The Spiritual Sluggard
We are all capable of being spiritual sluggards; we do not want to
mix with the rough and tumble of life as it is, our one object is to
secure retirement. The note struck in Hebrews 10 is that of provoking
one another and of keeping together – both of which require initiative,
the initiative of Christ-realization, not of self-realization. To live a
remote, retired, secluded life is the antipodes of spirituality as
Jesus Christ taught it.
The test of our spirituality comes when we come up against injustice and meanness and ingratitude and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritual sluggards. We want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of retirement. We utilize God for the sake of getting peace and joy, that is, we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things are effects and we try to make them causes.
"I think it meet," said Peter, ". . . to stir you up by putting you in remembrance." It is a most disturbing thing to be smitten in the ribs by some provoker of God, by someone who is full of spiritual activity. Active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work may be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The danger of spiritual sluggishness is that we do not wish to be stirred up, all we want to hear about is spiritual retirement. Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement – "Go tell My brethren . ."
http://utmost.org/classic/the-spiritual-sluggard-classic/
"We utilize God for the sake of getting peace and joy, that is, we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him." What a line! A sermon in a sentence.
Kristi and I recently traveled to Jefferson City and met with a public school retirement planner. We are both starting our 30th year as public school teachers and retirement is in the not too distant future. Foremost in my mind when considering retirement are two things. First, having enough money to live comfortably for the next 30-35+ years. (Most likely on the low end of that considering my diet of fast food and frozen pizza.). Second, and just as worrisome, is having enough to do each day for the next 30-35+ years. (See disclaimer above.)
If I step back from both worries and use scripture as a foundation, neither one should be a barrier to retirement.
Worry 1- Financial concerns- Matthew 6:25-26 ESV- 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Worry 2- Idle hours- 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38 ESV
I know church attendance is not a requirement nor an indicator of a person's personal walk with Jesus Christ, but certainly it an indicator of the spiritual health of a country. That coupled with the data in the accompanying graph paint a picture of a rapidly secularizing United States of America. Were there only more workers for the harvest.
Two words that should never be said together are retired and Christian. Perhaps "reassigned" would be a better term. We have been reassigned from ATT to more time in the harvest. Our job description has been changed from principal to neighborhood lend-a-hander. Writing reports will give way to writing Sunday School lessons. This is not to say that we are to wait until retirement to engage in Christian service. We are to be missionaries at work, on-the-job evangelists, but as we move into retirement that "extra" time can be dedicated to countering today's trends of a decline in church attendance and secularization.
"To live a remote, retired, secluded life is the antipodes of spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it."
AARP = Always Actively Reaching People
The test of our spirituality comes when we come up against injustice and meanness and ingratitude and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritual sluggards. We want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of retirement. We utilize God for the sake of getting peace and joy, that is, we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things are effects and we try to make them causes.
"I think it meet," said Peter, ". . . to stir you up by putting you in remembrance." It is a most disturbing thing to be smitten in the ribs by some provoker of God, by someone who is full of spiritual activity. Active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work may be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The danger of spiritual sluggishness is that we do not wish to be stirred up, all we want to hear about is spiritual retirement. Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement – "Go tell My brethren . ."
http://utmost.org/classic/the-spiritual-sluggard-classic/
"We utilize God for the sake of getting peace and joy, that is, we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him." What a line! A sermon in a sentence.
Kristi and I recently traveled to Jefferson City and met with a public school retirement planner. We are both starting our 30th year as public school teachers and retirement is in the not too distant future. Foremost in my mind when considering retirement are two things. First, having enough money to live comfortably for the next 30-35+ years. (Most likely on the low end of that considering my diet of fast food and frozen pizza.). Second, and just as worrisome, is having enough to do each day for the next 30-35+ years. (See disclaimer above.)
If I step back from both worries and use scripture as a foundation, neither one should be a barrier to retirement.
Worry 1- Financial concerns- Matthew 6:25-26 ESV- 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Worry 2- Idle hours- 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38 ESV
I know church attendance is not a requirement nor an indicator of a person's personal walk with Jesus Christ, but certainly it an indicator of the spiritual health of a country. That coupled with the data in the accompanying graph paint a picture of a rapidly secularizing United States of America. Were there only more workers for the harvest.
Two words that should never be said together are retired and Christian. Perhaps "reassigned" would be a better term. We have been reassigned from ATT to more time in the harvest. Our job description has been changed from principal to neighborhood lend-a-hander. Writing reports will give way to writing Sunday School lessons. This is not to say that we are to wait until retirement to engage in Christian service. We are to be missionaries at work, on-the-job evangelists, but as we move into retirement that "extra" time can be dedicated to countering today's trends of a decline in church attendance and secularization.
"To live a remote, retired, secluded life is the antipodes of spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it."
AARP = Always Actively Reaching People
No comments:
Post a Comment