“Work and Responsibility”
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
Hebrews 6:10-12
As Christians we are supposed to not only love and encourage one another and spread God’s word, we are also to be responsible in every aspect of our lives - the spiritual, financial, social, emotional/mental, and physical areas.
During the time that Paul was addressing the Thessalonians, he recognized that they were becoming complacent, lazy, relying on others for their needs instead of helping themselves by getting a handout from anyone they could (and not relying on God, but man), and were taking on the philosophy of the Greeks that there were some jobs (manual labor jobs) that were ‘beneath’ them and took on the lifestyle of idleness. They wanted the easy road, the road most traveled. They would rather take a handout than do what ever it took to take care of themselves and their families. They would just wait around for the ’right’ job or the one that suited them best according to their personality and status. If they took a manual labor job, they cared about what others would think of them, of their family, and didn’t want to be embarrassed or embarrass their families by taking a job like that.
Does this sound familiar? It should, since most people in our society have adopted the same lifestyle. They want to rely on others charity/kindness to get by until the ’right’ job comes along. They don’t want to take a job (fast food, garbage man, janitor…etc) that would be embarrassing to them or because their spouses and/or children would be picked on or ridiculed because of their job. They think these jobs are ’beneath’ them. So, instead of taking a job that can benefit them and their family, they just sit around and wait for the ’perfect’ job, one that suits their personality and status. Well, sitting around and waiting will not pay the bills and they will certainly not gain respect from those that are closest to them. What kind of message does that send to their spouse, their children, their friends, their families? Instead of just waiting around for that ‘perfect’ job (which I hate to burst your bubble, but there is no perfect job…all jobs have pro’s and con’s), they should just take the first job that becomes available just to take care of them and their families. Then, if the ‘right’ job comes along, then by all means take it…but at least you were being responsible financially and taking care of business before that ‘right’ job came along.
Jesus never once thought that there was any job ‘beneath’ Him. He did jobs that no one else wanted to do (washing feet, helping the sick and lepers). Why did He do these jobs? Because He wanted to show humility and that He had a true servants heart. He knew doing these jobs, although at times some were rather unpleasant, needed to be done and he took it upon himself to take on that responsibility. If He decided not to do certain jobs and just waited around for the ‘right’ job, He would never have influenced so many people and He certainly wouldn’t have been tortured and crucified for us…for you.
By not “working with your hands” and waiting around for the ‘right’ job, you become complacent and too comfortable taking handouts from other people. Instead of someone’s kindness helping you, it turns into something where you expect people to ’help’ you and the ’help’ turns into a ’handout’ and you begin relying on that instead of being responsible for yourself and your family and relying on God to provide you with what you need and give you opportunities to help yourself.
Now, Paul told the Thessalonians to work hard (taking a job even if it means it is an undesirable job where you or your family might be ridiculed/picked on due to the job you have chosen for the moment just to take care of you and your family) and to live a quiet and simple life. A quiet and simple life does not involve living a life of sin or drawing attention to yourself. As a proclaimed Christian, if you live your life this way, people will loose respect for you and won’t listen to or take you seriously. People will view you as lazy, proud, arrogant, selfish among other things)…God will see this in you as will your children. Children inevitably follow the examples that their parents set, which they will teach to their children, and on down the family line.
Also, how are you supposed to share your faith with others by living like that? Living a life as described above is directly linked to what others perceive about God. What does a life like that say about God? It says that the God who is supposed to be in control of your life is lazy, a procrastinator, arrogant, selfish, and prideful. Who would want to serve a God like that? I know I wouldn’t. We, as Christians, are a direct representative of God. How are you representing Him to others?
What does this mean for you? It means that you have not fully given your heart to Him. If you had, you would not be living that kind of lifestyle. We all fall short, we sin, we make mistakes because we are human beings. It is what we do with our sin/short comings/mistakes that makes the difference. Do you keep doing the same thing just expecting different results? Do you just chalk it up as ’just another mistake/failure’ and feel sorry for ourselves? Do we just bury our sins and pretend they never happened and they will just go away if we just ignore it? What we SHOULD do is realize where we went wrong, confess it to God, ask Him for forgiveness (then those we have hurt), and ask Him to guide you and allow you to learn from your mistakes and gain wisdom from it. Then relinquish control of your life back to God. Doing this won’t take away any consequences that result from your words/actions, but healing can not begin unless you admit you did wrong to the person(s) you hurt and ask for their forgiveness. Will they forgive you right away or even ever? Maybe not, but you are taking the first step to maturing into the person God knows you can be.
