Stop the Drift!
The waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the
complacency of the fools will destroy them. But whoever listens to wisdom will
live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm. ~Proverbs 1:32-33
Blessed is the one who does not walk in the counsel of
the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. For Their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on His law they meditate day and night. They are like a tree planted by
streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not
wither. Whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind
blows away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners
in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the
righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. ~Psalm 1:1-6
Here we see two different ways of being at ease. One
way can lead to our harm and possibly destruction, but the other will be a
blessing if we are vigilant.
Imagine yourself in a boat in the middle of a large
lake, maybe even the ocean. You have two
choices, to drift or navigate. To choose to drift is certainly stress free, for
the moment. Being complacent or wayward is like drifting along, letting the
boat choose your course. Your boat can be influenced by winds or currents, or
both. The control is external with very little direction from you. This may be
relaxing for the moment, but can lead to trouble.
There is a better way to take a ride in a boat that is
more enjoyable but will take more preparation at the beginning. When you study
navigation, build up muscle through exercise for rowing, learn the power of the
sail and plan ahead for contingencies and pack supplies accordingly, then, you
too can sit adrift in a boat, but wisdom will keep you secure and prepared for
the trouble that may come.
I’m sure that the analogy is pretty obvious here. The
boat is like life. There are those who drift and those who take control or
prepare. Both experience life, but often with different outcomes.
The Psalmist puts the contrast a little differently. The
choice is to be either a tree that bears fruit and blesses others, or chaff
that drifts away on the wind. Both the tree and the chaff are at ease, with no
worries, but which would you rather be? Both David and his son, Solomon, are
using analogy to compare the life that we can see, but is temporary, to a life
that we may not be able to see physically, but is in reality, more secure, more
substantive and permanent.
Isn’t it amazing the difference God makes in our lives?
Paul refers to our earthly existence as though we are living in a tent. Anyone
who has done camping and endured a thunderstorm knows how little security there
is in that. Yet, even with the danger all around them, so many seem unaware of
their situation and choose to drift and be complacent about their lives. The
phrase “Carpe Deum,” or “Cease the day,” sounds so good. Or what was the Phrase
from Disney’s “Lion King,” “Ha Kuna Matata,” (a worry free philosophy), the
world makes life sound so easy. Just follow your heart and you’ll be okay. They
do not realize that they are the ones being deceived.
I know, the world paints us as Christians as too
serious, kill joys, and we do have a delicate calling before us to be aware of
the danger, yet encouraging and joyful to attract those around us to become
truly secure in Christ. Does it help to remember that in reality, we are the
ones who are living in safety? His strength makes us like a well- watered tree
that blesses others. Without Him, we are no better than chaff, not even the
seed, but only the hull of the seed that blows away, adrift on the wind. It’s
painful to see our loved ones that way, but that truly is the change that
Christ makes in our lives. What a
contrast!
The good news is that it is not hopeless. When we
think of sharing as holding out our hands and catching those hulls and stopping
the drift so that God’s seed can be placed within them, they can become a tree
too.
Lord, it’s easy here on earth to become confused and
place more value and importance on the temporary and too little importance and
value on what you make me, eternal. Please stop my drift when I start getting
it backwards. May I use your strength to become the tree, in You, that You
intended for me to be and may I never stop reaching out to those that are
drifting by so that they can accept the gift of Your seed and become trees in
You too.
Hymn: “Am I A
Soldier Of The Cross”
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