t live just on the instincts of survival like they do.
We are able to think and to reason and to labor and to change our lives and circumstances to make life a lot easier.
Sometimes I think that this ability to make our lives easy is a detriment to the growth of our society and our own wellbeing.
The spare time we create, if it isn’t used for something productive, becomes a roadblock in our path to success because it tends to make us think that we can “get by” if we can just sit down and do nothing but rest for one while or three.
Except, there is another side of that logic which we must address. How many of us know that the more we rest, the more we need to rest; the more we sleep, the more we need to sleep; and the less we work, the less you and I want to work?
“…How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep…”
Proverbs 20:13, “Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.”
God calls those that love sleep, “sluggards”.
I think that’s a pretty apt description because there isn’t a more sluggish time of the day than when we first open our eyes in the morning.
We can “Talk” about the alarm clocks and the snooze buttons – if appropriate!
It is Sunday – Traditionally a “Sabbath Day” of nothing but rest, worship God.
So, perhaps it is fitting to bring this next part of the devotional to our notice.
A Search of God’s Scriptures “reveals” six habits that identify a sluggard:
1) They sleep too much.
Proverbs 26:14, “As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.”
Just as a door won’t move in any direction without hanging on to its hinges, so is that person that loves sleep too much.
All day long all you hear them say is they can’t wait to get to bed or to lie down.
They go around yawning all the time. (Although I see a lot of people who do the same from that lack of sleep too) It’s hard to get them to do anything that takes away from their sleep time. They aren’t going very far from their place of rest.
2) They love to make excuses.
Proverbs 22:13, “The slothful man saith, there is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.”
It has been said that if you don’t want to do something that any excuse will do.
No one can find more excuses to not do something than the person who is too “too tired” and inevitably too lazy to do anything with even a minimal effort.
3) They have a “know-it-all”, un-teachable attitude.
Proverbs 26:16, “The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.”
They will tell you why they can’t do something and find every reason in the world why they are right in their assumption.
You can’t argue with a lazy person and the only thing that will make them move is that “threat” of a “bucket full of ants about to be dumped down their pants.”
I know a lot of people who would probably starve to death before they will admit that they are simply lazy, but they won’t work for anything less than top salary.
4) They are procrastinators.
John 3:10-12The Message
10-12 Jesus said, “You’re a respected teacher of Israel and you don’t know these basics? Listen carefully. I’m speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God?
They always seem to put things off until the last minute and are always late for everything, if they show up at all.
They never finish anything they start but find every excuse for not continuing with any project.
They tire very easily and just give up rather than to attempt to improve.
They blame everyone and everything else for their own failure to accomplish anything rather than to admit that they are lazy.
They are terrible planners, in fact, they don’t plan for anything.
They just live from second to second, reacting to whatever comes in a crisis instead of taking initiative, attempting to change things before they happen.
5) They are irritating to everyone around them, especially those who are busy. Busy people with a vision and a dream to chase don’t have much patience or compassion for those who are not.
Proverbs 10:26, “As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.”
Don’t expect a sluggard to get the job done.
If you do, you will always be disappointed.
Their inactivity and bad attitude will likely put a bitter taste in your mouth and make your head hurt and eyes water with aggravation and you will, most likely, have to do the job yourself anyway.
6. What is the final condition of a sluggard who is unwilling to change?
“Slothfulness”
Proverbs 19:15, “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.”
Their whole life will lack for the things that they desire and need most.
In more ways than one would dare try to count, their life will be a disaster.
They can never satisfy their hunger for things of this earth and especially for the things of God because they are not willing to pay the price to have them.
Proverbs 10:4, “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”
They will ultimately live in poverty. Not only will they lack for material wealth but, more importantly, they will lack of spiritual wealth.
God will not honor those who refuse to seek after him and work to make their lives acceptable sacrifices to him.
Proverbs 18:9, “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.”
This speaks of the fact that the lazy person eventually leads their own home into destruction.
What man wants to keep a lazy wife or what wife wants to have to support a lazy husband? That marriage, and that home, is “headed” for destruction unless that one who is the sluggard wakes up and makes the determination to change.
The good news is that even sluggards can change if they really want to.
If they will only take a lesson from the ant and force themselves to get moving, they will eventually “arise from slumber” come out of that sluggish condition.
Nothing creates a dream or gives energy like getting into action and making things happen. The sheer satisfaction of accomplishing something worthwhile is usually all it takes to cure the sluggard.
The hard part is that God won’t change you unless you want to be changed bad enough to begin to do something about it yourself.
God will not overstep his own pre-imposed limits on taking control of your life.
The decision and first effort must come from us. If we are that determined to change, decide to change, and then take action to force ourselves to develop the right habits, then God will step in and help us to overcome our slothfulness.
So, take a lesson from the ant. Observe their industrious nature. See how they plan for the future and never will cease to work to see that the work is done.
Fact! You can’t stop ants from doing their work. No matter how many times you sweep away all the sand they’ve muscled through the cracks in your driveway, you can still be doing it again tomorrow, and the next day, and also the next.
Ants are vocationally fulfilled; like the birds of the air, they do not have a care in the world. God cares for every single one of them; all they care about is doing what God made them to do.
But God cares for us even more than the ants on the ground and birds in the air.
And he equips us, like them, to give our all to do diligently what he has created us to do—to love him above all and our neighbor as ourselves.
With God’s help, we can love sincerely, as Paul instructs.
We can (Romans 12:3-18)
“Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”
We can
“Be devoted to one another in love” and “honor one another” above ourselves.
“Never be lacking in zeal,” says Paul, “but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
Hospitality, patience, sharing with others, living in harmony, and other positive traits are identified by Paul as critically important to a Christian who is trying to serve the Lord. We are also called to “live at peace with everyone.”
This is a challenging, daunting task.
It is absolutely fulltime 24×7 Christian Ministry
The Mission Field is God’s ENTIRE Neighborhood. (Matthew 28:16-20 Acts 1:8)
“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” ― John Wesley
1 Corinthians 15:58The Message
58 With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.
But God’s gifts will simply overwhelm spiritual carelessness because,
like the ant, we’ll always and forever have far more than enough to do from morning till noon till night. And we can do it again the next day, and the next.
If we can have a church filled with Christians with that kind of attitude, there is no limit what God will do, absolutely no limits to where-ever God will take us.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Creator God, thank you that you are faithful to fulfill all your promises. You have said that you dwell in the hearts of your people through the presence of your Holy Spirit. When your church gathers together, you are in the midst of us. Hear our prayer and strengthen your church, Lord. You are the God of peace. May you sanctify us completely and may our whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. You, who called us, are faithful to the end. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Alleluia! Amen.
30 I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding and common sense; 31 And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns, And nettles were covering its surface, And its stone wall was broken down. 32 When I saw, I considered it well; I looked and received instruction. 33 “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest [and daydream],” 34 Then your poverty will come as a robber, And your want like an armed man.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
We have idleness portrayed before us by the master sage, Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived (1 Kings 3:12).
The true to life picture is of negligence and the consequences it brings.
To the observant eye, the results of an idle man’s life gave the by-passer a lecture on the virtue of diligence.
Noting carefully the slothful man and his field can teach us how to avoid more than poverty.
Learning diligence from the depicted wall and vineyard’s condition is not the only lesson offered here for the far greater concern is the condition of a soul whose owner has neglected to cultivate and tend it.
Definition of couch potato : a lazy and inactive person especially: one who spends a great deal of time watching television.
The lazy man conceives himself as being as wise or wiser than other men, but, is his feeling correct or is he under strange delusion? If we will just get our heart right before God we can learn to observe and learn from the conditions of life. For lessons stand before the learner if he will just take in what life shows him.
The man here is called a sluggard or lazy [used 14 times in Proverbs] and is also said to lack sense (6:32; 10:13) though I am reasonably sure he would be in hostile disagreement with that assessment.
He is called that because of his flagrant neglect of his own interests.
Unlike the situations of millions who have not a single square yard of green sod to call their own, this man had a little estate.
He had a field and vineyard which he could cultivate to gain his bread. But let us see what advantage he gained from what he possessed.
Threefold evidence of lethargy is detailed in verse 31.“And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles, its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.”
Verse 31 tells us what three things the observer’s vision fixed upon- beheld.
1. A field completely overgrown with thistles,
2. The field’s surface was covered with nettles (or weeds),
3. And the stone wall was broken down.
Synonyms for couch potato
Synonyms
deadbeat,
do-nothing,
drone,
idler,
lay about,
lazybones,
loafer,
lotus-eater,
slouch,
slug,
slugabed,
sluggard
Being a “couch potato.”
This colorful term has become a standard description of the lifestyle of millions of people, as they sit around idly and lazily and let others entertain them.
According to legend, this term was invented somewhat spontaneously during a telephone conversation in 1976 by a man who opposed exercise and a healthy diet. Instead, he wanted to vegetate in front of the television and eat junk food.
This may have been a humorous comment, but the impact of this habit has been serious, leading to poorer general health and greater obesity.
Nonetheless, television viewing continues to reach record levels.
On average, Americans spend more than 34 hours per week watching television (plus almost five hours more each week watching video on the Internet on a computer).
Many more hours are spent watching on smart phone, tablets, or other devices.
(2022 data) Almost half (46%) of Americans believe they spend an average of 4 to 5 hours on their smartphones each day.
On the extreme end of the spectrum, 11% claim to spend 7+ hours on their phones each day.
And just 1 in 20 (5%) Americans stated they use their phones less than 1 hour per day.
Those folks who are gaming are doing so more than ever.
Likely as a result of the pandemic, time spent gaming jumped from an average of 12.7 hours per week in 2019 to 14.8 hours per week in 2020.
Even as restrictions were lifted and society headed back out into the world we still call “a job” “a good day’s work”, the growth continues.
Respondents now report spending an average of 16.5 hours per week with their video games on their phones and on their game systems this year.
While it’s no surprise that younger age groups like Gen Z enjoy video games, older adults are spending more time gaming, with most choosing to play games on their smartphones.
Per this recent data, three-quarters of adults ages 44-64 played video games for about 16 hours per week this year.
This is a dramatic increase from the 69% who played approximately 12 hours per week in 2020 and the 65% who played for approximately 9 hours per week in 2019.
How many times in life do you just walk right on by, wrapped up, locked into your own life?
Only interested in what you are doing in that exact and exacting moment or what you are going to do in the next hour or next day, and you don’t behold.
The lesson is there but you must “see it”, you must “behold it” you must “observe it” and dare to take possession of the sights that pass before you.
BEHOLDING IS MORE THAN SEEING, 32.
All this abandonment is an object lesson that could be pondered carefully
we learn in verse 32.“When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction.
Notice the initial clause in the verse; “When I saw.”
The seeing he is speaking of here is not just a looking around to keep himself from running into another object or person.
He is not just looking for a conversation topic. He is beholding an entire setting.
He gazes with the crystal-clear intention of retaining in his mind what his physical eyes saw, for the purpose of self-reflection and learning from it.
The diligent observer can reap and carry off the only harvest that this field was yielding, which is a warning and a lesson. The owner received nothing from it, but the on-looker reflected upon it that he might harvest a crop of instruction.
The sage said, “I reflected upon it.”
Literally the phrase is, “I set my heart.”
The heart is the inner being of man.
It is the seat of his mind, will, disposition [-attitude], and emotions.
In this context it means an inner positioning of the will.
A resolution to diligently find the meaning of what has been beheld.
Previously in verse 30 Solomon stated his immediate determinations. It was the field of a sluggard. Further defined as the “Vineyard of a man lacking sense.”
Solomon now sets his will to learn more from this man who is obviously doing something wrong. He views the negative aspects of the man in order to obtain something tangibly positive. He observes man’s responsibility to his work.
How often do we look only at the SUCCESS STORIES?
We look at those whose businesses started with a little profit and ended up wealthy.
You study those who started at low positions of work and ended up in places of large responsibility.
This perspective is not bad in and of itself, but when you view those successes to the exclusion of the failures you surely miss many learning opportunities.
You not only need to know what works but what does not work and why. But to learn from any situation you must intentionally reflect or contemplate upon it.
Yet reflection is not all you need to do, because verse 32 continues saying, “I looked.” The writer has previously stated that he not only saw but he retained what he saw and was seeking to learn more from the information.
Thus, we know Solomon is meaning something deeper than sensory vision.
Solomon had the picture in his mind, and he was delving into and sorting through the myriad of possibilities of this situation.