What you do in this life not only effects yourself and sets the standard for your family, but it also affects our lives in eternity. I am not just talking about Heaven and Hell. I am talking about being responsible with the things God gives you here on earth. If you are not responsible with the things He gives you, responsible for taking care of you and your family, being responsible for with your finances (and the list goes on), how can God trust you with the true rewards and duties He has promised/planned for you in His Kingdom? You are not just leaving a legacy here on earth, but a legacy for God to look at and review when you get to Heaven. So, what kind of legacy are you going to leave the people in your life (friends and family…etc)? What kind of legacy (or spiritual resume) will God review while standing in front of you?
You can’t be an irresponsible Christian, because that would make you a disobedient Christian. If you are continually irresponsible with what you have and not doing what ever it takes to be responsible for you and your family and live a life that Paul was seeing in (and warned about) the Thessalonians, then you have not fully given your heart to God and you are in control of your life (not God), which lead you to rely on man not God. You can’t have it both ways. A true Christian would feel bad, confess, and ask for forgiveness from God as soon as we realize we have sinned or made a mistake. We would try our very best not to do it again, because God convicts their heart to repent. But, a Christian that does not try to change, to be responsible, and relies on man or themselves and not God will not feel the conviction to repent because they have closed off their heart to God. They really don’t think that they are doing anything wrong or that their irresponsibility does not affect others. They become defensive and try to justify their irresponsibility and make excuses for themselves or family/friends will make excuses for them. Truth is, there is no excuse for being irresponsible, and it DOES affect others (more people than you know). It sets a bad example for our children, for our spouse, our friends and family and all the people they know, and even strangers you come across.
The last question is: What kind of Christian are you? Are you like the Thessalonians having fallen into a state of idleness, complacency, being okay with taking handouts from others, laziness, thinking that some jobs are ‘beneath’ you or don’t suit your personality/status, are you too concerned with what others might think about how you are helping yourself and/or your family? Or are you feeling the conviction God has placed on your heart and are willing to confess, repent, ask for forgiveness and be willing to give God your whole heart and allow Him to take control of your life and guide you? If you are the kind that is like the Thessalonians, take time to reflect on how your actions and irresponsibility affects others around you and what kind of impact and example you are setting for others.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Tongue
"The Tongue"
Proverbs 18:21
James 3:3-6
Romans 10:9
The atom is very tiny unable to be seen by the naked eye and seems unsignificant and people often forget it is there. Actually, it is highly significant and people are reminded by the atom on a regular basis, but only when it is made known. Concider 'fission' (splitting of the atom) and 'fusion' (combining/fusing). These two actions have the potential to either: 1. generate enough power to give an entire city power which is a positive thing and is beneficial to the masses (fission), or 2. generate enough distruction to wipe out an entire city which can have devastating and harmful affects that last for years/a lifetime/or even end people's lives all together (fission). It all depends on how and when the fusion occurs.
Our tongue (words) can have the same positive or negative effect on those around us (even strangers that just happen to be within ear-shot of our conversations), depending on how and when we use our words. Our words can produce many results: we can use words to defend or destroy, heal or hurt, can build someone up or tear someone down, curse God or Praise Him, our words can either make or break a marriage or relationships, they can empower someone or crush their spirit/lower their self confidence/esteem. Once your words get carelessly 'flung' out there, you can't take them back, pretend you never said them, or blow it off because you were just joking and you feel that the words you said wouldn't affect you in a negative way so why would they effect someone else in a bad way. Well, you can say a phrase or even one word to 1000 people and you will get 1000 different reactions. Why? Because you don't know other peoples' past, their hurts and insecurities, therefore you have no idea how a person will be affected by your words. This is why you need to take extra care when speaking, because someone is always listening (whether they mean to or not).
Another example is wildfires. On the average 4.3 million acres of forests are destroyed by wildfires. In 2000, 123,000 separate fires destroyed 8.5 million acres. Half of them were caused by natural events, the other half was caused by he carelessness of man. Most people wouldn't intentionally flick a burning match into a forest or start a forest fire on purpose. It is almost always because man was being careless and not thinking about anything but their wants/needs/conveniences and not realizing that the smallest of acts could drastically affect and change the habitation of animals in that forest or the people that would be effected by that small fire or spark. So, because we are in such a world that is trained to commit careless acts, be lazy, and think of no one else except for yourself and live 'for the moment', why would we take extra care of the words that come out of our mouths? When we just joke around or make comments (either casually or intentionally to hurt someone because we are mad and 'in the heat of the moment', we don't take a moment to consider that our words can have to potential to harm someone or scar them emotionally/mentally/spiritually for a long time if not for a lifetime. Once the damage is done, just like a forrest that is afflcted with a wildfire, it takes a long time to put out those 'fires''. It takes more than an 'I'm sorry' to make ammends, because your words can leave such a wound that it will take a long time for it to heal, for the wounded to trust you and others again, and it can affect them in such a way that it has negative reprocussions in their current and future relationships (incuding one with God). This is where the 'rebuilding of the forrest comes in. This process takes a long time if you are willing to expend your time and efforts to help them heal. Sometimes the wound is so deep that, if the wounded is not a believer in Christ, the hurt will last a lifetime.
