Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Idleness Stagnates; Involvement Excites

Have you ever noticed yourself being more tired on a day that you could lay around than on a day that you had to get up and go all day? I have. It seems odd that our bodies would be constructed in such a way that you get energy by expending energy.

Another idea to think about is that when there is little to do, we tend to do things that get us into trouble. That is one reason that there is a push to create a center for teens, to give them somewhere to go and something to do that will, hopefully, keep them from turning to alcohol, drugs, or sex to keep them occupied. But adults are just as guilty as teens are when it comes to the principle of “little to do…get into trouble”.

I think that the principle from the introductory paragraph holds true to the Body of Christ. If all who make up the Body, here, are figuratively lying around, spiritually, then we are going to have less energy than we would if we were busy. As energy is given to the physical body, I think there is a parallel to the energy given to the spiritual body. I’ve been guilty of being lazy for God. I’ve felt that feeling of “church is just a few songs, some prayers, Lord’s Supper, a sermon, and an hour” feeling. Then, after you are done, you either chastise your experience or are grateful that you are finished and can move on to more fun things. I laid around all week, spiritually. Looking back, I was more tired not doing anything for God, than doing things.

The principle of the second paragraph also holds true to the Body of Christ. When we are not busy, we can tend to get into trouble. I am not simply alluring to the fact that sin could creep into our group. That is true, we could find ourselves being tempted to do things we shouldn’t, or worse, actually following through. However, there are other kinds of trouble to think about, like being lukewarm, idle, or complacent.

John warns the lukewarm in the book of Revelation. (Revelation 3:16) Paul warns the idle of Thessalonica. (I Thessalonians 5:14) Zephaniah warns the complacent. (Zephaniah 1:12) So, we can see that the less busy for God we are, the more likely we are to fall into one of these categories. Busy for busy sake is not the same as being busy for God. Being involved with the church family and its activities is one way to be busy for God.

Based off of my personal experiences, I’ve learned that being involved keeps me excited to be a part of the Kingdom. I make it a personal mission to try to give you opportunities to be more involved in doing things that help to deepen and develop your faith. This sermon series is not short of that mission.

Let’s all live wide awake…for Him!

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