Solomon was looking at what he saw so that it could be opened wider to him.
He persisted, expecting to learn from what he had realized of this lazy man’s calamity.
The wall that marked the boundaries, that surrounded the man’s personal possession was crumbling.
There was no wall around the vineyard to defend the fruit and no fruit within the vineyard to be defended.
The owner did nothing for his property and his property did nothing for him.
The growth of fruitless weeds was only the result of the unkept property.
This is the sad result of every life where rigor and continuous striving has not been exercised.
It is the virtue of hard work which tells in the long run, and without which the most brilliant talents will have little result.
However, gifted a man may be, he will be a failure if he has not learned the great secret of dogged persistence and determination working often unwelcome toil.
No character worth building up is built without continuous effort.
If a man does not labor to be good, he will surely become bad.
It is an old axiom that no man attains superlative wickedness all at once, and most certainly no man leaps to the height of the goodness possible to his nature by one spring.
He has to laboriously step by step, climb the hill. Progress in moral character is secured only by continued walking upwards, not by an occasional jump or two.
There is also a spiritual truth that needs to be taught right here.
Jesus taught a parable about the field, the soil, and the character of a man.
He said some men’s lives are full of thorns that spring up and choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful.
Our character or our soil [or soul] starts out with faculties and potential abilities and capacities and it is our responsibility -and in our definite best interest- to diligently develop them, to cultivate them. But unlike the soil of the ground which may be cultivated by proxy, your soil can only be cultivated by yourself.
If a neglected field is a disaster, what is a neglected soul?
1 Corinthians 4:6-7Amplified Bible
6 Now I have applied these things [that is, the analogies about factions] to myself and Apollos for your benefit, believers, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written [in Scripture], so that none of you will become arrogant and boast in favor of one [minister or teacher] against the other. 7 For who regards you as superior or what sets you apart as special? What do you have that you did not receive [from another]? And if in fact you received it [from God or someone else], why do you boast as if you had not received it [but had gained it by yourself]?
A soul which instead of its being cultivated with the seeds of grace, the water of the Spirit is sadly left to its own native barrenness, its own dried divisiveness, becomes untillable and overgrown with the characteristics of the old nature.
Time, talents and opportunities are there but they have not been used in a diligent, in a worthwhile, in a wise way.
And a soul instead of waving with golden grain and being a scene of fruitfulness and goodness and true compassion (John 13:34-35) becomes an ugly, unsightly slum, unprotected and open to every intruder with the notion to cause trouble.
Ruin comes not by cultivation but by neglect.
Heaven seeks to promote your good growth, but we neglect our most prized possession, our eternal soul.
It is so decisively and definitively not safe to let any of the fortifications of the Christian life fall into even minimal disrepair, but they are to be attended to with strength, vigilance for the Roaring Lion is looking for a way in to devour.
If we neglect our times in Bible reading and prayer and in worship, Word and fellowship with our Savior our relationship with Him will deteriorate and we will no longer experience His blessings and fruitfulness. We need to establish priorities that honor God. Only then we’ll we avoid the neglect that leads to loss.
Solomon had the capacity to look deeply into the events of life so that he could apply the results of his understanding to his life and rule, in order that he would have a larger foundation to build upon with his increased understanding. As he applied wisdom, He gained greater and deeper understanding. If we learn from Solomon, we will realize that what you perceive should alter (change) your life.
The most valuable field and vineyard a person possesses is his eternal soul. May we too behold, truly perceive, receive instructions that motivates, leads to life.
Antonyms to “Couch Potato”
doer,
go-ahead,
go-getter,
hummer,
hustler,
self-starter
highly motivated
highly driven
“Perpetual Motion”
“Adrenaline Junkies”
“Movers and Shakers”
At the same time, many Christians still become spiritual “couch potatoes.”
Sitting on the sidelines, they want to watch and let others do the work of God’s Kingdom.
They forget that God has called each of us and given us all a role to play.
I’ve heard it said that many people in our churches are mere “pew warmers.”
In other words, they do believe in the importance of being present in the House of God when the doors are open, but they will rarely be seen taking an active role in areas of service, such as helping in a Sunday School class, Bible Study, the Prayer Ministry team, nursery, the choir, junior church, the kitchen, visitations.
BUT… did you know that sometimes we Christians can still be “couch potatoes” spiritually even though we may already be busy at church?
It’s great that we’re praying for God to direct our path and lead us, yet we may still sit like a lump on the log for ages instead of taking action in a time of crisis.
What hinders us from taking action?
I suggest there are at least Five common reasons we will fail to take action…
We FEAR having sufficient ability to do what God is leading us to do. (Remember, Moses was afraid to approach Pharaoh to speak because of his being slow to speech, which may have been a stuttering issue.)
We’re AFRAID to leave our comfort zones. Where do we begin? We end up sitting motionless so long that we’re quite content just sitting on our couch.
We FEAR that we’ll lack time, energy and financial and spiritual resources.
We FEAR that the obstacles God reveals are too great for us to overcome.
We become “TIRED” SELFISH and LAZY. We’d rather “slumber” than work.
It’s hard to get motivated after a while.
We soon forget about the urgency of taking action.
Paul wrote that ministry depends on each person doing their part, fulfilling their God-given assignment.
Today, PRAY! ask yourself if you are being or becoming a spiritual coach potato.
What are you doing with the time, talent, and treasure that God has given to you? Are you wisely, prudently, investing your “resources” in His Kingdom?
Don’t sit idly by and assume that others will do the work.
God has given each of us a heart and a soul.
God has given us two eyes to see with.
God has given us two ears to hear with.
God has given us two hands and two feet to serve with.
God has given youand I all His resources, His time, and His opportunities.
Do your part.
Get involved in sharing the Gospel.
And give of your resources as God gave His, so that the Lost might be reached.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside by thee. Exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
30 I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding and common sense; 31 And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns, And nettles were covering its surface, And its stone wall was broken down. 32 When I saw, I considered it well; I looked and received instruction. 33 “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest [and daydream],” 34 Then your poverty will come as a robber, And your want like an armed man.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Our text in Proverbs 24 speaks of the sluggard, the slothful man, the man too lazy to work.
What is the biblical meaning of the word sluggard?
: a habitually lazy person.
What kind of person is a sluggard?
A sluggard is a lazy, sleepy, slow-moving person. A sluggard is likely to oversleep and even snooze through class or work. If you’re alert and hard-working, no one will ever call you a sluggard or a slug. Being a sluggard is a great way to fail a class, lose a job, go broke or just fall behind in general.
I want us to think about this subject and apply it to the Christian life.
Why talk about Laziness in the “Christian Life”?
Because I am convinced there are too many lazy Christians in the Body of Christ.
Lazy in what way?
Lazy in worship and work.
What am I talking about?
It should be obvious. Some of us are not faithful in their church attendance.
Acts 2:43-47 Amplified
43 A sense of awe was felt by [a]everyone, and many wonders and signs (attesting miracles) were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed [in Jesus as Savior] [b]were together and had all things in common [considering their possessions to belong to the group as a whole]. 45 And they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing the proceeds with all [the other believers], as anyone had need. 46 Day after day they met in the temple [area] continuing with one mind, and breaking bread in various private homes. They were eating their meals together with joy and generous hearts, 47 praising God continually, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord kept adding to their number daily those who were being saved.
It should be obvious. Some of us are not faithful in their Bible Reading.
Psalm 119:9-16 Amplified
Beth.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping watch [on himself] according to Your word [conforming his life to Your precepts]. 10 With all my heart I have sought You, [inquiring of You and longing for You]; Do not let me wander from Your commandments [neither through ignorance nor by willful disobedience]. 11 Your word I have treasured and stored in my heart, That I may not sin against You. 12 Blessed and reverently praised are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. 13 With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts And [thoughtfully] regard Your ways [the path of life established by Your precepts]. 16 I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
It should be obvious. Some of us are not faithful in their Study of Scriptures.
2 Timothy 3:10-17 Amplified
10 Now you have diligently followed [my example, that is] my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, steadfastness, 11 persecutions, and sufferings—such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, but the Lord rescued me from them all! 12 Indeed, all who delight in pursuing righteousness and are determined to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be hunted and persecuted [because of their faith]. 13 But evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned them, 15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the [a]man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
It should be obvious. Some of us are not faithful in teaching their children.
Proverbs 22:6 Amplified:
Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], Even when he is old, he will not depart from it.
It should be obvious. Some of us are far too wise in their own eyes.
We are either lazy, indifferent or perhaps distracted by other things – like maybe making one too many excuses to excuse away our sluggard ways.
Proverbs 3:1-8 Amplified
The Rewards of Wisdom
3 My son, do not forget my [a]teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of life [worth living] And tranquility and prosperity [the wholeness of life’s blessings] they will add to you. 3 Do not let mercy and kindness and truth leave you [instead let these qualities define you]; Bind them [securely] around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So, find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6 [b]In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. 8 It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.
And the same principles hold for our Christian service or Christian work.
Proverbs 6:6-11 Amplified
6 Go to the ant, O lazy one; Observe her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no chief, Overseer or ruler, 8 She prepares her food in the summer And brings in her provisions [of food for the winter] in the harvest. 9 How long will you lie down, O lazy one? When will you arise from your sleep [and learn self-discipline]? 10 “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to lie down and rest”— 11 So, your poverty will come like an approaching prowler who walks [slowly, but surely] And your need [will come] like an armed man [making you helpless].
Let’s consider three thoughts about the sluggard.
From Proverbs 24:30-34
1- His nature is evident (30-31)
2- His failure is applied (32)
3- His life is poor (33-34)
I. HIS NATURE IS EVIDENTTO ANYONE OBSERVING THE BEHAVIOR
V. 30-31 “I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.”
The writer was saying, “I went past the field of the sluggard and SAW…”
He SAW the thorns and the weeds that had grown up.
He saw the apparent evidence of the man’s apparent laziness.
Missionary Hudson Taylor once said: “If your father and mother, your sister and brother, if the very cat and dog in the house, are not happier for your being Christian, it is a question whether you really are.”
The nature of a person is evident in the way they live, the things they do, the words they speak, etc. A lazy person’s life speaks for itself.
The nature of the Christian is evident in the way they live, the things they do, the words they speak, the ways they act and interact and relate and connect.
A spiritually lazy Christian’s life will inevitably speak of, for itself, by itself.
II. HIS FAILURE IS APPLIED
V. 32 “I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw.”
In his first sermon, the new preacher at the church in Lexington, Kentucky preached against gambling on horses.
Sometime later a deacon and several laity, came to him and said, “Folks didn’t appreciate that sermon. A lot of horses are raised in this part of the country.”
The next Sunday he preached about the evils of smoking. Again, that same deacon and those same laity pulled him aside and said, “Too many folks in these parts make their living growing tobacco. You can’t preach about that.”
The third Sunday came, and he preached against the evils of drinking whiskey, only to be told by that same deacon, those same laity that there was a large still less than a mile from the church and many church members worked there.
The frustrated preacher said, “Well, what in the world can I preach about?” The deacon and the laity said, “Preach against those heathen men from Mars. There isn’t a single one of them within a hundred thousand million miles of us.”
The next week the frustrated preacher delivered a well thought out message from John 3:16. What can go wrong preaching from this old familiar favorite?
The Deacon and the laity all shook hands with the minister after the service. “That was a wonderful sermon, the best we ever heard!” they told him, “– just wonderful. Everything said applies to someone I know. (But, not really to us)”
The spiritually lazy person is quick to point his finger at someone else, saying, “We have known for a long time that So and so needed to hear that sermon,” but they may never consider applying the truth of a sermon for their own life.
James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” KJV
The whole point of scripture is our diligent and disciplined application of it.
How does this passage or that passage apply to me, to my life?
The Word of God is not just meant to educate us but also to change us.
“I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw.” I applied to MY heart what I saw, and “I” learned a lesson from what I saw.
Now, not only should we try to apply the Word of God to our lives, but also the mistakes of others. When we hear the excuses, see the mistakes of others, we should learn a lesson. WE SHOULD LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS!
III. HIS LIFE IS POOR
V. 33-34 “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.”
Poverty in some form comes to the person who is lazy.
The case of the farmer in Proverbs 24, he might not have a crop, consequently, have no money with which to support family. No money, no food on the table.
Do you realize that doing little or nothing can get you into trouble?
ILLUSTRATION.
A man lived in a very low-lying area near a river. A man in a jeep drove up one day, said, “This area is about to be flooded. You need to get out of here!”