How do you avoid starting a 'wildfire'? You need to always think before you speak, and ask yourself NOT if what you are going to say would negatively affect YOU, but could it affect others? Where do you start practicing this? It starts at home and with your family because those are the people that can be wounded the worst by your words.
You also need to think of how this affects your spiritual life. If you proclaim to be a Christian and have a personal relationship with Christ, people take extra care when listening to you. Your words will not only affect people around you, but people you don't know, and all of those people's offspring/relationships/and their descendants. If they hear you using hurtful words (even jokingly) and they get hurt (knowing you are a Christian), why would they want to get to know a God that is all about hurting others...because as a representative of Christ that is exactly how you are portraying Him and allowing others to see God through your actions and words.
Your words and actions are your testamony...your legacy. What kind of testamony or legacy are you leaving out there for others to see and remember?
Proverbs 18:21
James 3:3-6
Romans 10:9
The atom is very tiny unable to be seen by the naked eye and seems unsignificant and people often forget it is there. Actually, it is highly significant and people are reminded by the atom on a regular basis, but only when it is made known. Concider 'fission' (splitting of the atom) and 'fusion' (combining/fusing). These two actions have the potential to either: 1. generate enough power to give an entire city power which is a positive thing and is beneficial to the masses (fission), or 2. generate enough distruction to wipe out an entire city which can have devastating and harmful affects that last for years/a lifetime/or even end people's lives all together (fission). It all depends on how and when the fusion occurs.
Our tongue (words) can have the same positive or negative effect on those around us (even strangers that just happen to be within ear-shot of our conversations), depending on how and when we use our words. Our words can produce many results: we can use words to defend or destroy, heal or hurt, can build someone up or tear someone down, curse God or Praise Him, our words can either make or break a marriage or relationships, they can empower someone or crush their spirit/lower their self confidence/esteem. Once your words get carelessly 'flung' out there, you can't take them back, pretend you never said them, or blow it off because you were just joking and you feel that the words you said wouldn't affect you in a negative way so why would they effect someone else in a bad way. Well, you can say a phrase or even one word to 1000 people and you will get 1000 different reactions. Why? Because you don't know other peoples' past, their hurts and insecurities, therefore you have no idea how a person will be affected by your words. This is why you need to take extra care when speaking, because someone is always listening (whether they mean to or not).
Another example is wildfires. On the average 4.3 million acres of forests are destroyed by wildfires. In 2000, 123,000 separate fires destroyed 8.5 million acres. Half of them were caused by natural events, the other half was caused by he carelessness of man. Most people wouldn't intentionally flick a burning match into a forest or start a forest fire on purpose. It is almost always because man was being careless and not thinking about anything but their wants/needs/conveniences and not realizing that the smallest of acts could drastically affect and change the habitation of animals in that forest or the people that would be effected by that small fire or spark. So, because we are in such a world that is trained to commit careless acts, be lazy, and think of no one else except for yourself and live 'for the moment', why would we take extra care of the words that come out of our mouths? When we just joke around or make comments (either casually or intentionally to hurt someone because we are mad and 'in the heat of the moment', we don't take a moment to consider that our words can have to potential to harm someone or scar them emotionally/mentally/spiritually for a long time if not for a lifetime. Once the damage is done, just like a forrest that is afflcted with a wildfire, it takes a long time to put out those 'fires''. It takes more than an 'I'm sorry' to make ammends, because your words can leave such a wound that it will take a long time for it to heal, for the wounded to trust you and others again, and it can affect them in such a way that it has negative reprocussions in their current and future relationships (incuding one with God). This is where the 'rebuilding of the forrest comes in. This process takes a long time if you are willing to expend your time and efforts to help them heal. Sometimes the wound is so deep that, if the wounded is not a believer in Christ, the hurt will last a lifetime.
How do you avoid starting a 'wildfire'? You need to always think before you speak, and ask yourself NOT if what you are going to say would negatively affect YOU, but could it affect others? Where do you start practicing this? It starts at home and with your family because those are the people that can be wounded the worst by your words.
You also need to think of how this affects your spiritual life. If you proclaim to be a Christian and have a personal relationship with Christ, people take extra care when listening to you. Your words will not only affect people around you, but people you don't know, and all of those people's offspring/relationships/and their descendants. If they hear you using hurtful words (even jokingly) and they get hurt (knowing you are a Christian), why would they want to get to know a God that is all about hurting others...because as a representative of Christ that is exactly how you are portraying Him and allowing others to see God through your actions and words.
Your words and actions are your testamony...your legacy. What kind of testamony or legacy are you leaving out there for others to see and remember?
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