Now then, my child, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. Keep to a
path far from fools, do not go near the door of the house of fools, lest you
give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel, lest
strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man’s house. At the
end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will
say, “how I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey
my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin
in the midst of the whole assembly.” ~Proverbs 5:7-14
As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that “HAD” to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” ~Luke 10:38-42
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” ~1 Corinthians 3:10-15
“Only one life, it will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”
I’m sure we’ve all heard of those who have climbed the ladder of success only to get to the top and discover it was leaning against the wrong wall. That statement probably describes most of us at some point in our lives. We get it into our heads that something is so important. We set our goals. Perhaps this type of thinking comes from how we were raised, that we have to leave our mark or make something of ourselves.
In contrast, I think of missionaries who have gone to medical school and then left to serve the impoverished in a foreign country. Too often, the world does not understand that type of sacrifice. Instead, it sees a brilliant and gifted young person throwing their life away when they could have done so much or earned so much. When I hear that type of statement I’m tempted to think, that is so sad. Yet, that is just how different the world’s way of seeing things is from ours as Christians.
A few days ago, we talked about focusing on Jesus as we run our race. We talked about not getting distracted by things around us and looking ahead so that we can run well. Now we need to use His wisdom to know exactly what race we are being called to run.
Have you ever seen the lay out of an airport with all those runways? Perhaps you can think of a train station with tracks going every which way. None of those tracks, or runways, are necessarily bad in and of themselves, but if you want to get from Grand Rapids to Boston, for example, all of a sudden, there is a right runway or track for you. Ignore the others.
When I mentioned in the beginning the person who discovers that his ladder of success was leaning up against the wrong wall, I didn’t necessarily mean that the climber was choosing an evil path. He may have been busy with many things that the world would deem good. The question is, are they God’s good for him or will he get to the end of his life, the top of his ladder, and wish he had done things differently. Will he wish he had chosen different priorities?
Solomon’s advice today, to his young listener, is to use wisdom to be discerning so that the review of life will not be one of regret at the end. It’s easy to look at young people today and despair at how they are choosing screens or gaming over applying themselves to something more meaningful. But what about the parent or grandparent who is so proud of the prodigy who has had major success in school and or career, but makes no mention of where they are spiritually. Can you see how, in the end, they can have regrets as well.
Consider poor Martha. Peter, who was a guest in her home that evening, because he was with Jesus, wrote later that it is good to practice hospitality. (1 Peter 4:8-9). Yet, he also heard Jesus chide Martha in the moment, for not having the right priorities while Jesus was present. It’s not that she was doing something bad necessarily, but she was distracted by her serving and more interested in feeding the guests than allowing herself to be fed by the master.
We are told that, in the end, at the judgment, our works will be tested by fire. If it is kingdom work, it will survive. If it is work for the world’s values, you will survive, but the work will go up in smoke. You really can’t take earthly accomplishments with you.
Think of the executive who, at the end, may regret not having spent more time building family relationships. Think of the one who has accumulated many material possessions who, in the end realizes how impoverished they are in their knowledge of the kingdom. Think of the wealthy entrepreneur who, in the end may wish that he had invested more in the kingdom rather than just saving up for his retirement believing he would have more time. Think of the one who wasted time on distractions rather than preciously guarding it for growing deeper in Christ.
This is all part of Solomon’s warning here when he says: “At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “how I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” There’s that great cloud of witnesses again! Solomon is warning against regretting the life you lived.
Paul contrasts it this way, the difference between silver and gold, and wood, hay, and stubble. It is the one who has come into the light, who by wisdom, chooses to devote their energy to what really matters, who can be assured that what they have done will last.
Prayer: I will never regret believing in You and following You and trusting You, my Lord and Savior! May I also get wisdom so that I do not regret how I am living out my life for You in faithful obedience, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Be Glorified
As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that “HAD” to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” ~Luke 10:38-42
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” ~1 Corinthians 3:10-15
“Only one life, it will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”
I’m sure we’ve all heard of those who have climbed the ladder of success only to get to the top and discover it was leaning against the wrong wall. That statement probably describes most of us at some point in our lives. We get it into our heads that something is so important. We set our goals. Perhaps this type of thinking comes from how we were raised, that we have to leave our mark or make something of ourselves.
In contrast, I think of missionaries who have gone to medical school and then left to serve the impoverished in a foreign country. Too often, the world does not understand that type of sacrifice. Instead, it sees a brilliant and gifted young person throwing their life away when they could have done so much or earned so much. When I hear that type of statement I’m tempted to think, that is so sad. Yet, that is just how different the world’s way of seeing things is from ours as Christians.
A few days ago, we talked about focusing on Jesus as we run our race. We talked about not getting distracted by things around us and looking ahead so that we can run well. Now we need to use His wisdom to know exactly what race we are being called to run.
Have you ever seen the lay out of an airport with all those runways? Perhaps you can think of a train station with tracks going every which way. None of those tracks, or runways, are necessarily bad in and of themselves, but if you want to get from Grand Rapids to Boston, for example, all of a sudden, there is a right runway or track for you. Ignore the others.
When I mentioned in the beginning the person who discovers that his ladder of success was leaning up against the wrong wall, I didn’t necessarily mean that the climber was choosing an evil path. He may have been busy with many things that the world would deem good. The question is, are they God’s good for him or will he get to the end of his life, the top of his ladder, and wish he had done things differently. Will he wish he had chosen different priorities?
Solomon’s advice today, to his young listener, is to use wisdom to be discerning so that the review of life will not be one of regret at the end. It’s easy to look at young people today and despair at how they are choosing screens or gaming over applying themselves to something more meaningful. But what about the parent or grandparent who is so proud of the prodigy who has had major success in school and or career, but makes no mention of where they are spiritually. Can you see how, in the end, they can have regrets as well.
Consider poor Martha. Peter, who was a guest in her home that evening, because he was with Jesus, wrote later that it is good to practice hospitality. (1 Peter 4:8-9). Yet, he also heard Jesus chide Martha in the moment, for not having the right priorities while Jesus was present. It’s not that she was doing something bad necessarily, but she was distracted by her serving and more interested in feeding the guests than allowing herself to be fed by the master.
We are told that, in the end, at the judgment, our works will be tested by fire. If it is kingdom work, it will survive. If it is work for the world’s values, you will survive, but the work will go up in smoke. You really can’t take earthly accomplishments with you.
Think of the executive who, at the end, may regret not having spent more time building family relationships. Think of the one who has accumulated many material possessions who, in the end realizes how impoverished they are in their knowledge of the kingdom. Think of the wealthy entrepreneur who, in the end may wish that he had invested more in the kingdom rather than just saving up for his retirement believing he would have more time. Think of the one who wasted time on distractions rather than preciously guarding it for growing deeper in Christ.
This is all part of Solomon’s warning here when he says: “At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “how I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” There’s that great cloud of witnesses again! Solomon is warning against regretting the life you lived.
Paul contrasts it this way, the difference between silver and gold, and wood, hay, and stubble. It is the one who has come into the light, who by wisdom, chooses to devote their energy to what really matters, who can be assured that what they have done will last.
Prayer: I will never regret believing in You and following You and trusting You, my Lord and Savior! May I also get wisdom so that I do not regret how I am living out my life for You in faithful obedience, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Be Glorified
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