Wednesday, February 8, 2012

What do I do?

I read an interesting sentence in my Old Testament Survey textbook "Encountering the Old Testament." It says "The closer we draw to God, the less we ask what is permissable (What I can get away with and still be a Christian) and the more we think about what pleases God." WOW, this struck a cord in me.

Backround to this sentence is the story of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a personal servant to the Persian King. He asked the Persian King to go home to Jerusalem and help rebuild his peoples city. The king granted him his request (which is something only the Lord can do) and Nehemiah went home. When he got there, his people were being forced into slavery and had debts to people. Their children were being kidnapped to pay for past debt. A little further into the book, Nehemiah is offered money from the governor to help re-build the city but he refuses the money, because it was taken from his people unfairly and didn't believe it should be used for this purpose. He saw that taking this money is wrong.

How often do we give in because it is the easy thing to do? How often do we push our standards to provide the comforts and luxuries in our lives? It might not be necessarily wrong to do certain things, but is it Christlike?

As an example:
I walk into a store and only have enough money for the essentials (milk, bread, etc.) and nothing more. None of those Double Stuffed Oreos that I enjoy so much. But then I find a $50 bill on the floor or in the parking lot. I pick it up. The first thought that would come into my head is "Wow, Double Stuffed Oreo's, here I come!" It is not necessarily wrong to take the money...I found it and the person who dropped it may not even know it is missing. But is it right? I don't think so.

1 John 3:18 says; "Dear Children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth"

I know there are so many times in the past I have skimmed the truth to get away with things that were not necessarily wrong, but I know my actions were not truthful and a good action.

My prayer today is "Lord, help me to know your truth. Lord, help me to realize what is right and wrong and to follow you fully and to be a good steward for you. I want to be more like Nehemiah Lord, when he refused the money from the Governor to help re-build the city because he knew it was not right to take his peoples tax money. Lord, help me to follow you more closely with my actions."

-James

No comments: