07/28/2019
How often do we look at those of great wealth or success, and envy them? How frequent is our wandering eye that would adore the latest fashion , or the newest craze, and partake in it, when by doing so it leads us away from God? Giving way to the allure of the world is to take a walk down the way of the foolish, and to stray from a life guided by faith... the path of Christ.
“Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
Psalms 73:1-3 ESV
It’s easy to get caught us in the envy of people and things. We can be easily led away from our faith while all the time convincing ourselves that it is harmless. Here is a story...
There was a pastor who had been working very hard at preparing his Sunday sermon, going to board meetings, finding repairmen for his broken down car, and many other tasks. It was Saturday morning and He received two phone calls, the first was from a wealthy man who was driven to church each Sunday in a fine new car, dressed in the latest fashions, and gave just enough money to the indigent, but who would serve personally on the board. The second call was from the daughter of a man who had been in church every Sunday, and often had to walk to get there. This man gave very little to the offering plate, dressed in the clothes of a commoner, worked in a soup kitchen, and offered himself tirelessly in the church to keep everything in working order... his hands were calloused and scarred, and in many social circles he was an embarrassment.
The first man extended an invitation to play golf with him at the country club, and would have the pastor picked up in his fine new car. The daughter of the second man was informing him that the poor parishioner was in the hospital, and the doctors had run out of hope for him... he needed prayer... could he come?
The pastor had already agreed to play golf, and to lavish himself in the opulence of the first man’s lifestyle. He rationalized to himself that he had worked hard all week, and that this pampering would allow him to recover, and to mingle with the upper crust who might give to the church. So he told the daughter of the common man that he had a previous commitment and would get there as soon as he could.
The pastor had a wonderful time at the country club and rarely gave thought to the sick man in the hospital. He drank fancy beverages, rubbed shoulders with the city’s finest people, and even secured an invitation to return and play golf again. Then, at the end of his day he showered at the club, dried himself with plush towels, dressed once again in his simple robe, and made his way to the commoner’s bedside.
As he walked down the hallway towards the man’s room he saw a crowd had gathered, and heard crying. The simple man of faith had died a few minutes before. Although his family, and church friends, had been with him praying as he took his final breaths, there had been no pastor or priest there to pray for him in those last moments. The pastor walked into their midst and said “I wish I could have been here sooner.”
What are your thoughts regarding this story? What choice would you have made if you were the pastor? Would you have chosen the time of relaxation with the city’s elite, or would you have gone straightway to the hospital? Would you have chosen prayer with a poor man, or the invitation to relax with someone you felt might raise your social standing?
“So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.”
Psalms 73:22 KJV
This might seem like an obvious choice, but it mustn’t be because similar situations play themselves out in our lives, and the lives of those in the church every day. Sometimes it is choosing a dinner with a more pious person over one with a sinner who wants to talk about Jesus, or simply sitting next to a saint in church instead of someone whose head hangs heavy with grief... we must make so many choices between ourselves, the world we are enamored with, and Jesus. So how well are we making them? How much influence is the world’s temptation of pride, prejudice, and envy, being allowed to have in our lives, and the choices of faith we make?
Today is Sunday... who will you sit with? Who will you pray for in the pews, or at the altar? Who will you dine with, or go to visit after church is over? Who’s life will you envy... those in the world, or Jesus Christ?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your Son Jesus who walked this world without yielding to it. I thank you for the call of your Heavenly Spirit that brings me to the side of sinners and the sick when they need saving prayer. I thank you for teaching me through the life of your Son that we are sent to save the sick, and not the healthy... even in the pews, and among the saints of our church. Merciful are you Holy Father... have mercy on me now for I have sinned and placed the world above your calling in so many circumstances. Open my eyes Lord, and reveal to me the weight of the choices I make... let me put no other god before me, because you are the One True God. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who sees our hearts, and not our trappings and earthly successes. Great are you, and your Son Jesus, who says the least shall be first, and suffer not the children to come to me. Praised be your name for the patience you have in this, and other, sinner’s lives, and may all glory be yours for the grace which you bestow upon us. Have Mercy Father, for your Son Jesus is our feast.
“But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."”
Luke 14:13-14 ESV
Rich Forbes