The man replied, “I’ll just stay here, trust the Lord to take care of me.” Soon the rush of water was swirling around his front porch as he sat in his rocking chair.
Soon after that, a man came by in a boat, saying, “You need to get out of here. The water is moving in faster and getting higher and higher.” The man replied, “I’ll be okay. I’m just going to sit here in my rocking chair trust in the Lord.”
Finally, the man ended up on his roof because of the rising water.
It had already flooded his house. Suddenly, a helicopter appeared overhead and lowered a chair so he could be taken to safety. He shouted back, “It’s okay. I’ll stay here in my faithful rocking chair. I’m trusting the Lord to take care of me.”
Well, the faithful chair floated away, and the man drowned and in heaven, he complained to the Lord He hadn’t taken care of him. And the Lord said, “Hey! I sent you a jeep, a boat, a helicopter. WHAT ELSE DID YOU WANT ME TO DO?”
Several very Christian applications can be made to this most familiar story but the one I want to make is this: Doing nothing will get you into trouble! Doing nothing with a person’s life will get them into trouble: trouble with the law, and trouble with their family and neighbors, they may all become poverty-stricken!
2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”
That is the rule of God, but it is also pretty much the standard rule of life.
If we don’t work, we won’t eat.
If we are not being the Body of Christ, loving God, devotedly, and diligently, prayerfully, prudently, ministering to our neighbors in God’s neighborhood,
In fact, quite a few others may not have any friends, “manna” to eat, clothes to wear, to have a bed to sleep in and a house to live in! Laziness leads to poverty!
“Sluggards” and their laziness always leads to trouble in some form or another.
It’s been said that idleness is the devil’s workshop.
That is a workshop that is always best left empty and absolutely left abandoned.
Besides you get nothing accomplished for the edifying of the kingdom of God!
Since when has that ever been a sound biblical principle, we should ever desire?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
King of Kings, Lord of Lords, thank you that you are great and abundant in power, your charity and understanding is beyond measure. In your greatest wisdom, you have created the church, described as Christ’s body. May we work cease from our laziness, come together as members of one body, using the gifts and abilities you have given us to faithfully love and serve one another. Would we find our strength from Jesus, the head of the body. May the Lord make us increase and abound in thy love for each other. May you establish our hearts as blameless in holiness before you. Through Jesus Christ, our Savior, Amen.
A psychology professor at a Midwestern University recently asked faculty members for the ‘most unusual, bizarre, and amazing student excuses’ they had ever heard. He got dozens of responses from his fellow professors:
* Grandparent death:
an old favorite, but one professor’s class established some sort of record when 14 of 250 students reported their grandmother’s death just before final exams.
In another class a student reported that he could not take a test because of his grandmother’s death.
When the professor expressed condolences a week later, the student replied, ‘Don’t worry, she was almost terminal, but she is feeling much better now.’
* Car Problems: “I had an accident, the police impounded the car, and my paper is in the glove compartment.”
* Animal Trauma: “I can’t be at the exam because my cat is having kittens and I am her coach.”
* More Animal Trauma: “At dinner last night, my dog ate all of my study notes, and he has not pooped yet this morning – can we postpone this until he does?”
We seem to have an excuse for everything, don’t we?
There are even websites on the internet that will help you generate an excuse!
It is true… you type in the type of excuse you need, and it generates one for you (www.zompist.com/excuse.html).
Also, you can even learn about how to
“Deliver a Fake Doctor’s Note and Making It Stick: 6 Must-Use Tips!”
I find that totally amazing!
What exactly is an excuse?
In a court of law, “an excuse is a defense in which a defendant argues that he or she was not liable for his or her actions at the time a law was broken and thus he or she should not be held liable for a crime. Excuses include diminished responsibility, duress, infancy, insanity, involuntary intoxication, mistake, provocation, and unconsciousness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excuse).
I think my favorite excuse from that list is ‘infancy.’
“I was a baby when the crime happened… it wasn’t me!”
Excuse is a reason we give when something happens that does not go our way.
It is the ‘why’ we did something when we get caught.
It is our reasons for not doing something we know we should do.
The Bible is full of people making excuses and making excuses is as old as human beings.
You know the story from Genesis chapter 3. Adam ate the forbidden fruit, then when confronted about it, he came up with an excuse: “The woman you put here with me– she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (verse 12).
Then the blame was shifted to Eve. What did Eve have to say? Genesis 3:13 records her excuse: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
It was the serpent’s turn, and guess what – he didn’t have a leg to stand on!
Exodus 32 shares with us the story of the Golden Calf.
The people of God finally arrived from Egypt and settled at the mountain of God to receive the Ten Commandments.
Moses was gone a long time and the people became restless.
The people wanted Aaron, Moses’ brother, to make idols they could worship.
They gave him gold. Aaron made a calf. They were persistent in their request.
Moses returned with the Ten Commandments in hand and asked Aaron if he had made the idol.
What was Aaron’s response? Aaron is trying to explain himself and says,
“So, I told them, ’Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (Exodus 32:24).
Aaron was not to blame… the fire was. Ridiculous and almost comical if the sin were not so grave, have such a bitter taste and have such lethal consequences.
God wants to have a relationship with us, and He wants that relationship to be the most important.
But we default to our sinful unrighteous humanity, and we make our excuses.
It is the great conundrum of mankind – We always have excuses after excuses.
We are going to look at a parable today where the invited guests made excuses.
Let’s read this story from Jesus.
Luke 14:16-24Amplified Bible
Parable of the Dinner
16 But Jesus said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many guests; 17 and at the dinner hour he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is ready now.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have purchased a piece of land and I have to go out and see it; please consider me excused.’ 19 Another one said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have [recently] married a wife, and for that reason I am unable to come.’ 21 So the servant came back and reported this to his master. Then [his master,] the head of the household, became angry [at the rejections of his invitation] and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the disabled and the blind and the lame.’ 22 And the servant [after returning] said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled [with guests]. 24 For I tell you, not one of those who were invited [and declined] will taste my dinner.’”
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
The parable from Luke’s narrative describes for us a great banquet to which the master of the house had extended invitations far and wide.
No time had been noted in the invitation, but the understanding of the day was, once all was ready, notification would go out to all who accepted.
The moment arrived.
The servants were dispatched to gather the guests.
The minimal, if not automatic expectation would be that those invited would drop what they were doing and simply come, because to accept the invitation beforehand and then make an excuse when the day came was a grave insult.
And yet the excuses come.
Everyone knew that the banquet was being prepared and they were supposed to have cleared their schedules.
All who were invited gave excuses.
Other things and other people were subtly, suddenly taking priority over the banquet that was prepared.
Excuse One:
One man said he was too involved in his business.
The man had bought a piece of ground and needed to look after it.
A person can become too involved in any business, not just the business of developing property or farming.
A person’s business, profession, and affairs can often consume all of life.
Other things fall away, and the business is all that matters.
Excuse Two:
Another man said that he was too wrapped up in new purchases.
The oxen had just been purchased.
They were a new possession and the owner wanted to try them out.
So, it is with new purchases such as houses, cars, bikes, records and CDs, books, radios, televisions, and a host of other material things.
The Bible tells us over and over again, over emphasizes material things can take root in our lives and the love of things can become most important in our lives.
Excuse Three:
Still another man said that he was too wrapped up with his family.
This man had just got married.
We know that marriage is ordained by God and that getting married is certainly a good thing.
I think the master of the banquet would have liked it if preparations had been made to attend. Maybe this man could have brought his new wife along, but just says, “I can’t come.” Family can also become an all-consuming issue in our life.
ONE INTERPRETATION
So what does this parable mean?
As in all parables, there is a surface story and then the spiritual meaning underneath.
This is a story about a prepared banquet and all the guests excuse themselves from coming.
The key to interpreting this parable comes in Luke 14:15 right before Jesus gives the parable.
Jesus is eating in a pharisee’s house (Luke 14:1-14) and is discussing spiritual matters with those attending.
One of the people at the table says,
“Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Verse 15)
Who is the one preparing the banquet in the parable? God.
What is the banquet?
The Kingdom of God / Christian Faith and Life / Christianity
Who are those invited? Us / People / Believers / Non-Believers
ONE APPLICATION?
How does this parable apply to us?
What is the meaning of Jesus’ story about this banquet and the excuses?
How are we to strive to understand the complexities of this parable in our lives?
One 2022 application for this parable comes I believe, in looking at our own personal application of our daily Christianity in the different excuses given.
You see, God absolutely wants us to make Him a priority.
Except, too any of us absolutely do not want God being their #1 priority!
The parable is all about this prepared banquet that all of these people were supposed to attend and were supposed to make a priority.
God wants to be a priority in our lives.
He wants His Word to be the primary influence in our lives.
He wants our Sabbaths to be dedicated to Him.
He wants our worship to be directed at only Him.
He wants the “first fruits” of our resources to honor Him first.
God absolutely wants to have a relationship with us, and absolutely He fully wants that relationship to be the most important of all of our relationships.
But we default to our sinful and unrighteous humanity – and we make excuses.
* Maybe your business has taken over your life and you have no time for God. What is your excuse?
* Maybe the ‘things’ of life and the pursuit of them is more important than God in this moment, this time and this season. What is your excuse?
* Maybe you haven’t cracked open your Bible in quite a while. Have not had a conversation with Father, Son and Holy Spirit lately. What is your excuse?
* Maybe you are holding onto a grudge and just won’t forgive someone. What is your excuse?
* Maybe you are living like a “Christian” on Sundays, but on Monday through Saturday, you are not so sure you can account for “faith.” What is your excuse?
* Maybe all the effort you expend in your devotion and obedience to God has “tired you out,” “completely exhausted your spirit.” What is your excuse?
* Maybe you have decided not to give of your “first fruits” and your tithing. What is your excuse?
A whole lot of “Maybe’s” are going on all around us – so, our excuses are flying.
We are struggling to generate “just one more excuse” to get through our day.
There is no one alive right now who can deny “wanting just one more excuse!”
You see the Christian life is an exhausting one, all about giving God the priority and living and loving and moving forth in ministry under His Lordship alone.
When you accept Jesus Christ into your life, you accept Him as Savior and Lord.
Most of us have no problem with accepting Jesus as Savior.
We know that we cannot earn our way into Heaven, and we need God, and we need our sins washed away. We need Jesus. Yet, we cannot forget that He is Lord of our life as well. He is our priority, and it’s His will that should be sought after.
I have no idea what your excuse is for God or what the issue is. We all do it. We all give God excuses of why we can’t be faithful. I want to encourage you this day to rid yourself of your excuse and commit yourself to being faithful to God.
As tired and exhausted as we all undoubtedly are in these 2022 times, seasons, there is no excusing our way out of our innate needs for connections with God.
God is absolutely aware of these needs.
There is no time when He is not absolutely aware of these needs.
Isaiah 1:18-20Amplified Bible
“Let Us Reason”
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord. “[a]Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be like wool. 19 “If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the best of the land; 20 But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
The “Invitation to Come and Let Us Reason” is always there.
It has been in the Scriptures for thousands of years.
Ancient Biblical Editors have had uncountable opportunities to remove it.
What if they had removed those words all those thousands of years ago …?
Would that have given us “that one more final excuse” to give to God for why we are such prolific excuse makers – “It was nowhere in your Word, God!”
“Since it was not there in the first place – how can I be held accountable now?”
Do you believe our Lord God has a severe, chronic case of: “exhausted ears?”
His invitation has, in absolute fact, withstood the test of time and mankind.
It is our choice to stop – even for a few brief moments – “why all the excuses?”
There’re definite consequences for not stopping – “but if you refuse, God says.”
There are very definitely, decisively, eternally, consequences to continuing.
One day, Church – All of our excuses will have to absolutely have to stop!
One day, Church – All of our excuses will stop – then God our righteous Judge ….
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Lord God, my Way-maker, I know you have a destiny for me to achieve in this life. I want to follow the plan that you have laid out. Help me to understand and follow your call. Show me your will for my life and what I need to do right now to get started. Enable me to know who I am in Christ, and the special gifts and abilities you have given me. Give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation as I seek to know you more intimately. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
32 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered together before Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a [a]god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a molten [b]calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5 Now when Aaron saw the molten calf, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord!”
Exodus 32:21-24Amplified Bible
21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought so great a sin on them?” 22 Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 I said to them, ‘Let whoever has gold [jewelry], take it off.’ So, they gave it to me; then I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Accountability is absolutely essential for any society to function, and Christian accountability is no different. We are all held accountable in one way or another.
For example, there are laws to obey and if we fail to be obedient, we may have to be called to account and suffer the consequences set by the officials who hold us accountable. One’s accountability is simply being responsible for one’s actions.
Pathological excuse making (lying) is not a clinical diagnosis, though it can sometimes be a very definitive symptom of many other underlying issues.
Some people get so accustomed to lying they do so even when there is no clear purpose, and when their lies are easily disproven, leaves everyone scratching their heads over the point of their efforts at so easily creating the deceptions.
Over the years, I’ve experienced a large number of these people — and I have gained some insight into the ways they initially think, react and they speak.
Believe it or not, their rationales and reactions make some “obvious” sense, when you look at it through their eyes and listen to them try to explain them.
Here are some of the reasons behind their ‘rational’ reactionary excuse making.
1. The lie does matter to them. The number one reason people make excuses when it just doesn’t matter is because they actually do think it does matter.
While everyone around them thinks it’s an inconsequential issue, the liar believes it is critically important. They may be putting undeserved emphasis or pressure on themselves, or on the issue, but you won’t know unless you ask something like, “It seems like this issue is really important to you — why?”
2. Telling the truth feels like giving up control.
Often, people tell make excuses because they are trying to control a situation and exert influence toward getting the decisions or reactions they want. The truth can be “inconvenient” because it might not conform to their narrative.
3. They make their excuses because they don’t want to disappoint or harm you.
It may not feel like it to you, but people who tell one excuse after the other are often worried about their losing the respect of those around them. They want you to like them, be impressed, believe and value them. And they’re worried that the truth might lead you to rejecting or shaming them.
4. Lies lead to more lies.
I am sure we all saw the movie Pinocchio where his nose grew every time he lied. We tell a little bitty lie, but then to cover that lie, we have to tell another one, then another, and another — each gets bigger and bigger.
Finally, we’re arguing about senseless points because to admit anything correct creates the real (but unwanted) potential of the entire house of cards tumbling.
If a chronic liar admits to any single lie, they feel like they’re admitting to being a liar, and then you’ll have reason to distrust them and just cast them aside.
5. it’s not a lie to them.
When under pressure, our thinking about the big picture can be challenged.
Our memory of things is actually quite unreliable.
Our memories are influenced by many things, that they change over time, and that they are essentially reconstructed each time we think about them.
Often, repetitive liars feel so much pressure in the moment that their memory becomes simply unreliable. When they say something, it’s often because they genuinely believe, at that moment, that it is the truth.
Their memory has been overwhelmed by stress, current events, and their desire to find a way, find any way, to make this particularly stressful situation work.
Sometimes, this can become so severe that the person almost seems to have created, generated and then fully manifested, a complete alternate world in their head, one that conforms to their moment-by-moment beliefs and needs.
6. They desperately need and want it to be true.
Finally, the excuse maker might want their excuse to be true so badly that their desire and needs again compel and overwhelm their instinct to tell the truth.
Sometimes, excuse makers hope that they can make something come true by “sheer will” saying it over and over, and by believing it as hard as they can.
In today’s environment of “alternative facts and weaponized narratives,” it’s hard particularly hard not to see this as somewhat justified.
Please remember this – People, by and large, are accountable, honest by default.
Most people tell the truth most of the time.
Our very capacity for language is built on an assumption of honesty — we agree the words we use mean the very same thing consistently, and we do not seek to deliberately use words deceptively because this would render language and the very communication of ideas would become “weaponized” and implausible.
Some people lie more than others, but even frequent liars are actually honest most of the time. But it stands out dramatically when their deceptions are so blatant, so easily disproven, and seemingly implausible and unimportant.
As frustrating as it is when people tell whoppers, we can begin to understand the motivations behind them.
Asking the person, “Why is this situation so important to you?” or,
“Why do you need me to see this the same way you do?” can be a useful, non-threatening way to get at the foundations of stress and desperation that often underlie deceptions.
Don’t ask, “Why are you lying?”
We need to remember that the person is often motivated by not being seen as a liar, and this question paints them into a corner they are going to fight against.
Of course, understanding a “Whopper of an Excuse” makers motivations and having empathy in such situations is valuable.
But to function effectively in the real world, we also need people to learn to be more honest and accountable to their actions and ever apparent dishonesty.
Communicating empathy for a person’s desperation can be a valuable tool to give them permission to tell the truth.
And then, recognizing and reinforcing when a person does tell the truth is a powerful way to get more truth-telling. It shows people that the truth is not actually scary, and that the world won’t end when the real truth comes out.
Exodus 32:21-24Amplified Bible
21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought so great a sin on them?” 22 Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 I said to them, ‘Let whoever has gold [jewelry], take it off.’ So, they gave it to me; then I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
Today we are going to learn how Moses’ brother Aaron when confronted for making a molten calf communicates to Moses that “Whopper of an Excuse.”
Let’s jump into today’s scripture to find out all the details.
We have in this chapter an interesting contrast between man’s way of worship and God’s way of worship.
Moses was in the Mount receiving from God careful instruction as to how future worship was to be conducted.
Its aim was in order to prevent any misconception of God.
But here at ground level, the people, assisted by Aaron, worked out their own way of worshipping God.
A way that could only have led them back into idolatry and rejection of all that was good and right in what the only living true God Yahweh had given them.
The chapter begins with the people being fearful of what has happened to Moses and rebelling against Yahweh.
Moses was in the Mount for forty days and forty nights receiving his written instructions from Father God Yahweh.
The people waiting in the plain below became restless, uneasy to worship.
They had somewhat fearfully seen him ascend and disappear into the cloud and then they had waited and waited, and he had not returned.
After that a whole moon period had passed and he had still not returned.
They knew personally the fearful nature of this God Who was in the Mountain and the warning of what would happen to any who approached the Mountain (Exodus chapter 32 verses 19.21).
Thus, they began to feel certain that they would not see Moses anymore.
By now they were most likely not sure whether they wanted to have anything more to do with this terrible God Who revealed Himself in the way that He had and had made such terrible threats against their lives if they dare approached.
They had agreed a covenant with Him out of a combination of gratitude and fear, but now they were not so sure that that was what they wanted.
They preferred gods with whom they could be more familiar, like the gods they had known in Egypt whom others worshipped.
Exodus 32:1 Amplified
The Golden Calf
32 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered together before Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a [a]god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
It is understandable that the people would become alarmed.
In their minds, their very nerves had reached a breaking point at some of the revelations from the mountain. And Moses had now been gone for a long time.
Yes, the God Yahweh had delivered them, but they decided they wanted nothing to do with this God of the mountains whom unseen and who frightened them.
Does this “worship” sound like something straight out of our 21st century?
Worshipping a “God who was threatening and punitive versus all about “love?”
If one feels they have to choose between an always “threatening” and an always “punitive” versus an always “loving” and always “empathetic” God, which pew do you believe people will feel more compelled towards ‘visibly’ worshipping?
Rather would the Israelites like to approach Yahweh through the kind of images they were familiar with in Egypt, awe inspiring, but without causing trouble?
They wanted a god which was created by human hands to human standards and made to their socio-cultural, their own working socio-economic requirements.
As you know up to this point it was Yahweh Who had gone before them in the pillar of cloud and fire.
But that pillar had disappeared onto the mountain along with Moses.
Now they wanted visible representations of Yahweh instead, so that He could go before them in a way that was controllable.
They wanted Yahweh’s power on their behalf, they wanted to feel comfortable with Him.
They had had enough of this fierce God of the mountains, who fortunately for them and their personal security and physical safety, seemed to remain in the Mountain. They wanted to be on their way, and quickly, so that they could get away from Him. Thus, they demanded of Aaron to make their man-made God.
Now to see this in 2022, in a way, you have to consider the pressure on Aaron.
The people gathered together and sought him out. They were in an ugly mood and Aaron felt threatened. – Does this sound .1% familiar to our 2022 church?
Their confrontation with Aaron was a serious mixture of contempt and anger.
And here is where all the vitriolic excuses start flying in every which direction.
…. “After all he and Moses were the ones who “brought all this upon them.””
But their resentment is loud and clear, filled with high potential for violence.
No sympathy with Moses, only enmity.
Yes, he had delivered them from Egypt, but what had happened to him now?
He had trusted this mountain God, who surely was not the Yahweh Who had delivered them out of Egypt.
And look what good it had done him.
Where was he?
He had disappeared and they did not know where he was.
Indeed, in their minds he was most probably dead – never to be seen again.
And he deserved it. What they wanted was immediate help and assurance from someone they knew and relied on, and to return to the old compromising ways.
32:2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”
It is clear from this that both men (‘your sons’) and women in Israel wore earrings.
And Genesis 35.4, where their earrings are closely connected to their false gods and have to be disposed of, makes clear these had strong religious significance.
They were thus very suitable for the making of ‘their standardized gods’ and would automatically give maximum credence to all the gods which were made.
32:3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.
The people responded willingly.
This demonstrates how concerned they were and how urgently they felt the need to escape. After the extraordinary events of a month previously they felt a religious need, and that they had been deserted, and so they were willing to offer their valuables if it meant that they could have a god whom they could see.
32:4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Aaron received the earrings from them, melted them down and fashioned a golden calf.
Notice how specific this is.
Later he will make the excuse that it just somehow happened.
Please take note that it is never described as ‘the golden calf’. It is a ‘molted calf’.
One fashioned and shaped.
The use of ‘calf’ rather than ‘bull’ is probably deliberate in order to put it in proper perspective. Before God this great bull was but an infant.
The significance of this raises complicated questions which are linked to today.
We demand immediate results from our politicians when we feel we are being threatened by highly stressful, “catastrophic events” and as radical changes are being “thrust” into our psyche’s, we react highly emotionally, highly irrational.
We want our “ordered way” – the way we ourselves believe we should have our lives ordered – according to our biblical view versus our worldview standards.
We highly demand of our ‘leadership” a suitable way that immediately moves us forward toward the future where we alone believe our God wants us to go.
No other way is acceptable to us. No other view of the future becomes tolerable.
It is no bother whatsoever to us to leave “Moses” behind – on the Mountain top.
Along the way, we leave YAHWEH behind to – “deal with a dead, dying Moses.”
“Find us our ‘Aaron!’ We will gladly turn over our ‘riches’ to fashion our “God!”
“We’ll gladly “worship” the “God” which is fashioned by Aaron’s great skills!”
“Moses had his chance, clearly he was never truly strong enough for the task!”
“YAHWEH had His chance too – but, seriously folks, He was just too harsh, too judgmental, much too threatening to our physical and spiritual well-beings!”
So, we the Christians of these times of crisis and seasons of great adversity of this, the 21st century we must minister and unto, fashion our “Golden Calves!”
“Our Golden Calves” according to our “worshipful” standards of our ‘future’ in our living, our moving, ministering to our neighbors in “God’s neighborhood.”
Our 2022 “Christian” response to the enormous spiritual pressure Aaron felt?
We fervently hope, we thrice fervently pray our YAHWEH sees “it our way!”
We fervently hope, we thrice fervently pray YAHWEH won’t get ‘too mad’?
Our “”Way?” – through our “we versus them” uncompromisingly divided eyes?
1 Corinthians 1:10-15Amplified Bible
10 But I urge you, believers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in full agreement in what you say, and that there be no divisions or factions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your way of thinking and in your judgment [about matters of the faith]. 11 For I have been informed about you, my brothers and sisters, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are quarrels and factions among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I am [a disciple] of Paul,” or “I am [a disciple] of Apollos,” or “I am [a disciple] of Cephas (Peter),” or “I am [a disciple] of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided [into different parts]? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? [Certainly not!] 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,15 so that no one would say that you were baptized into my name.
1 Corinthians 3:1-9Amplified Bible
Foundations for Living
3 However, brothers and sisters, I could not talk to you as to spiritual people, but [only] as to [a]worldly people [dominated by human nature], mere infants [in the new life] in Christ! 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Even now you are still not ready. 3 You are still [b]worldly [controlled by ordinary impulses, the sinful capacity]. For as long as there is jealousy and strife and discord among you, are you not [c]unspiritual, and are you not walking like ordinary men [unchanged by faith]? 4 For when one of you says, “I am [a disciple] of Paul,” and another, “I am [a disciple] of Apollos,” are you not [proving yourselves unchanged, just] ordinary people?
