“Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes. People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.” (Proverbs 19:2-3 NLT)
We can get very excited about things that have no eternal value. We can expend energy and waste seasons of our lives pursuing hobbies and activities that may not be bad in and of themselves but distract us from or prevent us from being invested in the Kingdom of God.
Some of you know that my daughter gave me a 2012 Mustang GTCS for my 65th birthday. It was brand new and was the apple of my eye for many years. It was a treasure, not simply because it was a very nice car, but because of the sacrifice my daughter made to give it to me. To say I “babied” that car would be an understatement. Nothing but the best waxes, hand-buffed, serviced regularly, garaged-kept, wiped off nightly and only driven in nice weather.
Ultimately, I realized it had become “an idol,” of sorts. It demanded too much time and attention, and though it hurt me (and still does 😊), I had to let it go. After discussing it with my daughter and asking her permission, though she assured me it was completely my decision, I sold it. What’s my point?
It was not sinful or wrong that I loved my car. It became sinful and wrong when it demanded an inordinate amount of time and thought that prevented me from being able to use it in ways I needed to. What is your “golden calf?” What is it in your life that is drawing your attention away from the Lord or others? What is it that demands too much of your thought life and is distracting you from being all you can and should be for the Lord?
It’s a mistake not to allow the Lord to give you strength to deal with it now. Dan Reiland wrote: “Left unsolved, mistakes get bigger not better.” It’s a mistake not to be proactive in the development of your faith. Prayer can’t simply be “canned,” rehearsed, or rote, but must continually be sought for the purpose of personal edification and intimacy with the Lord, as well as continually addressing the needs of lost loved ones, friends and family.
And I understand that lifting the same people and/or needs to the Lord every day can seem monotonous and “rote,” but more importantly, the Lord knows our heart. It’s not the words we use, but the attitude of our heart that catches the Lord’s attention. Jesus’ story in Luke 18 of the two men praying caught my attention today. My sense is that Pharisee was “reciting” his “prayer,” while the tax collector was spilling out the concerns of his heart.
To use the same, even repetitive words (i.e. The Lord’s Prayer; Psalm 23, etc.) as we have conversations with the Lord is not only not wrong but can be very helpful. We can make a mistake when we assume familiar words are not helpful to use in our prayers. The Lord never tires of us telling Him we love, adore, need, desire, and worship Him for who He is. He understands that our vocabulary fails when trying to describe what He means to us and how much we appreciate His unfathomable investment in us in the person of His Son.
My sense is He basks in our efforts, yes, even our repetitive efforts to give expression to our love for and dependence upon Him. Continually seek His holy face and share with Him the needs and desires of your heart to know Him better, love and serve Him more effectively. If we’re going to make mistakes in our efforts to grow in our life in Jesus, let us make them risking saying the same things too often, rather than not often enough.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 