Keep it? or toss it?

Leviticus 19; Psalms 23–24; Ecclesiastes 2; 1 Timothy 4

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. (Leviticus 19:1–2)

What does holy mean? Most would say it is about morality. Some would say it is about being separate from whatever is not holy or pure. These definitions are inadequate. It is better to say that God is unique; there is no other or nothing like Him. From this, He says all that belong exclusively to Him is designated holy, unique.

In the OT descriptions, things like censers, priestly garments and other items are said to be holy, not because they are divine but because they were restricted in their use to God and his purposes, and thus are separate from other uses. When people are said to be holy, this is for the same reason. Holy people are those who belong to God, serve Him and function with respect to His purposes not their own or any other purposes.

R.E. Clements wrote, “Every biblical statement about God carries with it an implied demand upon men to imitate Him in daily living.” This means ethics and theology are tied together because my moral life and all else about my life must rest on the holiness and unchanging nature of God.

Deep thoughts. I am convicted. I just spent precious time trying to delete something off my computer, a big distraction from spending precious time with the Lord. Does holiness mean that my time is set apart for Him and not frittered away in distractions? I’m easily lured from the most important tasks. Procrastination? Eyes off the things of the Lord?

The psalmist had a holy heart. He wrote how God is like a shepherd who satisfies the in adequacies of His sheep, leading them to rest and fulfilment, restoring our depletions and leading me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1–3) Surely, I miss much when, like a sheep, I wander off and become frustrated in my pursuits of things the Shepherd did not want for me.

The writer of Ecclesiastes knew the frustrations too. He wrote:

And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:10–11)

Solomon viewed all his labor with distaste. He hated all his toil and viewed the work of his life with despair because there was no permanence to it or to whatever he accomplished through it. Though what he accomplished and accumulated might survive him, he would have no control over how it would be used after his death. Anyone who inherited it and had not worked for it, and who consequently had no real appreciation for it, might be a fool who would squander it. So Solomon declared toil to be futile or meaningless and the loss of its fruits a great misfortune.

This gets personal, not just about an hour of wasted time but a pile of my work pulled from file drawers. My daughter wanted me to save the work I’ve written over the years into digital format. As I do that, I’m finding scads of teaching material and notes from classes taken. Do I keep those too? Some of it is excellent stuff. I will not use it again, but if I put it online, will anyone use it? Or is that another waste of time and effort? I know the lament of Solomon about the value of past efforts. Keeping it seems like vanity however most of it is the result of obedience to the commands of God.

1 Timothy 4 ends with these words:

Do not neglect the gift you have . . . . Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:14–16)

APPLY: Wasting an hour turns into a bigger issue — this question I have about all the unpublished but well-used material that I don’t know what to do with. I need to be clear, Lord. Do I put it online to freely share? Or do I have a bonfire? I’m still not sure if this is ‘vanity’ or ‘holy’ stuff that belongs to You. I do not want to waste time saving it if You are not telling me to do that. Yet I do not want to discard it if You want it saved and available. Show me what to do.