Matthew 7:6
“Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter
and silliness give no honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to
slogans. In trying to be relevant, you’re only being cute and inviting
sacrilege.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
My brother had a little rat
terrier named Frisker, who lived with my grandparents on their farm.
My grandparents fed Frisker table scraps after each meal…and let me tell
you, that dog ate well! Later on, my sister’s white Labrador retriever,
Otis, ended up living with my parents, and my dad fed him food from the
table…namely ice cream that Otis licked from a spoon. But Daddy
bragged one day that Otis also liked shrimp and steak. Yes, my dad
shared shrimp and steak from his own plate with the family dog!
It probably wasn’t the healthiest idea to feed Frisker the table scraps, but to my grandparents, these were literally the scraps…bits
of leftover food that was of no value to anyone else, so the dog just
as well eat it. This was his “dog food.” But Otis did NOT need shrimp
and steak! If my parents were not going to eat all of the food that was
on their plate, they could have served smaller portions and saved the
rest to create another meal…or they could have invited someone to join
them at their table and enjoy the delicious bounty! Yes, Otis enjoyed
these treats and was “impressed” by them, but honestly, steak and shrimp
were pretty well wasted on him. He was just as happy with what my
mother called “crunchies” dog food!
In many ways, this is what
you and I do with God’s gifts. We waste them in ways that do not truly
glorify Him or further His kingdom. We place emphasis on developing
catchy phrases and “mission statements”…and we neglect the actual
mission. We’re often more concerned with what it says on our t-shirts
than what we are actually doing for others in Jesus’ name. We’re all
about the “production value” of our worship services, while we neglect
the heartache that hangs out on every pew. We surely looked great as we
worshipped…but did we really say anything that shared the Good News of
Jesus or let anyone know how much He cares about us?
In many
translations of this verse, there is a reference to throwing “pearls
before swine.” Our gifts and blessings from God are the pearls…and we
often waste them on those who do not see Jesus in our efforts – and/or
don’t care! We “preach to the choir” and neglect those who really need
to hear from God. We give the “good stuff” to the dogs, so to speak,
while some who could really use it are left hungry. We spend our time
and energy on “looking Godly” and trying to impress our friends and
fellow believers, while those who need us to be the hands and feet of
Jesus are left in the shadows - glad to get as much as a scrap of our
attention or ministry.
We really need to shift our focus and
start paying attention to the mission that God has given us. We need to
be good stewards of His gifts and apply them where He sends us…not
where it feels good or makes a big splash. We need to figure out who is
hungry for God’s word or ministry…and feed this desire with all that He
has given us. And we need to start today. Are you with me?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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