A Balanced and Rich Life

Here is where a knowledge of God's Word and a good dose of common sense are going to pay off.

 

One of the earliest lessons in the written word is on giving. Cain and Abel were apparently not only commanded to give a portion of what they had to God but were also given some specific guidelines for that giving. While we don't have that specific instruction revealed to us, we see that both Cain and Abel gave from the proceeds of their possessions (Cain brought from the produce of the ground and Abel from the produce of his flock) and we further see that one offering was pleasing to God and the other was not. Common sense would seem to indicate that they had been given some standards on giving by God that Abel met but which Cain failed to meet.

 

The Old Testament continues to offer us glimpses of various offerings to God, from the tithes of Abraham and Jacob, the tithing commandment of the Law of Moses, and numerous sacrifices that ranged from specific commandments to freewill offerings. In the New Testament we no longer have the commandment for a certain percentage of our income when giving (though many modern-day groups like to hold on to the Old Testament tithing) but as far as commandments, we are given a set of requirements that include the first day of every week, in keeping with our incomes, purposefulness and generosity. From these New Testament instructions, each person will be able to figure out what amount will be pleasing to God.

 

That's the giving part. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but a person with the heart of Abel will pursue this subject until they are satisfied that their giving is pleasing to God. The person with the heart of Cain, however, will likely figure out how to give the bare minimum and then be mad at those whose giving is more thoughtful and less begrudging.

 

Now we come to an area which most people will give either too much or too little consideration: What to do with the rest of their time and money!

 

In Ecclesiastes we read of the prudent man putting aside some money for savings and investment through a thoughtful and diversified plan, (Eccl. 11:2). In Proverbs 31, we read of the prudent woman doing similarly, sometimes considering a field and buying it, sometimes being like the merchant ships that bring their goods from afar, and at other times supplying the merchants with products for them to sell. The idea is that God's people are not merely drones who mindlessly go about supplying the physical needs for themselves and their families, but are actually thoughtful people who are able to figure out how to be successful at making a living, at savings, and at investments.

 

The idea behind this set of instructions is that, once having made consideration for their offerings to God, God's children are then free to use whatever is left in whatever way seems prudent to them, with the obvious consideration that they do not do anything that would be greedy or otherwise sinful with their money.

 

But now we come to something that most people give scant consideration to: What to do with their time!

 

Under the Law of Moses, the people were commanded to set aside the last day of the week, the Sabbath, as a day of rest before God. It was actually a gift to God's chosen people, but so many seemed to "chafe" under this restriction. In the New Testament, we have commandments and examples for the first day of the week worship. While we are not commanded to give the entire day in worship to God, we are commanded to at least take the time to gather together with the church for the worship, with the focal point being the breaking of bread, also referred to as the Lord's Supper. Even though this command does not appear to restrict other things we might rightfully do on the first day of the week, again, many people are offended at the notion that God expects any sort of sacrifice for Him.

 

Now we come to the last point: Just as the first and best of our possessions belong to God as an offering, so too should our time. That means genuine and thoughtful consideration as to what to do with that time. As with the more general commandments of giving in the New Testament era in which we are living (as compared to the Old Testament commandments prior to the cross) the giving of our time to God is also a bit less restrictive, but no less required.

 

What would happen if you were to take the first and the best of your time for God, just as we are required to do with the giving to God from our possessions? I imagine that we would approach our service to God in a much different light. Instead of giving of our leftover time, our time in service to God would actually be carefully planned, with great thought and purpose. Suppose we were to take our calendars out and actually devote our time to God first, instead of last, Suppose we set aside not only the time required for the first day of the week worship, but also for some things as wild as a second worship that many congregations provide on that first day of the week, Suppose we also took advantage of scheduled studies with the church, such as Sunday school and mid-week Bible study. 

 

What if the first thing we did when we opened our eyes in the morning was to offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God? What if we asked for His divine assistance with our various activities of the upcoming day? What if we read a passage from the Bible before we had our breakfast, nourishing our souls first before feeding our bodies? Do you not think that your life would be fuller and richer for having done so?

 

And then what if we really got crazy and started planning enjoyable outings with our spouses and kids? What if we set aside a reasonable amount of time for those activities and hobbies we all enjoy, providing of course that those activities were not sinful in nature? The fact is that most of us have to work for a living, so of course the planning we do will have to be made around our work schedules for the optional activities, but our activities such as worship, study and prayer should get first consideration over our work schedules, with the obvious point that we will want the two things to be compatible. In other words, you have to work for a living, but God can still get the first consideration for the items of the soul.