5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Just servants through whom you believed [in Christ], even as the Lord appointed to each his task. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was causing the growth. 7 So neither is the one who plants nor the one who waters anything, but [only] God who causes the growth. 8 He who plants, and he who waters are one [in importance and esteem, working toward the same purpose]; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers [His servants working together]; you are God’s cultivated field [His garden, His vineyard], God’s building.
Struggling mightily and vitriolically against the constant prodding of the Holy Spirit to remember a central tenet of our living, moving and being, ministering to our “neighbors” for the sake of God’s Kingdom in God’s own neighborhood:
By Jesus’ own Words spoken to us – as He confronted His own eternal destiny:
John 10:11-18Amplified Bible
11 [a]I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd [b]lays down His [own] life for the sheep. 12 But the hired man [who merely serves for wages], who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. 13 the man runs because he is a hired hand [who serves only for wages] and is not concerned about the [safety of the] sheep. 14 I am the Good Shepherd, and I know [without any doubt those who are] My own and My own know Me [and have a deep, personal relationship with Me]— 15 even as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father—and I lay down My [very own] life [sacrificing it] for the benefit of the sheep. 16 I have [c]other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they will listen to My voice and pay attention to My call, and they will become [d]one flock with one Shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life so that I may take it back. 18 No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down voluntarily. I am authorized and have power to lay it down and to give it up, and I am authorized and have power to take it back. This command I have received from My Father.”
We have “our ways” and YAHWEH has His and Moses and Aaron are long dead.
The Apostle Paul is also long since dead as are all of the Apostles ….
But JESUS IS 100% STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE AND SITTING WITH HIS FATHER!
So, what about pondering our accountability to God & 21st Century Christianity?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us dare to Pray,
God of all truth, Author of all Wisdom, Author of my Life, sometimes I not so sure if I’m actually hearing your voice, or if it’s just my own thoughts or even another spirit. Please Sharpen my spiritual hearing, Lord, so I can recognize your words when you are speaking to me. Help me know it’s really you, with no doubt or second-guessing. When I’m asking for your guidance in important decisions, give me your peace that surpasses understanding with your answer. Help me remember that your words to me will never go against your written word in the Bible. Give me a clear mind and push out all my confusion. Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
A friend of mine told me her son just could not take any tests. He excels in his classwork, but when it comes to test-taking, his mind goes blank, and he fails.
That was the reason he failed his classes. That was the reason he would do so poorly in his academic classes. As hard as he tried, he could not take any tests.
Discouraged, he moved from one menial job after another until he latched onto a mechanic friend of his who took him under his tutelage for several long years.
He never became a success as he had always hoped he would be. He always seemed to fall short of where he knew he could be and indeed, should be. It always became for him a long litany of one “same old” excuse after another
His mom told me he never developed the self-confidence or self-esteem. It discouraged her enormously because she knew her son could always be more.
Somewhere along the line, her son decided to believe this lie. Over the years, defeat became etched into his mind like a river carves itself through a mountain base. Deeper and deeper, it flows. Then it became a Bonafide reality gripping itself to his leg like a ball and chain, and eventually, become an excuse to fail.
Excuses in our lives give us permission to settle for less than God’s best and justify our shortcomings. We blame something or someone else for our less-than-stellar lot in life. It is never our fault. Sadly, we brand our insecurities.
We declare this is how it always is and always must be for us, for our families.
We inhale the status quo and exhale the mundane.
Most failures come from a history of old excuses and a lack of perseverance.
Closed doors don’t always mean NO. Most of the time they mean that God has a bigger and better door. No more excuses! Move forward and keep knocking.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7 ESV)
Do we get so fully and completely immersed inside our past we can’t see hope staring at us through the dirty windows of our own self-appointed limitations?
We construct imaginary walls with bricks labeled “excuses,” confine ourselves.
We can get so stuck in the rut of excuses we even make excuses for our excuses.
Genesis 3:8-13Amplified Bible
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [afternoon breeze] of the day, so the man and his wife hid and kept themselves hidden from the [a]presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so, I hid myself.” 11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten [fruit] from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me [fruit] from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled and deceived me, and I ate [from the forbidden tree].”
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
The Lord God called out to Adam – “Where are You?”
Adam’s response: 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so, I hid myself.”
When Mom and Dad called out to me and asked; “Where am I? ….”
When my Mom or Dad asked me that question of me, if I said anything at all except; “Here I am, I am right here.” I got into enormous trouble because they expected me to account for myself exactly in that moment – out of my respect.
By Adam’s response, God could easily discern something was seriously amiss.
Verse 10: Bibles very first excuse – Adam’s excuse for not being accountable.
The Lord God pushed the conversation:
verse 11:11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten [fruit] from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
Adam’s response – verse 12: 12 And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me [fruit] from the tree, and I ate it.”
The Bibles second excuse: “Blame the Woman whom YOU gave to be with me.”
Can we sense a raising crescendo here on the Lord God’s part?
The Lord God turned His attention to Eve, pushed her for truth in the matter.
Verse 13a: Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?”
Eve responds with the Bibles third excuse –
Verse 13b: And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled and deceived me, and I ate [from the forbidden tree].”
Eve responds not with words of “accountability and responsibility” but with ….
Her Excuse – “the devil made me do it.” ergo, God, “Blame the Other Guy!”
Do we think or believe or maybe actually know the Lord God had heard enough from both of them in that moment?
Do we think or believe or maybe actually know the Lord God had heard enough dishonesty and disrespect for those brief moments the conversation took place?
As we read these passages for ourselves, and try to insert our own rationales for why those very first words from the mouths of Adam and Eve were “excuses?”
Are we now rationalizing with our own 21st century vernacular – saying -?
“Oh, they did not know any better? How could they have known better?”
“Oh, being unaware or unknowledgeable of the truth ….” “Expectations …?”
“Oh, never having been introduced to what honesty and integrity were …?”
“Oh. never having been taught the difference between telling a lie or the truth?
“Oh, being inexperienced in telling the truth ….”
“Oh, they were just young and immature and naive.”
“Oh, just give them a chance … they will learn, they will do better next time?”
And whatever other rationale(s) we can derive from our own “Life’s efforts ….
“It is not, it was not, it never will be my fault because …. someone else failed.
Ergo, blame the devil – “the devil made me do it.”
Ergo – blame God for being the bad parent – not teaching His Children.
Excuses! Excuses! Excuses!
We make excuses because we do not want to take on responsibilities or face consequences. Similarly, afraid of punishment, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve in quick response then blamed the serpent after they disobeyed God’s command.
What are our excuses?
Are they the same or different or more naive or more simple or complex?
What has God NOT heard us say when he “asked” us: “Where are you?”
Do we think or believe or rationalize our relationship with God might change, but then again, it may not or even won’t because we have confessed Christ as our personal Savior and therefore, we will automatically be forgiven 100%?
Our accountability to God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit ends when we make our most sincere, most heartfelt confessions of faith to God? (Romans 10:9-13)
We now have all the rationale we need to “take the grace of God for granted?”
Personal accountability to God therefore becomes immaterial and irrelevant?
Do not our Honesty, Integrity, Personal Accountability come naturally to us?
For Adam, Eve, by excusing, their relationship with God changed completely.
The formerly close relationship of walking with God changed into one of hiding and deceiving then to divine punishment for all (Genesis 3:14-19, Isaiah 59:2).
Whether dealing with God or with people, the best and only way to live is to come clean, not hide behind excuses, no matter how carefully crafted they are.
Excuses don’t fool anyone.
Excuses do not fool God, our Creator!
Excuses do not fool Jesus our Savior!
Excuses do not fool God the Holy Spirit, our Guide, our Guardian, our Teacher.
Will you, or I ask our God for a session or two of personal accountability today?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
If our “Christianity” is all about true and genuine Accountability to God,
Let us Pray,
My Savior Jesus, Giver of peace, I so easily get distracted when I’m trying to focus and hear your Holy Spirit. Help me quiet my mind in the middle of my busy life. Help me to pause and to make space to listen to the most important voice of all. Empower me to be a good listener to the gentle whispers of your Spirit. Help me follow the example of Jesus, who would slip away in the evening or the early morning to be alone with you. Teach me to abide in you. Amen.
An old proverb states that truth is the best advertising, propaganda and public relations tool.
Fact-supported truth is a powerful narrative.
Unfortunately, the truth can be hidden, ignored, obscured or inundated by error, creating what is identified as a weaponized narrative.
The concept of a narrative has become increasingly popular in contemporary society.
One American President popularized the idea of the narrative in political and social discussions.
This concept of “the narrative” has been trumpeted by talk-show hosts and politicians of various stripes during the past decade.
Promoting the idea of a narrative implies manipulation of perception to ensure a particular outcome during any debate between proponents of opposing views.
Narratives as currently employed have a tangential relationship to truth, at the best.
Increasingly, the idea of a narrative is being weaponized in contemporary society.
I suppose this movement to weaponize the narrative was inevitable since the concept has been aggressively promoted by the media in support of favored political views.
Narrative warfare embraces more than Public Relations and propaganda campaigns.
Narrative warfare employs “weaponized narratives” which are spun from “highly selective truth,” outright lies, false accusations, distorted and altered quotations, emotional appeals, sensational outrage, fear mongering, blame-shifting, intimidating threats, victim posturing, virtue signaling and fabricated imagery. These are all facets of contemporary argument.
Indeed, these disruptive and often destructive techniques have been in the human political and psychological warfare tool kit since our first parents first appeared in the Garden of Eden.
Tragically, modern mass media and digital communications can quickly and pervasively spread the weaponized narrative, often without challenge.
Emotional arguments tend to overwhelm logic and reason.
Narrative warfare advocates argue that a powerful psychological weapon is capable of many things, including influencing national and international opinion. Worse still, weaponized narratives are employed among the faithful.
The inevitable result is devastating to the Faith.
When I speak of weaponized narratives, I am speaking of the creation and employment of a narrative driving the activity of those who hear the narrative.
Among the faithful, we witness an increasing appeal to narratives rather than the truth.
The narratives sound reasonable, though they are false; they have the ring of truthiness, though they lack either evidence or logic.
Ofttimes, the narratives have the ring of veracity, though they do not tell the whole story; they are partial truths.
Remember, a half-truth is a total lie.
That is what makes them so dangerous!
The unwary are susceptible to succumbing to the error promoted by these false narratives.
Romans 3:5-8Amplified Bible
5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? God is not wrong to inflict His wrath [on us], is He? (I am speaking in purely human terms.)6 Certainly not! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? 7 But [as you might say] if through my lie God’s truth was magnified and abounded to His glory, why am I still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say, (as some slanderously report and claim that we teach) “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”? Their condemnation [by God] is just.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
The devotional message I am bringing today is intended to challenge us to think Christianly.
I want us to give some consideration of the narratives which are mistakenly treated as valid in the realm of the Faith.
I am challenging each of us to weigh what is promoted through such narratives in light of what is revealed in the Word of God.
I am asking and indeed, challenging, God’s people to lay a foundation for solid Christian service that equips us for honorable and truthful service to the cause of Christ the Lord, the Son of God. I do want to encourage believers to think, to act with discretion, and then to serve as God would have His people serve.
NARRATIVES THAT MARGINALISE REVEALED TRUTH —
“If our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way)” [Romans 3:5].
The Apostle Paul has presented a solemn truth.
We are unrighteous.
However, our unrighteousness reveals the righteousness of God.
If we are recognizing our condition, it means there is a standard by which we ourselves are able to gauge our actions. If there is a standard, and we recognise that standard, we are accountable to the One who judges by that standard.
Breaking this down, the particular point the Apostle makes in this verse is sobering for anyone who actually grapples with the thought we must give an accounting to the One who is qualified by His inherent righteousness to judge.
It means there is a judgement.
It means that we are held to a standard outside of our own condition.
It means that judgement is pending for all mankind.
Thus, it should not be surprising that almost all the narratives constructed for millennia revolves around our vain attempt to evade responsibility for our own character. The narratives constructed by us, humankind, seek to reduce God to a mere caricature, easily dismissing the wickedness of man’s fallen character.
Ultimately, all narratives attempt to avoid facing our pending, well deserved and well-justified, judgement by God who is our ultimate Judge.
Since time immemorial, sinful people have endeavored to marginalize God.
No doubt, well-meaning individuals are just as guilty of constructing narratives to fit their particular point of view.
Nevertheless, a favorite effort of sinful people is to construct a narrative that sounds reasonable, so long as the narrative is not examined too closely.
