2008-02-08
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We need to spend more time on 2 THESS 3: 6-15, the passage discussed in last week's message. The issue of living a disciplined life with regard to the management of our material wealth must be raised. As we could see from God's expectations found in Proverbs and in MICAH 6: 8, our Lord is quite specific about His expectations for us. How can we not see this as His opening of a heretofore locked gate that allows us to continue on the road to eternal life with Him? In 2 THESS 3: 8, Paul writes, "We did not accept anyone's support without paying for it. Instead, we worked and toiled; we kept working day and night so as not to be an expense to any of you." Paul and his followers came to Thessalonica with no plan for laziness. Rather they allowed their own lives to set the example for how the other believers should live theirs. You'll remember that Paul supported himself as a tentmaker. Paul had been raised with the wisdom of the Jewish writings, things like the Proverbs. PR 10: 4, "Being lazy will make you poor, but hard work will make you rich." PR 11: 3, "If you are good, you are guided by honesty. People who can't be trusted are destroyed by their own dishonesty." The kind of treasures valued in Paul's mind wasn't richness in material wealth, but the kind that is stored up in heaven, spiritual wealth. On the other hand, Paul's head wasn't in the clouds as far as having enough material wealth to support himself was concerned. He knew he had to eat and wear clothing, or all the work of preaching and leading people to Christ would go for naught. The bottom line is a balance between one's earthly support and his work for the Lord.
The balance, which is the Lord's will for us to achieve, can be better understood in another look at Christ's Sermon on the Mount words in MT 6: 31-33. In verses 31-32, we are told not to worry about where our basic needs come from, because the Father knows we have these needs. (33) "Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what He requires of you, and He will provide you with these others things." In no way is the Lord telling us we don't have to work here to support ourselves. What He is saying is that we must have a balance between our work to support ourselves and our first priority, which should be establishing the Kingdom of God on earth. Christ is even more specific about the latter when He explains to the Pharisees, in LK 17: 21b, that the Kingdom of God is in the hearts of the believers. If my own experience is any teacher, there is a balance between living a disciplined life and God's willingness to supply our needs. I refer here to the time when my husband was "downsized" out of his job twice, along with a number of other middle level managers, during the economic trend of the late 1990's and early 2000's. We made some pretty tough decisions. One was to sell our lovely home of 10 years in favor of much smaller and less fancy accommodations. The other was for me to continue in my work of voluntary, full-time ministry, even though our lives would have been more materially comfortable had I gotten a job that would net us a second income. Both of us knew it would be tough on us financially, but that my work for God was too important to abandon it. Somehow, God has supplied our basic needs ever since, by enabling us to live on Peter's much-reduced salary surrounded by a wonderfully loving friends.
2 THESS 3: 11, "We say this [' Whoever refuses to work is not allowed to eat'] because we hear that there are some people among you who live lazy lives and who do nothing except meddle in other people's business." Meddling and gossiping often go hand in hand. These Proverbs really clarify God's will. PR 11: 13, 17, and 20, "No one who gossips can be trusted with a secret, but you can put confidence in someone who is trustworthy You do yourself a favor when you are kind. If you are cruel, you only hurt yourself The Lord hates evil-minded people , but loves those who do right." I've always felt very uncomfortable in the presence of people with what I call the "disaster profile." This is the combination of excessive material wealth, time on their hands, and an unquenchable thirst for power. These people are too busy meddling in the affairs of others to recognize that Satan has a stronghold in their lives. One such individual from my past ended up being instrumental in actually causing a huge church congregation to split. From what I understand, it took years for this congregation to heal and put itself back to rights afterward. Many people's lives were needlessly turned upside down, and this done in such a setting can have disastrous effects on the spiritual lives of many.
In the matter of helping third-world countries, a country with material wealth such as our own is doing the materially poorer country more of a favor if we teach them how to help themselves, rather than giving them products and money. The same principle applies in the spiritual realm when God's call to a task is answered in a way pleasing to Him, and more people learn to serve Him because of it. Such is the case when our church needed to respond to God's call to get more people praying. Our small phone prayer chain was greatly increased by beginning an e-mail prayer chain, one in which each prayer servant pledged to keep matters confidential. God calls each of us to establish and maintain a balance between our need to make a living and our most important need to establish His Kingdom.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before You today to plead for Your wisdom in the matter of living disciplined lives, establishing a balance between making a living for ourselves and establishing Your Kingdom. When we take the time to learn Your will through the Scriptures [2 TIM 3: 16-17], You give us discernment. When we pray to You, allowing You to speak first and remembering to pray as You would have us do [PHIL 4: 6-7], You lead us to establish Your Kingdom, first in our hearts and then, by our deeds. You never leave us wondering what Your will is, if we will only take the time to pursue it. We are amazed, even through we shouldn't be, that when we obey Your will, things work out for the best in the long run. RO 8: 28, "We know that in all things God's works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose." Dearest Father, we acknowledge that Your wisdom is higher and more perfect than our own [IS 55: 8-9] and that we would be foolish not to pray for You to share it with us. We pray, IS 51: 6, "Sincerity and truth are what You require; fill my mind with wisdom." We understand that our faith rests on Your power and that we are weak and ineffectual without Your intervention in our lives. You are a compassionate God, Who recognizes that we needed a way out of certain death from inherited sin. That is why You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, as the perfect Sin-Sacrifice for us [HE 10: 10]. It is also why You gave us the hope of the resurrection by making Him the "First among many brothers" [RO 8: 29] to be brought from death to eternal life at Your side. His wisdom is Your wisdom [JN 10:30; 14: 9, 11]. When we are faithful and obedient, when we make it our practice to seek You out frequently, You are always there for us [JER 29: 11-13]. Then, Dearest Father, we don't have to worry about disaster. We praise, honor, and thank You for everything that You are and all that You do for us. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
Next week, I am led to continue writing about what is meant by a disciplined life with regard to the issue of mammon [our material wealth] and the balance between making a living and establishing God's Kingdom on earth. We need to look at some practical implications in our own home lives. When we examine the comparison between our lives as they were in the past without faith in the Lord Jesus versus what they are like with such faith, we begin to see what a great gift we have been given by Him. Even people who, unlike myself, were born into believing Christian families must themselves become converted to Christ. Each and every person must make that decision of whether of not to answer His call to faith. 1 JN 4: 19, "We love because God first loved us." When we are making such a decision, it's hard to completely realize the full implications of the sacrifice the Father made of His Son for us, and what He goes through to bring us to eventual maturity of faith every day of our lives. If you are feeling loved right now, then I am doing my task for Him. PS 107: 1, "O thank God-He is so good! His love never runs out." God tells us in IS 54: 10, "'For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My steadfast love shall not depart from you, and My covenant of peace shall not be removed,' says the Lord, Who has compassion for you." Our God is love, models love for us, and teaches us that He never abandons those who are fully committed to Him. PS 9: 10, " Those who know You, Lord, will trust you; You do not abandon anyone who comes to You." Praise be to the Lord!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn