Tested in the little things

Even though not a favorite color combination, I tend to be a black and white person. For me, something is either right or wrong, good or bad. I cannot wear gray and seldom see issues in shades of gray, that is, partly right or right some of the time. The worst of this is that I can make snap judgments without enough information. However, when making strong either/or decisions, I’m in good company. Jesus did it fairly often and even tells me to obey Him in black and white terms.

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Luke 16:10–13)

Like “partly pregnant” there is no such thing as partial obedience. God wants me to obey Him from the heart and with all possible effort. He wants me to obey in the little things (or what seems like little things to me) and the bigger issues of life. I’m to be as respectful to a telemarketer as I am to my in-laws, as careful with the pennies as I am with the dollars. Taking care of something I rent is as important as taking care of something that I own. My hotel room is to be given the same respect and attention as my home.

These commands from Jesus are about telling the truth too. I cannot please Him with fibs or white lies, for He knows that a heart willing to compromise on the smallest issue will eventually betray truth on more important matters. Since Satan is called a liar and the father of lies, I don’t want to be in the same camp or even on the fringes. Since Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), I want to stand with Him in that place and be part of what He is, faithfully representing Him.

Actually, this is what being a Christian is about. He lives in me and by obeying Him, I allow others to see what He is like. If I’m doing it from the heart and with all that is in me, then I’m not particularly conscious of myself or what is happening except that I’m devoted to Him and do not care about covering, misrepresenting, or protecting myself with lies. I will not care about wealth for I know that all things are His and He will take care of my needs. I will be faithful with everything, knowing that I am a steward not an owner and every man’s goods really belong to God. In other words, I will not hide the reality of Jesus Christ by my selfishness or self-centered concerns.

Obedience is about loving God. My devotion to Him is not measured by my piety, the way I worship, church attendance, or mere talk. It is always measured by how I respond to His commands.

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During a vacation, most issues seem like little things and it is easy to fall into a “so what” attitude, thinking not much matters because, after all, we are on vacation. However, You remind me that this also is a test. Will I be faithful even when it seems things do not matter or are not very important? Lord, help me to be alert and filled with Your Spirit, even to remain black and white about thing kind of behavior and attitudes You want from me, whether I’m sitting beside the pool or doing something more significant.

Priorities and to-do lists

While having money is not a sin, loving it and loving all it can buy is not God’s idea. Like everything else that God gives, money is His property, not mine. In fact, I am not an owner but a steward. How can a steward use her Master’s property for herself?

Not only that, throughout the Bible God warns against greed and selfishness. He tells His people that their lives will not prosper if they get their priorities backwards. This means that if I am going to live for Him, I need to consider what He has to say about money and ownership and having stuff.

I also need to consider my priorities. What is most important in God’s mind? Do I fritter away my hours doing what pleases me? Doing what has no bearing on His kingdom? Or has He other plans?

For instance, back in 525 BC or thereabouts, He wanted His temple rebuilt. Instead of getting on that, God’s people were building “paneled houses” for themselves. God said to them:

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors. (Haggai 1:7–11)

This short passage tells me a great deal about God’s priorities. His house was more important than their houses. He was pleased with this place of worship and that He was glorified in that place. Their obedience to rebuild it was more important than their personal homes and personal success. While it was not wrong that they had nice houses, it was sin to leave their place of worship in ruins while they furthered their own desires.

Today, God’s dwelling place is not in a building, but in each of His people. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Construction of this temple means giving full attention to spiritual growth and Christian maturity. This comes first, above any other kind of success. God is more concerned that I am a godly person who lives in obedience to Him than I sell books, make beautiful art, or become successful in the eyes of the world in any other endeavor. He also wants me to be pure, keep myself from sin, and not allow spiritual ruin of any kind. When I, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” He promises that, “all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Also, Christians collectively are the temple of God. Ephesians 2:21–22 says that in Christ, “the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

This means that the people of God and our collective spiritual health is more important than my personal well-being. I am to live like Jesus lived by putting others first and giving attention to the spiritual health of the Body of Christ. This means I am to, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than (myself), looking not only to (my) own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3–4)

As I read these verses and compare them to my to-do list, I can usually see what needs to happen first, yet there are also verses that tell me to take care of my home and family. For instance, 

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. (Titus 2:3–5)

Even as these verses are about mentoring others, they are also about my own obedience toward home and family responsibilities. I am to work at home and care for my family, in love and yielded to the will of God. For me, this is primary. I can easily get caught up in all sorts of other things and not bother with the boring, like cleaning bathrooms and weeding the garden.

Every day brings choices. Every day God encourages me to put Him first, talk to Him first, not only first in the morning but before all choices, even before doing those other things that are clearly His will. I need His advice, strength, encouragement and guidance. After all, I am a steward, and stewards are custodians. In all things, the Master has the final say.

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Father, people say Your Word is an old book and not relevant these days. They have no idea how much You help Your people with decisions and daily choices. I want my life to have significance, yet realize how much the world’s way of measuring success is flawed and self-centered. Eternal significance is achieved only by doing Your will, from the heart. My actions may be flawed and often seem insignificant, but if done in obedience, then faith tells me that You will give them lasting value.

Leaving my nets. . . .

Some verses in the Bible are easy to read over without much thought. I’d have done that today with the verse Spurgeon highlights. I’d have even skipped his thoughts on it, for they didn’t make much sense to me and didn’t seem related directly to the verse. However, I read something else before reading this, and in that context, this verse speaks loudly . . . 

And immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Mark 1:18)

Imagine what this meant to men who made their living with their fishing nets. Jesus walked along the shoreline where they worked. Obviously they knew something about Him, but not a great deal. He called and invited them to become fishers of men.

Perhaps His charisma intrigued them. Perhaps they were tired of their fishing routine. Perhaps they wanted adventure. Yet there is something about the word of Jesus. When He says something, the deepest part of the human heart becomes engaged. When He says “Follow Me” who can resist?

Before reading this verse, I was challenged by a Bible study book called Walk of Repentance that asked me to read Acts 4:32–5:16 and think about how the selfless generosity of the early Christians contributed to an atmosphere of mutual support in the Church. The very first verse is familiar, yet this time, Jesus spoke directly to my heart.

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. (Acts 4:32)

I began thinking how these early Christians were united in their faith. They believed the same things and realized that all they had came from God. They fully understood that He sovereignly blessed them. Not only that, since they belonged to Him, then all they possessed also belonged to Him. They were merely stewards and not owners, without the attitude of “mine” — so all shared freely as they helped one another. Their mutual sharing from the heart is an ideal that even socialism has never been able to create. It was so ingrained that no one even considered personal ownership. All belonged to all.

I have heard these ideas before, but this time Jesus is saying, “Follow Me” directly concerning my possessions. He asks me to change the way I think about them. I know that it is because of God that I have anything. He wants me to think that If His people need any of it, I have no claim; it belongs to all of us.

Because of this attitude, not one person was needy in the early church. Some were even willing to sell their assets so they could take care of others. It never seemed wise to me to sell assets to pay bills, never mind give the money away, but if I really trust God as my supply and if I really think that temporary things will not last, why hold tight to anything? If I need it, will not God supply it? And the adage is true — I cannot take it with me.

Not only did they sell what they had, they gave the proceeds to their leaders, trusting them to distribute it as needed. They didn't have any intention of controlling where their giving went, but trusted God to give their leaders wisdom in the distribution. It is one thing to trust, another to be trusted. What would it do to my life if someone entrusted all their wealth to me, to give it to the people who needed it the most?

The reading also tells of two people who missed out on this because they gave with the idea of impressing others. While they had the right to keep some of the proceeds from a sale for themselves (none of the giving was forced or coerced), they lied about it so they would look good in the eyes of the church.

It didn't work. They were caught in their deception, rebuked for it, and died because of it. The sin was not in holding back funds, but in lying about it. Openness about motives and actions produces unity. It is also the only route to forgiveness and cleansing from God.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the idea of holding assets that belong to God AND to His people. My possessions are not owned by me but under my stewardship. I trust God with them. Could I trust the leaders of my church with them? Do I really believe that if I give something away and then need it, the Lord can replace it?

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Jesus, You have provided all that I need and then some. Now You give me a challenge concerning where I place my sense of security. This will be in my thoughts today. Help me be like the disciples who simply left their nets and followed You.

Abounding Grace

At the end of Isaiah 40, You tell Your people that You never get tired. Because You are their resource, those who wait on You will renew their strength. Then You say to the other nations, 

Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment. (Isaiah 41:1)

In its context, this verse is a challenge to those who do not know You. You are telling them to muster the best that they have and then, with that ‘renewed strength,’ try to plead their case before You.

I’ve heard people say that when they stand before God, they hope that they have done enough good things, or that they have been a good person. They do the best they can to renew themselves. Sometimes their encouragement comes from one another, just as verse six says, “Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, ‘Be strong!’”

That ‘help’ might work for some, or for a little while. However, it sounds to me like, “Don’t worry; be happy” and those are empty words compared to the help and encouragement You give me when I wait on You.

Today provides an excellent example. We discovered Scottsdale Bible Church last year while here on vacation. Before we left home this time, we began a serious process of paring down our possessions. Some of this purging is easy, but I have trouble. I like my books. I like to have them on my shelves, even if I’m not using them. I can toss just about anything else, but not books.

The sermon today was about a Christian attitude toward possessions. The pastor told us that we need to give up ‘possessing’ and see Your reason for giving us what we have. I am a steward, not an owner. He used this passage:

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. (2 Corinthians 9:8–12)

Lord, I am so blessed by the explanation of this text, partly because it hit me where I am, but mostly because it is so clear and true. The pastor said that Your grace supplies all my need. When I acknowledge what I have is from You, then You add contentment and the ability to enjoy it without having to ‘possess’ it. He said, “Do you have to own a rainbow to enjoy it? Do you need a mortgage on the Grand Canyon to deeply enjoy it?”

Of course not. With that illustration, You instantly lifted my sense of needing to own things. I felt as if You poured warm oil on me with this timely encouragement.

The rest of the message pointed how the above verses show that You grant bread for my need, but also ‘seed’ for the needs of others. That is, You take care of my needs, but also give me more so I might use it to take care of others. Abundance is meant to be shared. In this, I will experience renewed righteousness and You will be thanked and praised.

The verses from Isaiah remind me tonight that the challenges of purging and paring down are addressed in all sorts of self-help books filled with tips and ideas. Had we decided to find a book store, we would have missed the sense of renewal that You give when we wait on You.

Also, we spent this afternoon with friends (who do not know You). They told us all about how they left their stuff, but their advice was not even close to the encouragement that You gave.

Had we decided to sleep in on our vacation instead of going to church and waiting on You, we would have missed it too. I’m humbled by Your way of presenting truth right when I need to hear it. You are an awesome God and Your grace abounds to me.

NOTE: The Lord has led me to have daily devotions in the evening. I was scheduling these notes to post the next day, but now He urges me to post in the evening instead. This is why there are two posts with today’s date.