The narrative we construct presents a god who is pleasant and nice; this god is inclined to grant mankind’s desires rather than being holy and righteous.
What people want is “good;” holiness and righteousness are “bad.”
This newly constructed god is a fantasy of mankind, a fabrication of minds enamored of this dying world without commitment to the True and Living God.
However, the construct is dangerous precisely because it is attractive.
What are some of these narratives?
The first narrative to be considered was popularized some years ago, having been pushed hard by one major campus organization:
“God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”
This particular narrative is popular; it is undoubtedly loved by many who have repeated it during past years.
The narrative certainly has an appeal, beginning as it does with the love of God.
In Scripture, we are taught,
“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So, we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” [1 John 4:13-21].
None of us would ever argue against the truth that God loves mankind.
After all, God created mankind; He gave us life.
God does love the creature He made.
The evidence for this affirmation is that He sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world. Everyone has heard JOHN 3:16:
“This is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
God’s love is not that icky, treacle-sweet sort of emotion that supposedly gives people a warm, fuzzy feeling from the top of their head to the soles of their feet.
God’s love is real, practical, tangible.
God’s love is muscular.
Above all else, God’s love is transformative. Those who receive the love of God cannot remain as they were, for the Spirit of God will take up residence in the life of those who have received that love, and HE will change the individual!
One great problem with this particular narrative is the revelation of God’s hatred. Perhaps you will recall this statement from the Prophecy of Malachi.
“‘I have loved you,’ says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have you loved us?’ ‘Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ declares the LORD. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert’” [Malachi 1:2-3].
Later, the Apostle Paul would cite this passage when teaching of God’s election of the righteous. Paul would write,
“As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated’” [Romans 9:13].
As an example that the LORD is capable of hatred, the Wise Man informs us,
“There are six things that the LORD hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.”
[Proverbs 6:16-19]
The Psalmist gives us startling insight into God’s character when he writes,
“God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.
If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and readied his bow;
he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.”
[Psalm 7:11-13]
Indeed, God is love; but we must never forget that God is holy, and His holiness excludes unrighteousness from His presence.
Any who fail to receive the grace of God, that one who has never been made righteous through faith in the Son of God, must face God’s wrath.
Jesus warns, “I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him” [Luke 12:5]!
Let me be very clear on this. I do not want anyone to conclude from the knowledge that God does hate that He is some sort of cosmic killjoy, a celestial ogre constantly glaring down at mankind while seeking opportunity to strike down anyone who expresses joy or who happens to engage in pleasant acts.
God seeks the best for mankind, and that includes our joy.
We so easily confuse happiness with joy; we constantly and fruitlessly pursue “happiness.”
But happiness is never promised in the Word of God;
joy is the heritage of the children of the Living God.
Jesus promised His disciples,
“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” [John 15:10-11].
Jesus is concerned that His followers possess joy, and He intends for that joy to be full, overflowing.
OVERFLOWING JOY IS THE HERITAGE OF THOSE WHO LOVE THE MASTER.
Again, preparing those who followed Him for His departure, Jesus said,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also, you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” [John 16:20-24].
The Master promised to pour out His goodness so that His followers may overflow with an abundance of joy! That is genuine joy!
Yet another narrative which has been weaponized states, “God is too good to judge a person.”
This narrative is an expression of the philosophy that we have come to know as universalism.
Though you may not have heard the term universalism, you will no doubt recognise it as a variant of the Apostle’s statement in the fifth verse of the text.
There, the Apostle has written, “If our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)” [Romans 3:5].
The instruction is crafted in such a way that we must answer in the affirmative concerning God’s judgement.
Throughout the New Testament are warnings concerning “the wrath of God.”
Here are just a few examples to illustrate the point.
As he opens the Letter to the Saints in Rome, Paul warns,
“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse” [Romans 1:18-20].
After listing a dark catalogue of wicked acts (sexual immorality, all impurity, greed, filthiness, foolish talk and crude joking), the Word of God solemnly warns,
“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” [Ephesians 5:6].
Those who engage in such practices or who tolerate them are identified as “the sons of disobedience.” Clearly, God means to punish those so identified.
A similar passage warning against such acts is found in the Letter to Christians in Colossae.
There, Paul has written, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming” [Colossians 3:5-6].
Clearly, if Scripture is held to be authoritative, the Lord not only disapproves of such acts, but He holds those who engage in these acts 100% responsible for all of their own actions. His wrath will be poured out on sinful people.
Let’s come right out and everyone admit we are fearful of a God who is holy.
Intuitively, we prefer a god characterized by what we might call “benevolent neglect.”
We want a god who delights to give us what we want, a god who doesn’t interfere with our mad pursuit of getting what we want, a god who keeps his hands off our lives, allowing us to do whatever it is that we want.
Because our desires dictate the sort of god, we imagine we want, we choose to focus on God’s goodness to the exclusion of recognizing His holiness.
By exalting our own desires over the character of God, we craft a narrative that shields us from the harsh reality that our holy God demands of us our holiness.
I freely acknowledge and confess that I am speaking in sweeping generalities when I make such a statement.
Nevertheless, the most of mankind is greatly and heavily and mightily angered at the mere thought we are not in control of our lives, we should need to give an account to anyone, especially unto the Living God! We want a “genial god” who smilingly approves of our choices, doting upon us, giving us what we all want.
Peter’s words have proven to be a source of consternation for every single one of us in this modern world.
You will remember that Peter instructed Christ’s followers,
“Preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” [1 Peter 1:13-21].
Among one prominent group of cultists, and tragically even among a surprising number of allegedly “professed Christians,” who are obviously untaught, we will often hear the vehement protests,
“Why, I wouldn’t I throw firebombs at police cars – they are the enemy.”
“If my “cause is just” I know God won’t condemn sinners to eternal flames.”
Undoubtedly, none of us would throw firebombs at police cars.
Such an action betrays a sick mind to even contemplate such a thing.
Police are not the ultimate enemy. I don’t want to see anyone come to harm.
You will recognise this narrative as a variant of the previous narrative.
Essentially, this narrative argues that because I am kind (at least according to my own standards), God is at least as good as me! I don’t believe that I would torment anyone; and those holding to this particular narrative take this to mean that God won’t pronounce judgement that causes eternal pain to anyone.
What is not so immediately apparent is those who are advancing this “cause – effect” argument have, without any authority whatsoever, brought God down to the level of a mere human rather than raising people up to God’s level of living.
I must reiterate—I would never throw any firebombs anywhere at any time.
The implication is that eternal judgment is somehow gratuitous torture, and no one will accuse God of delighting in torture!
The Lord God has no pleasure in the death of sinners.
God, speaking through Ezekiel, declares,
“Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so, turn, and live” [Ezekiel 18:31-32].
We know that the immediate focus of God’s pleading was Israel, however, the overarching emphasis is applicable to anyone.
Again, God pleads with lost people when He appeals through the same prophet,
“As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die” [Ezekiel 33:11]
What is missed, or ignored, when people appeal to this narrative is that God does not send anyone to hell.
Let me iterate: GOD CASTS NO ONE INTO THE FIRES OF HELL.
People who have rejected the grace of God have positioned themselves with the devil and the demons who are opposed to God and under sentence of eternal condemnation.
The fact is that people do choose to pursue their own desires, knowing that the consequences of what is chosen leads to eternal death.
Is that not the warning presented in the Word?
We read, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23].
Because this is true, the warning must be announced,“The wages of sin is death” [Romans 6:23a].
I am so grateful there is a corollary to that warning when God promises,
“The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” [Romans 6:23b].
Should an individual stumble into hell, that person will stumble into eternal damnation having stepped over the grace of God, having ignored the pleas of the godly and the warnings of those who are saved.
The lost will have decided, if only through deliberate neglect, they prefer the prospect of eternity without the mercy of God to the glory that flows from the grace of God.
Therefore, lost people choose, they receive, the consequences of their choice.
Yet another narrative says, When you’re dead, that’s it—you’re finished, you’re done.
Again, this is a variant of an earlier narrative already considered.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to address the narrative, if for no other reason than that the unthinking imagine it is unanswerable.
This narrative is wishful thinking, a case of people whistling past the graveyard.
It is assuredly not a matter of conviction growing out of what is written in the Word.
Does death end it all?
However much an individual may wish that was the case, every expectation leads us to reject that view.
We demand accountability of those who do evil.
Since we are incapable of exacting retribution on the wicked of this world after death, we expect justice beyond this existence.
Sometime past, we watched a situation illustrating the danger of adopting a narrative rather than seeking truth.
A native activist supposedly advocating for native rights accused a group of youth from a Catholic School of “stealing his narrative.”
This is the language of the social justice warrior and not the language of reason, it is not the language of logic.
There was scant logic in his complaint and no logic whatsoever. This activist felt the youths had “stolen his narrative,” so, he refused to sit down with them to seek a peaceful resolution to the situation his own actions had precipitated.
It soon became apparent that this man was only casually acquainted with the truth. This illustrates one major tragedy of a narrative—those holding the narrative become wed to what they have created rather than seeking the truth.
As though such narratives are the “hot as hell-button” stuff of our modern journalism, we have also witnessed an actor who fabricated a story of being assaulted simply because he is black and/or because he is a homosexual.
He claimed he was assaulted by two men whom he identified as “far right thugs.” However, the Chicago police demonstrated that this man was lying.
Here is the narrative that is so hurtful!
The story became the means for news outlets, for politicians and for Hollywood stars and starlets to very publicly and very verbally attack and threaten those whom they fervently considered to be politically right of their own positions.
The narrative became the story. Even after it was demonstrated that the actor had lied, apologists continue to argue for the necessity of the story. Thus, a lie enters into the “stinking” thinking of the populace as though it was the truth.
Narratives almost always mask reality, deceiving those who buy into the narrative. Grave as that situation is for us, the adoption of narratives among the people of God creates a real and present danger that threatens righteousness.
GOD’S TRUTH — The real danger of narratives is that they so easily become substitutes for facts.
When narratives are substituted for facts, those individuals that have become wedded to a narrative tend to deny what they are hearing because it doesn’t fit exactly, politically and precisely into their ever so carefully crafted narrative.
What I happen to believe is ultimately immaterial—what matters is the truth, and truth is, by absolute necessity, completely independent of my assessment.
What God has written in His Word is truth. As a young Christian, a saying often heard among the saints stated, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it for me.”
Undoubtedly, those reciting this couplet thought it sounded impressive—at first glance it was impressive.
Nevertheless, my own analytical mind forced me to correct the couplet to say, “God said it. THAT SETTLES IT!”
It does not matter what I believe about a given issue. What matters is what God has said. I need to know what God says, and not what others wish He had said.
The smallest words recorded in the Bible, words that some might argue are insignificant, are given for our sake by God who seeks what’s best for us.
You may recall Jesus’ affirmation concerning the Word.
The Master said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” [Matthew 5:17-18].
Elsewhere, the Saviour is recorded as saying,
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” [Matthew 24:35].
I believe all that has been recorded as the Word of God for the Children of God is morally essential toward a fuller understanding of the mind of the Living God.
God has provided a perfect revelation of His character and of His will in His Holy Word.
The seemingly least significant words are essential for a complete revelation of the Person of God.
This is apparent in multiple instances, but at one point when the Apostle is presenting an argument in his Letter to the Christians in Rome this truth is emphasized in dramatic fashion.
Paul had just made the argument that Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness. Then, ensuring that we grasp the correct application of what he had presented, the Apostle wrote,
“The words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” [Romans 4:23-25].
Paul’s point is that we must not pass over seemingly insignificant words such as these, “it was counted to him.”
God carefully guided the writers as they penned the words we now read in the Bible.
Peter emphasized this precise truth when he wrote,
“We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” [2 PETER 1:16-19].
More germane to the issue now before us, the Big Fisherman informed readers,
“No prophecy of Scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” [2 Peter 1:20b-21 Net BIBLE].
“Men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
We are informed that the Holy Spirit of God was both the motivator and the divine guide ensuring what God wanted to be recorded was what was written.
God did this for our benefit, so that we would have a firm foundation on which to base our faith.
In the Letter to Roman Christians, we are taught that Abraham’s faith was sufficient for salvation.
The point of this information is that if Abraham’s faith sufficed for salvation, then our own faith in God’s promise is enough for salvation.
God was showing by this means that He is not attempting to mask what He has done for fallen people.
The Living God has acted openly so that no one need feel that God somehow was unfair or unjust.
All people alike are invited to come to life in the Beloved Son of God.
In other words, we are instructed by God with the very thoughts of God because the Spirit of God was overseeing Paul, directing Him as he wrote, to ensure that what was written would be precisely what God wanted to be written.
This was done to ensure what is written would be beneficial for His redeemed people. God did this so we would not fall into the trap of crafting a narrative, but that we would reflect His perfect will.
Therefore, we are not attempting to construct a narrative, we are carefully presenting what God has revealed through His Word.
This is the truth expressed through the Apostle’s plea,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as an approved worker who has nothing to be ashamed of, handling the word of truth with precision” [2 Timothy 2:15 ISV].
Our responsibility as witnesses is not to make the teaching of the Word “more” palatable or acceptable to those who hear us, our responsibility is to strive for accuracy in declaring what God has already revealed.
The Spirit of God will work in the hearts of those who hear us as we teach.
He will “prov[e] the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgement” [John 16:8 Net BIBLE].
It is instructive to observe how the arch-deceiver of mankind operates.
We have an example of Satan’s methods revealed when he approached Eve.
Satan did not begin by calling God a liar; he raised doubt in Eve’s mind. Satan approached Eve with the seemingly innocuous question, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’” [Genesis 3:1b]?
This was not a direct attack against God’s warning—it was tangential, asymptotic, it was Satan’s sidling up to the woman in an attempt to disarm her.
Satan couldn’t topple God with one question, though toppling God was the ultimate goal.
Satan sought only to generate doubt in Eve’s mind.
The devil seldom will come to the child of God and say, “God is a liar!”
No! He will seek to create lingering doubt, which leads to dishonoring God in our mind. The ultimate goal of Satan is to cause us to cease worshipping God; but the immediate act will always seem quite completely innocuous.
Having raised the question of what God said, or what He might have meant, Satan then dismissed God’s warning, saying
“You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” [Genesis 3:4b-5].
Eve sinned.
The text makes it apparent that she walked into sin knowingly; nevertheless, she was deceived, just as people continue to be deceived.
John warns believers,
“All that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” [1 John 2:16-17].
The world can offer “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life,” but the world cannot offer life.
The world can promise complete satisfaction, but the world can never deliver.
Perhaps you will recall the proverb that states:
“Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and never satisfied are the eyes of man.”
[Proverbs 27:20]
How many ways to our Sunday Worship does that proverb condemns us?
Nothing ever satisfies the desires that bubble up from within!
The human condition seems to create a thirst for more.
Whatever acquisition we believe will satisfy the longing that drives us, it is certain that obtaining that thing will not satisfy.
What we believe will satisfy can never quench the thirst driving us in our mad pursuit to acquire more.
Later in this same collection of sayings of the wise, we read,
“The leech has two daughters:
‘Give! Give!’
There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, ‘Enough’—
the grave, the barren womb,
land that is not satisfied with water,
and fire that never says, ‘Enough!’”
[Proverbs 30:15-16 NET BIBLE]
Eve sinned in the areas that plague us to this day.
Therefore, Scripture reveals, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate” [Genesis 3:6a].
We are told that Eve saw “that the tree was good for food.”
What is described is nothing less than the desire of the flesh.
She also saw that “[the fruit of the tree] was a delight to the eyes.”
What can this be other than the desire of the eyes?
Then, Eve saw “that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.”
She succumbed to “the pride of life.”
What is described are the same elements that cause us to stumble to this day.
The great need for each one who follows the Risen Son of God is to ensure that he or she is conversant with the truth.
This means that we must know the Word, we must know what the Lord has caused to be written, especially since it was given for our benefit.
We know the Word when we are familiar with the Word; and this means that we have actually read the Word.
We are not to be content with reading about the Word, we are to read the Word.
We allow the Spirit of God to guide us as we read so that we are instructed by Him.
Then, having more than a passing familiarity with the Word, we must invest time speaking with the Author of the Word.
This is nothing less than getting back to basics!
THE CONCLUSION OF MAN’S PUERILE EFFORTS
— Followers of the Christ are responsible to know the Word He has given.
We are susceptible to being put off stride primarily because we are ignorant of what the Master has said.
We fail to have a viable theology, and that is the most dangerous theology of all.
The theology we espouse too often consists or a few trite phrases divorced from daily life.
Our theology is most often stale and flaccid at best, or utterly detrimental and dangerous at the worst.
We want a theology that makes our life easy now, with Heaven thrown in as a bonus. We want to live as though our reward for our obedience was given now!
Much as was true for the Corinthians, so it is true for too many of the saints in this day.
Paul confronted these saints with their discordant attitude that dishonored the Spirit of Christ when he wrote,
“Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you” [1 CORINTHIANS 4:8]!
They seemingly held the attitude that being a Christian was all about fulfilling their desires. Perhaps they saw Jesus Christ as some sort of genie in a bottle. Certainly, that attitude is not unheard of among professed saints in this day.
Paul concludes the passage that serves as our devotional text today by observing of those who rely on narratives,
“Their condemnation is just” [Romans 3:8b].
That is significantly more than a dismissive remark, it is an acknowledgement that God holds us accountable for what we teach by His word and by our lives.
When we distort the Word of God, whatever the reason, we place ourselves in conflict with the Lord who is holy.
Should we turn others away from pursuing righteousness, we must answer God.
If we fail to receive the grace that He offers, we will have ensured that our soul is in eternal danger.
There is no recovery from the disaster of presumptuous sin.
David pleaded with God,
“Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.”
[Psalm 19:12-13]
The Psalmist realized how easy it is to drift into error, which is bad enough in its own right; however, he truly feared presuming against the LORD.
To act in such a manner is to exalt oneself against God; and there is scant chance that one can recover from such sin.
Do you recall the pronouncement against Saul that Samuel voiced when the king had spared the life of Agag, king of Amalek?
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.”
[1 Samuel 15:22-23a]
That is a frightful thought.
A choice that fails to consider the will of the Lord, a choice which exalts our own self-interest above the will of the Savior, means we’ve all positioned ourselves as inviting divine judgement.
The Apostle Paul wrote of his fear that after preaching to others, he himself could be disqualified [see 1 CORINTHIANS 9:27].
I confess that I have the same fear.
I constantly check what I am writing, investing time in prayer as I seek God’s guidance.
I do not want to lapse into delivering narratives. Rather, my concern is that together we may know the truth and thus honor the Lord who redeems us.
I struggle for the redeemed to walk in holiness, to pursue a life that honors the Lord. I am convinced that God redeems us, giving us eternal life.
We cannot be cast away when we sin, but we can dishonor Him.
We can lose rewards and cease to be effective in our service to His cause.
Few thoughts distress me more than the thought that I may act in a manner that dishonors the Lord who redeems me.
Therefore, I seek what pleases Him.
I want to know what His will is and how I can glorify Him.
And that is what I want for His holy people.
I want you to walk in holiness, to learn to choose and speak wisely how to respond to the challenges of life.
Paul voiced his concern for the saints in Corinth, just as I have concerns for you, for your walk with the Master.
The Apostle revealed his heart when he wrote these saints,
“I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” [2 Corinthians 11:2-3].
I want you, for whom Christ gave me charge, to walk in purity before the Lord, to avoid adopting your own narratives, choosing rather to pursue truth through knowledge of the Word and through talking and walking with the Risen Savior.
My desire is to so live that I need not be ashamed and so that you will not be ashamed of me. Above all, I want to honors Christ the Lord by a holy life.
To the lost, this is the call of God: “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” [Acts 16:31].
Here is life.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [Romans 10:9-10].
Salvation is this simple:
“Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:13].
Here is life, if you are willing to receive it.
In Christ, you will find hope and the forgiveness of sin.
Do this now. Believe Him and be saved. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Father, my Guide and Guardian, illuminate my mind so I can understand how you want me to live. Your word tells me that people of integrity who follow your instructions are joyful. You have said that those who obey your laws and search for you with all their hearts are blessed and happy. I want that joy! Holy Spirit, please guard me against allowing evil to influence what I believe and do. Help me walk only in your paths. May my actions consistently reflect what you have said is right and good. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
It is so endearing at times to see little children in a big supermarket or shopping mall. They come in crying with mom or dad, but as soon as they see something interesting—toys, candies, pets, or anything else that moves—their moods are in change mode, they go their own way and forget everything else around them.
And then at some point, suddenly, they look up and look around and realize that their mom or dad are not there anymore. They look mystified, turn around, first carefully walking, then running and checking out places. and then when they cannot find their parents, they start shouting, crying, “Mommy!!! Daddy!!!”
And when even that doesn’t help, you see their faces change from hope to fear and then to a sense of rejection. They think that they will never see mommy or daddy again. The result is a heart-rending crying that won’t stop until their parents have found them, or someone from the store comes to comfort them.
Eventually, there will be a message over the store’s call system asking the mom and dad to return to the customer service area – “that someone very special is waiting for them there.”
Mom and Dad are also likewise in a high state of fear because they cannot find their child. Of course, we know they would not ever reject their child just like that – the child not rejecting mom and dad, “wanders off” after some candy!
Eventually, Mom and Dad and Child are re-united, and everything is all “hugs and kisses, smiles and “don’t worry (_____), Mommy and Daddy love You!”
All is as it should be! The store is happy! Family is back together again!
And life in the “big city” “small town” neighborhood can go on as before.
All is bliss and blessed ……
The Good News is Mommy and Daddy did not reject their child after all.
Perhaps the Better News is their child did not reject their Mommy and Daddy when they were reunited.
Parents will give the best years of their lives to their children.
They give whatever they can, sacrifice their time, their strength, their resources—everything—in order to give all of their children all the best possible in life.
But then, when they in turn start being in need of their children, they may just find a stunning lack of gratitude, a stunning lack of a “return” commitment.
They are just expected to understand that the children have a life of their own.
They need their privacy. They need time and energy to develop their careers. They now have children of their own that take up so many of their resources.
And the parents try to understand, I am sure.
They explain to others with an air of pride how their kids are so busy, because they have such a responsible job and are taking so good care of their own kids.
But deep down inside, there may just be the maturing, searing pain of rejection, too great and too deep to describe, too shameful to freely share with any others.
It is certainly not true in all families –
But it is true is many families and too often goes un-noticed – except by God.
but here also lies an injustice – the rejection of our God, who is our Father!
We can call ourselves Christians, go to church, give our tithes, etc. and yet have rejected God effectively.
The picture God’s Prophet Jeremiah gives of life in Judah comes close to our life in the Christian West, with several gods competing for our loyalty.
Jeremiah 7:16-26Amplified Bible
16 “Therefore, do not pray for this people [of Judah] or lift up a cry or entreaty for them or make intercession to Me, for I do not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the [a]queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods that they may offend and provoke Me to anger. 19 Do they offend and provoke Me to anger?” says the Lord. “Is it not themselves [they offend], to their own shame?” 20 Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and [the fire will] not be quenched.”
21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. 22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. 23 But this thing I did command them: ‘Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, so that it may be well with you.’ 24 But they did not obey Me or bend their ear [to hear Me], but followed the counsels and the stubbornness of their [own] evil heart (mind), and [they turned and] went backward instead of forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have [persistently] sent you all My servants the prophets, sending them daily, early [and late]. 26 Yet they did not listen to Me and obey Me or bend their ear [to hear Me] but stiffened their neck; they did more evil and behaved worse than their fathers.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
God is like a rejected parent.
Jeremiah 7 reveals to our souls the “anger” which “burns inside” a God who has been repeatedly rejected by his people—their Father in heaven whose children have repeatedly let him down, repeatedly turned their backs on him.
There are some seriously dramatic words in Jeremiah 7—even shocking—when God speaks to Jeremiah:
“Don’t pray for this people! Don’t offer any plea or petition for them! Don’t plead with me, for I will not listen!”
Wow! That’s tough language, isn’t it? Jeremiah is told that he is no longer allowed to pray for the people of God. And if he does, God will simply put his fingers in his ears, so to say, and make sure he does not hear a single word.
Have you ever seen parents doing that to their children? I have.
My father did that to me several times – he just turned off his hearing aids. If I tried to carry on our conversation or our arguments – he reached up to his ears and he simply, one by one, removed both of his hearing aids from his ears.
Again, we need not go further than the supermarket to see it happening all the time. Kids find their way to the candy department and start begging for candies.
Mom and dad will answer with a firm “no”.
“Today is not candy day. Some other time.”
But kids are not good at taking “no” for an answer.
So, they keep on asking, they insist, they become stubborn and impossible to handle. Everyone is now at a place where they all need to have “their space!”
