"Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger. He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despisesth his ways shall die. He that hath pity upon the poor length unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. Chasten thy son while there is hope and let not thy soul spare for his crying." Proverbs 19:15-18
Each of these words come from verses 15-18, and therefore, I feel they are connected. Initially my mind wanted to speak only to the first verse on slothfulness, but rather I believe I will attempt to connect cohesive thought from each in its turn.
The world is slothful. We are all in a deep sleep. We have hunger, but are 'eating' the wrong food. Our hunger is to be for God and His word, not the satisfactions of this world. We have a purpose. It is easy now to let purpose go by the wayside as we indulge in the desires of this world. I am as guilty as the rest. I am bombarded with desire to watch television or movies rather than studying the Word. When I begin to study, I am given to slothfulness and desire sleep, though my soul longs to learn and gain wisdom. What shall I do?
I would that I could keep all the commandments, but as mentioned before, it is not in our nature to fulfill all God's laws. We needed Christ's death to cover us for that reason. There is none righteous, no not one. Our hearts and minds are continually on evil. The last time this happened, the flood was brought about. Yet Noah, being righteous was saved by the LORD. By that same token, those of us professing faith in Christ must show that we would have a righteous lifestyle.
He that pitieth the poor is lending to the LORD. I like how that is put. How often I have passed the homeless in Austin without a care as to their circumstances. I often have nothing to offer, nothing to give, and even if I did, there are so many to help. Then my human mind wonders if they are legitimate or rather just trying to earn a buck by faking it. I shouldn't wonder these things. God knows what is given, and regardless of what they do with it, it is the gesture, the sacrifice that is important.
Chasten thy son while there is hope. We must all be chastened in our lives. It is for the better, though at times it may seem God has forgotten us. Just as a parent must teach their children what is right, so too God must show his children the righteous path. We learn and grow through our trials. We are not to give up. Granted, I have been blessed to have not gone through much so far, but as with everyone, there will always come a time of testing, of trial. My most recent was with my previous job. I had to maintain and tough it out until God was ready to offer me my current, much better position. I did not know just how mean people could be until working there. I always saw the good in people. In many ways I still do, but I am also aware that not everyone is working for good. We must always be aware that as Christians, we will become hated by the world. It has not seemed obvious the past century or so as technology has advanced and standard of living have increased, at least for those of us in the U.S.
If you tune into the media now, it is clear the secular world would have all elements of Christianity taken out of the public eye. Christ said we would be hated by the world. I pray that it is not within my lifetime that U.S. Christians face persecution.
As we become 'tolerant' to people of all faiths and beliefs, we are loving one another (which is good), but we are also letting in false beliefs. We are being molded by the world instead of demonstrating to them what is right. We compromise our beliefs based on being politically correct. Christ was not politically correct. Those who see him as a 'good moral teacher' and nothing else, are mistaken. He was much more. He was the savior of the world. He is the savior. He called it like it was. Those not bearing fruit, will be cast out. Christianity condemns many things the world would make peace with. Homosexuality, lying, drunkenness, fornication, murder, etc... We are to love our neighbor as ourself; even Christ made company with prostitutes and tax collectors. We are not to compromise the integrity of the Word of God. Sin is sin no matter how we sugar coat it. I have my sins to struggle with, just as everyone else. It is all equal in God's eye. We make our choices. We may be predispositioned towards certain behaviors or lifestyles, but we still can choose to follow God's word and Christ's teaching. Your sin is not less than mine, and mine not less than yours. We ALL need forgiveness. It is a free gift, not based on works. It doesn't matter how much I try to change the world, without Christ to cover my sin nature, it is all for not. Sure it is helpful, and recognized, but there can be presence with God only through Christ our mediator.
I have been told I am brainwashed. Raised so that I am predispositioned towards faith in Christ. "It is easy for you," they say. "What about those who do not have the luxury of being raised in the church?" I refer you to Romans Chapter 1.
"For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." Romans 1:20
How many of you do now know who Christ is? None is my guess since by virtue of reading this far on the post, or any of the previous posts you have that knowledge, or at least a knowledge that you need someone to cover your sin. Sorry for throwing that on you, but just like myself, you are now without excuse.
I don't mean to seem harsh. I prayed hard before this post my words would flow from God and not be my own. I am not thinking, but writing. If I am wrong, then it is a post by Chris, easy to ignore. If you are convicted by this, hopefully my prayer was answered, and the Holy Spirit is telling you something. I am not particularly blessed for witness. I have a horrible time trying to argue semantics with secular society.
When writing, I can let my words flow. I do not have to answer to any man, but only to God. I will be kind to my neighbors. I will not judge you for your beliefs, though I would encourage you to seek God's will for your life, not your own will.
I am at a crossroads. I know there is a purpose for me. I have been blessed with musical talent, and hopefully God will use that for the betterment of His kingdom. But perhaps there is more to it than that. I have a strong desire that all would come to Christ. This is a new desire, only manifested in the past 3 years or so. More so at certain times than others. Hopefully that is going to change. I want to have wisdom and understanding. I want to do God's will in my life, whatever it may be. The world says it's bologna, that I am wasting my time. Family will read this and think i've lost my mind. Friends may turn away. I implore you to take this seriously. If not today, then when.
I will relapse. I will watch television and movies. I will be slothful. I do not want it that way, but I am fallen and at times am a product of my circumstance. I will do my best to be a better Christian. To lead by example, so that everyone I love and care for, will realize the same truths.
The world is not getting any more pleasant. The hope for peace on earth is not going to happen until Christ returns in final victory. Choose your side now. Maybe God wants you to help people on the other side of the world, but is just waiting for your answer> Maybe you have another talent that you hide from others, and deep down you know that you are meant for something more. How wonderful it would be for Christianity to see a revival in this trying time. The world is against us verbally. Thank God not physically, at least in our country.
Christians take a stand. Call sin what is is, but love the sinner and comfort them. If they are like me, they desire deep down that they do not do the things they do. Sometimes they need someone to step in and help. Maybe that's you...
God is calling...will you answer?
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