 

The point of all this is that we need a balanced life, with our first consideration of all our resources (time, money, effort) all being given to God. After we have taken care of God's things first, I believe we will find everything else will fit in nicely, whether we are talking about our budgets, our schedules, or anything else that requires thoughtfulness on our part. Once God has been given the first consideration in your offering of money, you can spend as you wish and as is prudent on anything your heart desires, providing again that it is not sinful. Once God has been given the first consideration of your time, the rest of your time can be divided up anyway you desire, providing of course that you are living as a servant of God and Christ should.

 

God has given us an abundance of time and money; we just need to be a little more thoughtful in the way that we use them. If we can use a little common sense in our approach to these things, I believe that we will discover that our lives will be fuller and richer than we could have ever imagined. And then, of course, there will be heaven!

 

 

Is God's Word Precious to Us?

So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

I Samuel 3:19. NKJV

 

Samuel was a unique person. Before he was even born, his mother devoted him to the Lord, promising to give him over to the Lord's service for all the days of his life. So, after Samuel was weaned, his mother made good on her vow and gave him to be raised by Israel's high priest. As the boy grew up, we read that God did not let any of Samuel's words fall to the ground - but what does that mean?

 

Well, to begin with, Samuel was being trained to be both prophet and priest. So, when God gave Samuel a prophetic message to pass along to the people, that prophesy would not fail, but would be carried out to the word. When Samuel became a priest, part of his duty under the Mosaic era was to pass along God's instruction to the people. As in all of God's commandments to his people, God made sure that this type of instruction was exactly what He wanted, and it was without flaw. So, we can see in both prophesies and instruction, God always made sure that the words He gave to Samuel did not fail, and this is in great part is the meaning of God not letting any of Samuel's words fall to the ground.

 

However, I believe there is something else we can glean from this unusual phrasing: It is in the way we are to value the words of God.

 

When I was about eleven years of age, I got to go on a Boy Scout Jamboree trip. The boy scouts were members of their own local "troops" and when a bunch of these troops got together, it was called a "jamboree". For this particular event, our scout master had also planned a five-mile hike. Normally a bunch of eleven- and twelve-year-old boys could walk five miles with ease, but this hike was to be made with a full pack. Add that to the fact that the Jamboree was held near Houston, Texas in the summer, and you now have a torturous situation for a person of any age.

 

The forecast called for what Houston's forecast always called for: about 90-degree heat, and 90% humidity. We boys were prepared, however, having all been instructed to bring a full canteen for the hike. Water apart from our canteens would not be permitted for this desert-like adventure. I was always thinking of ways to make life easier, and I hit upon the idea to make sure that my water stayed cool for the hike. I filled my canteen the day before, wrapped it in tin foil, and put it in the refrigerator overnight so that my water would be the coldest and most refreshing of any scout in the troop.

 

The only problem was that I forgot it!

 

So, when the hike began, I had a full pack, comfortable hiking boots, and no water. I didn't tell our scout master what I had done, because boys who viewed themselves as men didn't ask for favors - they would rather die than be shamed in such a manner. About two or three miles into the hike, I began asking for favors. I was sure I was dying, and I needed rescue. My best friend at that time was David Bales, and David was kind enough to let me have "just a sip" of his water. I can tell you that that warm, stale water that poured out of his canteen was the best tasting water that I had ever had. What's more, you can be assured that I did not waste a drop - David would not have permitted it! But I was of no inclination to be careless, and you can be sure that I did not let one drop of this precious liquid fall to the ground.

 

And that I believe is part of the message of I Samuel 3:19: God's word should be viewed by us as so vital and so precious that we would never consider wasting a single word!

 

This was true in Old Testament times, and I am convinced it is equally true during our times under the Christian era in which we live. In the Gospel of John, we read of a time in Jesus' ministry when His teaching became too hard for many of His followers to accept, so many of His would-be disciples abandoned Him. Jesus asked His apostles if they wanted to leave also, causing Peter to reply, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of life." (John 6:68).

 

This is the way we all need to consider God and Christ's words: They are the very words of life! When we view God's instruction in such a manner, we are recognizing the precious and vital nature that these words hold. As Moses said when he was passing along God's commandments in his era, "These are not idle words for you - they are your life!" 

