ALL – Psalm 68:1-18
ALL – Proverbs 11:28
OT – Deuteronomy 4:1-49
NT – Luke 6:39-7:10
I find that adults really haven’t grown up all that much. Not just a few of us. All of us.
Think about it. Watch some kids. See what happens when someone—anyone—tries to confront them about doing something wrong.
“I didn’t do it.”
“Michael did it.”
“Emma did it”
Or, if they’re at least willing to admit that they hit, or screamed at, or pulled another kid’s hair: “Emma made me.” “Michael made me.” “It wasn’t my fault.”
Adults do the same thing. We still seek to justify ourselves. We either seek to deny that we did anything wrong, or if we did something wrong, we STILL try to show people that it wasn’t our fault, that we have good hearts. Something happened, and we had to make the best of a bad situation. Someone else made us angry, and we responded wrongly. She seduced us and led us into adultery. We couldn’t help it!
It’s always someone else’s fault, someone else’s responsibility, someone else’s problem. Even if we admit our sin, in some way someone else’s sin or some outside situation is the real problem. Not us. Not our hearts. Not our choices.
Jesus puts that myth to rest:
A good man produces good deeds from a good heart. And an evil man produces evil deeds from his hidden wickedness. Whatever is in the heart overflows into speech. – Luke 6:45, The Living Bible
Whatever is in the heart overflows. Into speech, yes, but into deeds, too. This verse talks about both. Our hearts are the real problem. Yes, we may face terrible circumstances. We may even face terrible opponents. But the way we respond to them is not their decision. It’s ours. And the choice we make is, in each circumstance, the choice we most wanted to make. Of course we wouldn’t have chosen to commit our particular sin in a more comfortable setting! But in a painful, frustrating, or even scary setting, we acted the way we most wanted to act. And it revealed our hearts.
God is God not just when times are good. But when they’re bad. Do you think He gave us His Word to guide us only through the easy times of life? Of course not! As much as we need His guidance during the easy days, it’s the tough days where we really have to lean on His wisdom, His grace, His faithfulness, His righteousness. It’s the tough days—and the tough people—who help to reveal our hearts. But it’s not their fault our hearts are the way they are.
Let’s ask God to help us confess our sins, confess our wrong thoughts, confess our wrong desires, and confess our need for Him.
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Showing posts with label responsibility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label responsibility. Show all posts
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
A Servant Who’s Not Serving
ALL – Psalm 31:1-8
ALL – Proverbs 8:1-11
OT – Exodus 26:1-27:21
NT – Matthew 25:1-30
You remember that line from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast song, “Be Our Guest”? “Life is so unnerving for a servant who’s not serving…” It’s a good line, except that Lumiere painted poor Cogsworth as the unfaithful servant, when he was actually the one seeking to obey their master, the Beast. Servants are not just meant to serve everyone; they’re supposed to serve their own masters.
Jesus told a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven in which a man went away to another country, leaving three servants and giving each of them some money to invest for him while he was away. Now this was a really good master. He knew his servants well, and he did not give any of them more than they could handle.
Two of the servants did as their master told them. They invested the money and gained a return. They served him. For their faithful service, the master rewarded each of them with greater privileges and responsibilities.
But one of them did not obey. He did not invest the money at all, not even in an interest-paying bank account. He was too scared about what his master might think or do (Matthew 25:24-25).
The NIV concludes, “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him” (Matthew 25:29).
This verse seems confusing. All three servants still had money to give to their master, even if the third one had only the original money. What does a person need to “have” to be given more? What is it that will make a person lose everything if he “doesn’t have” it?
The answer isn’t “money,” though you might possibly argue that at least “a gain” is necessary. But how do you measure gain in the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of Heaven? Not with money!
What did the first two servants have that the third servant didn’t have? They had faithful, responsible service. The monetary gain simply showed that they had been hard at work, serving as their master commanded them to do. Servants are meant to serve. And since this parable says that the master gave each servant a task that fit his abilities, we can assume that faithful service to our King Jesus will result in the kind of gain He desires. Jesus knows our capabilities and entrusts us with service we can do. It’s not up to us to compare our abilities to others. It’s not up to us to worry about whether our service will give Jesus the return He’s looking for. It’s up to us to serve. If we don’t…?
For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more, and he shall have an abundance. But from the man who is unfaithful, even what little responsibility he has shall be taken from him. – Matthew 25:29, The Living Bible
Jesus’ faithful servants receive a reward. Servants who don’t serve lose everything. What’s holding you back?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 8:1-11
OT – Exodus 26:1-27:21
NT – Matthew 25:1-30
You remember that line from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast song, “Be Our Guest”? “Life is so unnerving for a servant who’s not serving…” It’s a good line, except that Lumiere painted poor Cogsworth as the unfaithful servant, when he was actually the one seeking to obey their master, the Beast. Servants are not just meant to serve everyone; they’re supposed to serve their own masters.
Jesus told a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven in which a man went away to another country, leaving three servants and giving each of them some money to invest for him while he was away. Now this was a really good master. He knew his servants well, and he did not give any of them more than they could handle.
Two of the servants did as their master told them. They invested the money and gained a return. They served him. For their faithful service, the master rewarded each of them with greater privileges and responsibilities.
But one of them did not obey. He did not invest the money at all, not even in an interest-paying bank account. He was too scared about what his master might think or do (Matthew 25:24-25).
The NIV concludes, “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him” (Matthew 25:29).
This verse seems confusing. All three servants still had money to give to their master, even if the third one had only the original money. What does a person need to “have” to be given more? What is it that will make a person lose everything if he “doesn’t have” it?
The answer isn’t “money,” though you might possibly argue that at least “a gain” is necessary. But how do you measure gain in the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of Heaven? Not with money!
What did the first two servants have that the third servant didn’t have? They had faithful, responsible service. The monetary gain simply showed that they had been hard at work, serving as their master commanded them to do. Servants are meant to serve. And since this parable says that the master gave each servant a task that fit his abilities, we can assume that faithful service to our King Jesus will result in the kind of gain He desires. Jesus knows our capabilities and entrusts us with service we can do. It’s not up to us to compare our abilities to others. It’s not up to us to worry about whether our service will give Jesus the return He’s looking for. It’s up to us to serve. If we don’t…?
For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more, and he shall have an abundance. But from the man who is unfaithful, even what little responsibility he has shall be taken from him. – Matthew 25:29, The Living Bible
Jesus’ faithful servants receive a reward. Servants who don’t serve lose everything. What’s holding you back?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
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