And that is where many parents lose their patience.
It doesn’t mean that they stop loving their kids.
It doesn’t mean that they stop caring for them.
It doesn’t mean that they don’t want to give their very best to their children.
It only means at that point they come to the conclusion that their kids now need a firm foundational teaching on the need to hear, listen, respect their parents.
They need to understand that sometimes “no” really, truly, fully means “no”. They need to “straighten up,” obey their parents and accept their authority.
Jeremiah lived in a time when the people of Israel had turned away from God.
They did not think of him any longer as “the” God of Israel. At best, he was “a” god—one among a lot of colleagues and competitors.
For Israel, God’s law and parental authority had become “highly negotiable.”
People felt they were no longer dependent on him.
After all, they could always turn to other gods who were more amendable, more apt to condescend, to compromise, simply adjust to their needs and demands.
Look, for example, at how Jeremiah 7 describes life in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem:
(Verse 18) “The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger.”
What we see here is this: The people of Judah had broken faith with God.
They had committed spiritual adultery with other gods, which they had adopted from the cultures around them.
They still went to the temple to bring petty sacrifices.
They had a little time set apart for God. But it was not quality time. Their offerings did not come from the heart. They were just a routine ritual.
They thought by going through the motions of ritual, they could make God happy; They could make God believe they still loved and respected him.
But when the duties in the temple were done with, the families gathered together for quality time—a sort of barbeque party, you could say.
The kids went to pick twigs and branches for the fire. Dad lit the fire—after all, that was the man’s job. And mom was in the kitchen baking delicacies.
The cakes she made had the form of a woman.
It was the goddess Asherah, the “Queen of Heaven”.
You may have read that after the reign of king Solomon, the Jewish nation had been divided into a northern kingdom, Israel, and a southern kingdom, Judah.
By the time that God called Jeremiah, the northern kingdom of Israel had already ceased to exist.
Almost a century earlier, the Assyrian army had come and conquered the nation.
Many of the people had been killed or taken into exile, and groups of Assyrians came and settled in Samaria.
That should have been a clear warning sign for Judah in the south.
But everything shows that Judah had not learned its lesson. How come?
Why was it so hard for the Jews to stay faithful to the God who—as they firmly believed—had led them out of slavery in Egypt, given them the Promised Land?
Why did they ever so eagerly embrace other gods—the Queen of Heaven, the Assyrian goddess of the family; or Mammon, the Aramaic god of wealth and trade; or Baal, the Canaanite god of agriculture?
Why did they reject their own God Yahweh, the Creator of heaven and earth?
When I look at the life of Israel, from the moment they left Egypt to the time of Jeremiah and even beyond, I can come up with two answers.
First, their God was “too limited.”
And second, he was “too demanding.”
Let me try to spell that out for you.
Throughout the history of Israel, God appears as a very patriarchal God.
He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not the God of Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel. He was the God of Moses and Aaron, not the God of Miriam.
The creation story depicts God as inherently both male and female.
But in the history and tradition of his people, he seemed to communicate primarily from man to man, and take sides with the men.
He assigned all worship duties to male Levites and priests.
God seemed to endorse a strongly patriarchal society, where women were owned by their father or husband.
In the law he gave to Moses, women were given lesser rights than the men, even though, we must admit, in Israel women were treated with far, far more respect and equality than anywhere else in the Middle East.
But of course, they did not know, nor would they ever come to acknowledge it.
At times, God threatened to abandon his people in the desert.
At other times he threatened to wipe them from the face of the earth altogether.
He was distant.
They couldn’t see him; He would not allow to have pictures or statues made of him.
They couldn’t hear him, because he would only “speak through his prophets.”
To make things worse, he put a lot of demands on the people.
I don’t mean the ritual worship and sacrifices.
I mean the demands for moral integrity, for love and respect for one another and even for the foreigners living among them or traveling through their land.
God demanded that they take care of the needy, especially the widows and orphans, since there were no institutional social services.
God demanded at regular intervals debts were cancelled and slaves set free.
In short: God demanded the highest form of personal integrity and social justice.
But for those in power—the kings and tribal chiefs, the landowners and those who had made a fortune in trade—these demands were appalling.
The idea one day out of seven they were not allowed to do business or make their slaves and hired hands work on the land felt like a terrible waste of time and resources.
No wonder, then, that the people grew tired of God.
No wonder, then, that they looked for alternatives.
There was an obvious demand for a woman god—a goddess—who was more empathetic, easier to approach, and closer to the life of the family—a goddess with whom particularly the women could identify.
There was an obvious demand for a god who blessed business and trade and allowed a great measure of moral freedom, as long as you made money.
I believe in that respect our time is not so different from the time of Jeremiah.
Our Christian Church is not so far removed from the Jewish nation in Jeremiah’s time.
In the west, New Age spirituality has mixed with the faith of many Christians.
People go shopping, as it were, to fill their religious shopping cart with a nice religious mix that they feel good about.
These are the obvious forms of idolatry—the obvious ways in which God is being rejected as the one and only true God.
But there are also less obvious parallels between Jeremiah’s time and ours.
Every Christian knows the Great Commandment:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.”
But how many of us are really serious about this?
Oh, I know, it is easy to come to worship on Sunday and sing or pray: “Oh, Lord God! How Great thou Art! How I love you! Oh Lord Jesus! or How I adore you!”
But when it comes down to all the choices and decisions we make Monday through Saturday, to the way we deal with our family and friends,
with the people at school or at work, in the bus or the metro; with the beggars in the streets or the customers on the phone
… can everybody see that our lives are maybe not so much actually, genuinely driven by steadfast, immovable commitments to the Great Commandment?
Look at the way you spend your time and your money.
Look at the friends you choose and the friendships you neglect.
Look at your priorities. Listen to your words when you are angry or excited.
What do these tell you, others about your love for God and for your neighbor and for yourself? That is a question we should all ask ourselves—every day!
I see yet another parallel in the way we respect or disrespect the authority of God in our lives.
The simple truth is that God’s won’t necessarily always coincide with ours.
More often than not there seems to be a conflict of interests between God and us.
Just like the little kid in the supermarket, who is determined that she must have an ice cream right now.
To her great disappointment, she may find that her parents have a very different, and most disagreeable view on the matter.
God speaks with authority through the Bible, which we often call the Word of God. Luther called the Bible the supreme authority in matters of faith and living. That does not mean that everything we read in the Bible is normative.
Not everything that is normative is unambiguous and self-explanatory.
Not everything that is unambiguous and self-explanatory is independent of time, place or culture.
But it doesn’t really matter.
Isaiah 6:8-12Amplified Bible
Isaiah’s Commission
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on listening, but do not understand; Keep on looking, but do not comprehend.’ 10 “Make the heart of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered,
“Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, And houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, 12 The Lord has removed [His] people far away, And there are many deserted places in the midst of the land.
The question is: when we recognize God speaking to us through the Bible, do we try to “genuinely” hear Him, “actually” listen to Him, to respect his authority?
Is it our heart’s desire and our will’s determination to seek to obey him?
Or are we selective in applying only what we are comfortable with and what we feel good about?
Think of the events in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3.
Adam and Eve heard God loud and clear: “Don’t eat from that tree.”
But they chose to ignore him and disobey what they knew was God’s command.
First, there was doubt creeping in: “Did God really say that?”
Then, there was distortion of God’s command: “He said we cannot touch the tree.”
It all stems from a hugely distorted image of God as a stern and bossy and unreasonable God who wants to make our lives miserable by denying us the good side of life, and who demands the impossible from us day and night.
As individual believers, and as the Body of Christ—the Church in God’s own neighborhood, and, if possible, as a society built upon the foundation of the Christian faith and tradition—we should take God’s authority seriously.
We should pay heed to his voice crying out in a broken world against social injustice, various forms of abuse and exploitation, discrimination and racism.
And it is not enough that we just refrain from going along with them.
As Christians, we should echo that voice and obey it.
We should encourage one another to live our lives the way God meant our lives to be (Philippians 2:1-4).
And perhaps, the best way to do so is to be imitators of Christ: to love like he loved, to care like he cared, to heal like he healed, and to sacrifice ourselves for others the way he sacrificed his life for us. (Ephesians 5:1-2, 1 John 4:7-21)
We can call ourselves Christians, go to church, give our tithes, etc. and yet have rejected God effectively. The picture Jeremiah gives of life in Judah comes close to life in the Christian West, with several “gods” competing for our loyalty.
Psalm 2:1-3Amplified Bible
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.
2 Why are the [a]nations in an [b]uproar [in turmoil against God], And why do the people devise a vain and hopeless plot? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand; And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and His Anointed (the Davidic King, the Messiah, the Christ), saying, 3 “Let us break apart their [divine] bands [of restraint] And cast away their cords [of control] from us.”
Three Consequences of Rejecting God’s Authority
If you’ve ever been on a road trip with a toddler, you’ve probably experienced the struggle of trying to keep them buckled in their car seat for hours on end.
They don’t have the necessary maturity to understand that the restraints are keeping them safe, and that ultimately, you love them and know what is best.
So it is with mankind and their Maker.
From the beginning of creation until now, people have tried to cast off every restraint placed on them by the loving hand of God.
Not willing to yield to the perfect will of the Father, nations have rejected God’s authority again and again.
Though the Lord remains faithful, He also maintains justice, and there are consequences to rejecting His authority. Here are 3 of them listed in the Bible:
1. They get what they ask for.
They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul. Psalm 106:13-15 NKJV
Nations that disregard God’s counsel in favor of their own lusts eventually get what they ask for. Sadly, though their flesh is satisfied, their soul is parched like a dry and thirsty land with no water.
Let us come to the Fountain of Living Water—to the well that never runs dry—and drink to the full of God’s goodness and mercy! (John 4:10)
2. They suffer unnecessarily.
Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will ascend like dust; because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 5:24
The horrendous aftermath of a wildfire may be an accurate word picture of the consequences that a nation without God will suffer. Consumed by their own falsehoods, those who reject the Word of the Lord will suffer unnecessarily.
However! The Lord is faithful and just to forgive. (1 John 1:9)
He longs for us to return to Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
He longs to cover us with His mighty hand and be our Protector.
Let us repent and humble our hearts before Him that He might come and heal our land! (2 Chronicles 7:14)
3. They are left to their own devices.
Of the Rock of Ages who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you. (Psalm 139:13-18, 23 and 24)
And when the Lord saw it, He spurned them, because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters.
And He said:
‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith. Deuteronomy 32:18-20 NKJV
Rejection of the Lord’s sovereignty and provision only leads to a desolate ending.
Without faith in the One who made us, we are empty, lacking, and ultimately left to our own devices.
Let us turn back to our Rock and remember our Maker.
Just like the father, who was waiting at the window for the return of his prodigal son, so the Lord is waiting for us to return to Him!
“In an acceptable time, I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2 NKJV
Psalm 34:8-11Amplified Bible
8 O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good; How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who takes refuge in Him. 9 O [reverently] fear the Lord, you His saints (believers, holy ones); For to those who fear Him there is no want. 10 The young lions lack [food] and grow hungry, But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. 11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you to fear the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience].
Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
The Hebrew word for “fear” in this expression refers to a loving reverence and awe of God, coupled with our own actual and genuine willingness to obey him, knowing that he always wants what is best for us.
Our relationship with the Lord is built not on terror but on appropriate respect and awe for our Father.
A healthy respect and understanding of God as loving Creator, faithful Lord, and righteous Judge is the foundation of wisdom. (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7.)
People who lack reverence for God are like children who do not honor their parents.
They throw a tantrum to try to manipulate God into giving them what they want.
When that fails, they storm off defiantly to do their own thing, ignoring the wisdom and authority of their Father God.
Of course, we are all inclined toward such childish rebellion.
On the cross Jesus paid for our sin of dishonoring God.
And when we accept the gift of his death for our sin, we enter into a new and intimate relationship with ABBA, the Father.
But God is not our pal. He cannot be outsmarted, used, or tricked.
God is the Creator of the universe, infinite, eternal, and all knowing.
The very essence of his being, though, is love (1 John 4:8).
Are you growing to know your loving Father?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
ABBA, Father, teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your Holy Spirit lead me on level ground. I see your faithfulness and goodness in what you have done for me throughout my life. I think about these things, and I thirst for you. Let me hear of your unfailing love every morning, for I am learning how to listen, learning the blessings of trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Keep me on firm footing for the glory of your name. Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 