 

And when we realize that a commodity we possess is absolutely vital for our life and well-being, we begin to view that word in the proper light. We revere that word, for it is the very word of God and we know that it is too precious to waste. And that, I believe, is at least a part of why God did not let any of Samuel's words "fall to the ground". The phrase certainly indicates that God was not going to let one of these words fail - either in the carrying out of prophesy, or in the passing along of perfect instruction. But I am also convinced that because this was the case and the instruction being passed along contained the very words of life for God's people, that the people who accepted the message in the proper way were careful to not waste one word of this precious instruction.

 

The question for us is do we view God's word in such a way in our time? If we do, then we can be assured that God will not allow any of His words to fall to the ground - that's His part. Our part is to listen and to obey! If we love God and revere His words, why would we want to do anything else? 

Easter

At this time of year over a billion people will pause and remember the greatest event in the history of the world: The resurrection of our Lord! While we do not have any specific commandment to celebrate this event on an annual basis, God certainly permits men to honor certain days as special as long as they do not make it some sort of requirement that everyone else has to go along with to be considered a good Christian (Romans 14:6). And many do get upset if there is not some sort of special annual event at the place they worship, but leaving such situations aside, it is a great opportunity to teach and preach the good news of Jesus Christ.

 

And this opportunity to teach the good news is something that we should be more than pleased to welcome. After all, the resurrection of Christ is a key to the Christian faith. We believe that Jesus was the Son of God, that He was arrested by evil men, that He was beaten and spat upon and then nailed to the cross for all men to see and mock. But this wicked set of acts that was prompted by evil men under the influence of the devil backfired when He arose three days later.

 

He arose!

 

Just think about the significance of this most important event in history. We know that wicked men intended Christ's death to be a defeat for followers of Christ, but God has a way of accomplishing His will despite the intentions of wicked men. And because God so loved the world, He allowed His only begotten Son to die in such a cruel manner... for you and me! It was so we would not have to bear the penalty for our sins that God allowed this terrible event to happen. He allowed Jesus to take our place, bearing our sins upon Himself and shedding His blood when it should have been our blood that was shed.

 

And yet, this loving act would have meant nothing if Jesus had not been raised from the dead by the power of God!

 

This is why we remember His death: It is not just because of the sacrifice for our sins, but because He conquered death and arose! We believe that if Christ arose that we who have become obedient to his requirements will, by the grace of God, share in that resurrection someday (Romans 6). And before Jesus even died, He commanded those who would follow Him to remember that death - not merely on an annual basis - but every single week!

 

So, this time of year is not just a good time to remember His resurrection, it is also a great time to remind people that God does not call us together as a church for just one special event a year but instead has set aside the first day of every week for us to gather. And it is this weekly gathering and its purpose that I want to talk about today, for I am afraid that many people will be tempted to replace this required weekly gathering for a really special once a year event.

 

In I Corinthians 11:17, God had the apostle Paul write a rebuke to His church at Corinth. It seems that they were meeting on the first day of the week as was required, but they had turned the day of worship into a day of feasting. They had stopped centering their worship on remembering Christ's death and had turned it into a party! The condemnation was thorough, and I would encourage everyone to read this account in this eleventh chapter of I Corinthians to get the full picture for yourself. 

 

I would also encourage people to realize just how important this purpose of remembering Christ's death and proclaiming it to others was. When we read of the church gathering on the first day of the week when Paul was visiting the church at Troas (Acts20:7), we find that the reason for their meeting together was not to hear this wonderful, inspired speaker, rather, it was to partake of the Lord's Supper. II Corinthians 16:1-2 reminds us that the church's meeting was on the first day of every week, not just on special occasions. Again, Paul pointed out in I Corinthians 11 that the people were bringing judgement upon themselves because they had corrupted the commemoration of Christ's death and as a result were doing more harm than good.

 

I guess the point I want to make clear is that it is good and proper to remember Jesus' resurrection - it is the reason we follow Him! Further, if a person wants to remember this great event of the resurrection as a special day, then this would appear to be pleasing to God as long as it is something that does not replace our commanded responsibility to gather on the first day of every week to proclaim the Lord's death through the partaking of the Lord's Supper. It is fine to have special times of remembering the important things in our lives, and there is no more important event than Jesus' resurrection. What we do not ever want to be tempted to do, however, is to take this freewill offering of commemorating this seminal event, and replacing it with our duty to gather together on the first day of each and every week, with the church, to partake of the unleavened bread that represents His body, and the fruit of the vine that represents the blood He shed for our sins.

