Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty. But from the strength of an ox come
abundant harvest. ~Proverbs 14:4
Be sure you know the conditions of your flocks, give careful attention to your
herds; For riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all
generations. When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from
the hills is gathered in, the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the
goats with the price of a field. You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed
you and your family and to nourish your servant girls. ~Proverbs 27:23-27
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will you not first sit down and
estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you
lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will
ridicule you, saying “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” Or
suppose a king is about to go to war against another kingdom. Will he not first
sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the
one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a
delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of
peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has
cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:28-33
What we have here is another opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance
of knowing ourselves, knowing what we are capable of, what we are gifted for
and our areas of weakness. We are being reminded to manage all of life well. No
area of our lives should be beyond our care.
We all have areas of our lives in which we excel. We love tending these areas
because they come so naturally and easily to us. It could be cleaning or
exercise. For another person it could be music or hospitality. There are those
who love their job because they have been blessed with a good fit and they find
it a joy to get up and go to work in the morning. We don’t struggle much to
maintain these areas of our lives because we find it easy to do so.
Then there are those areas that may be more of a challenge. We know they’re
important in the grand scheme of things, but they are a struggle for us. Keeping
my desk clean and my papers organized comes to mind. This is where the fruit of
the spirit known as self-control comes into play. It takes discipline to stay
on top of these areas, know our limitations and face the truth of the cost. If
we don’t discipline ourselves to maintain them anyway, we face the consequences
of letting them drift.
Solomon and Jesus are both talking about the importance of vigilance in all
areas of life. Because our lives are interdependent, we will do our best if we
can demonstrate self- control in all areas.
If you don’t have oxen, don’t expect a crop to feed your family during harvest.
If, however, you take good care of your oxen, you will be able to plant, and
bring in hay to feed your sheep and goats who will in turn give you milk plus,
you will have a harvest to last you through the winter and it all started by
caring for the ox, that big old cow that leaves piles of fertilizer all over
the place and is constantly eating when it isn’t working.
Then there is building a tower and taking the time to plan for it first. As a
homeowner, I can really relate to this one. Kathy and I have a lot of dreams
about what we want our home and property to look like. We see a lot of
potential, but it all costs money and takes time. Then, there is the
maintenance of what we already have. We spend a lot of time prioritizing based
on time, money and ability because we don’t want to leave something half done. It
takes self-control to stay indoors and write a sermon, when I’d rather be outside
working in my back yard. I also prefer painting over cleaning. But cleaning is
more frequently required.
Jesus’ warning about taking inventory and counting the cost, whether you are a
builder, with limited resources, or a king, with limited military power, is
similar to the farmer who must maintain his oxen, and similar to me, as I also must
take care of all the areas of life that demand my attention. When all areas are
maintained well, thought through well, and attended to well, I will enjoy the
most blessing. The modern term for this kind of life is “wholistic.” It refers
to having every area of life in balance.
Everything from diet, exercise, work, leisure, thought life and, most
importantly, our time with the Lord in prayer and scripture are included. We
need them all to work well together for the best outcome. We are currently
reading a book called “Fit After Fifty” that discusses the actual scientific
evidence for the physical health benefits of living a well-balanced life. They
even include an assessment tool that helps one take inventory on how well you
are maintaining each area so you can do something to fix it. If I know what I
have, know where I lack, either know how to do better or know how to
compensate, that is like maintaining my oxen. Then, everything else can fall
into place. On the other hand, if I do not practice discipline and get out of
balance, I risk losing it all.
“For riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all
generations.” Abilities, health and finances can all be lost. Even if just one
area is lost, it will affect the other areas of our life. We may not realize
how we are hurting ourselves in the moment when we neglect the hard or
unpleasant things that we should do to keep in balance, but eventually, the
damage will be seen and then, depending on what it is, it may not be recovered,
leaving a bigger struggle than we were expecting. “Use it or lose it,” may
apply here.
Another thing to remember is that Paul uses the body as an illustration of how
the church should function. We will do best as a church when we can maintain a
balanced center of worship as well. It is important for us to know and teach
Biblical truths, but we also need to demonstrate how to put those truths in to
practice. We need to be led by the Holy Spirit as well as practicing spiritual
disciplines. As a church, we need to “maintain our oxen” so that we can produce
a harvest that will bless those who attend and those in the community. By His
grace and wisdom, we can.
One more note. The Luke passage has Jesus talking about
counting the cost and it is very similar to Solomon’s concerns, but he takes it
up a notch when he says, “those of you who do not give up everything you have
cannot be my disciples.” That seems out of balance! But only until we take
eternal life into account. The unfinished tower represents
the weedy soil kind of discipleship, where you get a start on following Jesus,
but you don’t follow through. The King with a smaller army represents all people.
For each of us starts out in life in rebellion against God and we all need to
realize that we can’t win that war and must submit to God’s offer of peace through
faith in Jesus.
Jesus also said, in Matthew 16:26, “What good will it be for someone to gain
the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange
for their soul?” Paul said, in Philippians 3:8, “What is more, I consider
everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I
may gain Christ.” And Jim Elliot famously pointed out, “He is no fool who gives
what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
How tragic then that the greatest lack of self-control among Christians is
usually found in the area of prayer and fellowship with God. It seems we so
easily forfeit from our busy schedules that which we should recognize as the
most important activity of all! Why do we spend so much time on all the stuff
we cannot keep?
Prayer: Dear Father, I give You thanks for all the dear Christians who really do give you first place and count You as the most important part of life to focus on. In the end You are really ALL there is! And I pray for all those dear Christians who seem to be too busy to pray, that they will count the cost of taking their eyes off you, and realize how much more they need to give You. But Father, help me also, as I continue to give You my time, that I spend it well and fully reap the benefits of loving You more dearly still, and following You more nearly than I did yesterday. In Jesus' name, amen.
Song: He is No Fool
Comments
Post a Comment