 

This is a wonderful time of year, for it brings to mind the beautiful sacrifice that was made so that we might live forever! And because Jesus arose, we have that very hope. What a wonderful thing Jesus did, and we ought to remember that sacrifice, and His resurrection, each and every day of our lives!

The Power of Positive Thinking

All the days of the afflicted are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

Proverbs 15:15, NASB

 

I really enjoy Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and his books on positive thinking. He was a preacher in New York City who built an entire ministry around the notion that this life was pretty good when your outlook was positive, but that it could be pretty bad if you always looked at life through that "the glass half-empty" point of view that most people seem to possess. He really hit his stride after the gloom and doom days of WW II and the Great Depression, for Americans had been struggling for long enough and were frankly more than ready for a different perspective.

 

Along came Norman Peale with his refreshingly positive viewpoints and the rest is history. His sermons were broadcast across the nation, and his series of books became instant best sellers. Dr. Peale would be the first to point out that this method of looking at the bright side of things did not originate with him, however, for he freely admitted that the source of this important truth was not his discovery, rather, it was from principles contained in the greatest best-selling book of all time: the Bible!

 

Take the passage we read above as a perfect example of this truth. There are many, many people who go about life just looking for the bad side - and they don't have to look far! The news we receive on a daily basis provides a continual drumbeat proclaiming that all is bad and that we are certainly doomed. The people who report this news have an abundance of material, for it is true that there are many bad things occurring on a regular basis, and these bad things tend to support the majority of people's predilection that we are all doomed. 

 

Even in our private conversations with those we love, our thoughts turn to this gloomy side of life. We are often unsettled by the uncertainties of life, and it can be quite comforting to have someone to blame for the hard times we occasionally encounter. So, we add all of these things together, scouring the countryside for examples of why things are so bad that we could never be expected to enjoy life, and we end up with what we have: A dissatisfied populace that is often at each other's throats in a maddened pursuit of finding someone to blame for all of life's misfortunes. In short, we are afflicted, and all of our days are bad! 

 

Bad days! Bad, bad!

 

The cheerful in life, however, often look at life through a different set of lenses. Those with a pessimistic point of view would say that these lenses are "rose-colored" and give a false view of the way life really is. And this is true of some people, no doubt, for there have always been people who refuse to confront any bad news for the simple fact that they just can't handle it. But I'm not referring to that segment of people who can't handle the truth and who refuse to deal with reality, I am merely referring to those who refuse to accept the hogwash that everything is bad, that it is not their fault, and that they are afflicted.

 

God had Solomon pen the words you see above, so we know that they are true. And the main truth that we need for a society that feels so sorry for it's unfair breaks in life because the other side is out to get them is just this: The cheerful heart has a continual feast! In other words, we need to start looking for our happiness from a different source than this mean old world that is all around us. We need that peace that passes all understanding and that hope that is an anchor for the soul. You will never hear these truths on the evening news, because those bringing that news likely don't believe that such peace and hope are even possible.

 

Besides, it's hard to sell the medicine that your sponsor wants your listeners to buy if you don't feel bad in the first place!

 

So, what we have here is a genuine choice. We can either join the masses of the "afflicted" and experience bad day after bad day, or we can finally say, "enough"! We might not be able to shut out all of the bad news (and quite frankly we should not want to because we do need to know what is going on) but we can begin to place our focus on the Good News for a change. We can begin to scour the Word of God for all of the positive elements that are readily available for the daily Bible reader, and we can then begin to apply these positive principles to our daily lives.

 

The fact is that those with the affliction of looking at everything from a negative point of view are really going to have a bad life, for this negative part of life is from the baddest individual who ever existed: Satan! But there is another side of life that too many have been completely blind to, and we all would benefit from it if we would just open our eyes and see it, for this side is God's side. God's children are not unrealistic, but neither are they eternal pessimists. It's not that they cannot see the bad things in this world, it's simply that they refuse to let themselves be ruled by it.

 

There is indeed a positive side of life, and it is a powerful tonic for the weary soul. It is the way of God, and those who seek that way and live it will have that continual feast that is available to the cheerful soul! It is vital that we all understand we really do have a choice in life. We can either yield to the depressing ways of the evil one and live with the afflicted masses, or we can yield our lives to the One who offers a continual feast of cheer for those wise enough to join Him. Which choice will you make? Will you continue to live that poisonous life of the dissatisfied pessimist, or will you choose the life of joy that awaits all who will turn their lives over to Jesus? The choice seems pretty obvious when you put it that way.

The First and Best for God Principle

Now Abel kept flocks and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry and his face was downcast. 

Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it.

Genesis 4:2-5, NIV (1978)

 

Most people are familiar with the account of Cain and Abel, and how Cain would eventually murder his brother over his jealousy of God's acceptance of Abel's sacrifice, but have you ever considered why Abel's sacrifice was better than that of Cain? It is important, for if we can understand what made one sacrifice pleasing and one displeasing, we can learn something about how God expects us to live in a right manner before him.

 

While there very likely was some instruction concerning sacrifices that we are not made aware of, (the Bible would be a whole lot longer if we had every detail from every conversation that God had with men) there are still some conclusions that we can draw from that which is written. In this particular case we see both brothers bringing an offering to God from the results of their occupations. We are told that Cain brought "some of the fruits of the soil as an offering" but that Abel brought "fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock".

 

So, the similarity is that they both made a sacrifice of some of their produce. However, Abel went beyond by providing fat portions of the firstborn. In other words, Abel brought the first and the best of what he had to God. And while we are not specifically told what it was about Cain's offering that was displeasing to God, the fact that his offering was not described in any way as to give the understanding that it was the first and the best, we are left with the impression that Cain just gave in a less thoughtful and less purposeful fashion by simply offering some of his produce.

 

And in this occasion at the earliest of times, mankind was given a lesson as to what is acceptable to God and what is not. The fact is that God expects the first and best from us. He desires for us to give Him the first consideration in all that we do, whether we are talking about the sacrifice of our time, or possessions or talents. But men being who we are, are often tempted to give God the "leftovers" of what we possess, if we decide to offer Him anything at all. Furthermore, we are often quite unhappy at being expected to give our possessions to anyone.

 

When it comes to our time, do we set aside our first and our best? Is it your habit to meet with the church on the first day of each and every week, or does God get whatever time you can spare? In your budget, does God get the first consideration, or do you pay everyone else first and see if you have anything left over for God? When it comes to the abilities that God has blessed you with, do you use them first for God, or is any work that you might have done for him all used up by the time you even think about doing something in His service?

 

The amounts here are secondary. Two people might spend the same time at the worship, but one might be honored to even be considered worthy of offering praise to God, while the other might feel put out (and believe me, they will let you know about it) at the thought of having to take time for God. One may actually give a much greater sum in the offering, only to find that it is looked upon with displeasure by God because of the poor attitude displayed in the giving, while the widow's offering might be held in high esteem by God because she gave the "mites" that she had as a first fruits offering to the Lord.

 

The point of this is that our attitude, our regard for the Lord, and our desire to give God from our first and our best, all go in to making our offering something that is pleasing to God. Should we ever feel tempted to give God from our "scrap pile of leftovers" then perhaps we would be better off not giving to God in the first place. After all, how would you feel if people's gifts to you were made in such a begrudging fashion as to let you know that they were really not all that happy about giving them in the first place? I imagine you would have preferred for that person to keep what they have, rather than offering up some miserly gift that they clearly were put out over.

 

The fact is that God has always desired our first and our best, but it has never been something that He commanded because He had need of anything. The creator of all things does not need us to supply Him anything. What He does want, however, is for His people to love Him enough and appreciate Him enough that they are wanting to give Him the first and the best of whatever they have. In most instances, such a giver will wish they could have given more, but they are satisfied with the knowledge that what they are giving is what they can afford and that God will be pleased with such a sacrifice.

 

It is when we can learn to give of our time, our resources, and our talents, in a cheerful and thoughtful manner, that we will become pleasing to God. And when you think about it, what could be better than to be able to please God in any small way as to have Him show favor to you for your efforts? The fact is that God has an eternity waiting for those who are highly desirous of serving Him in the best way that they can. But for those who are greedy, self-indulgent, and begrudging in their offerings? Well, there is another eternity planned for them that is entirely different than the reward God has in mind for those who appreciate what He has done for them and who want to show that appreciation by giving back the first and the best of everything they have.

 

What kind of a giver are you?