November 1, 2017 - - Proverbs 1:28-33 Stewardship
/“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord,
They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.”
Proverbs 1:28-33 NKJV
One little second, lustful glance won't matter, will it?
Just one piece of my kid's Halloween candy doesn't wreck my diet, does it?
If I leave work 15 minutes early, it isn't a big deal, right?
The federal Finance Minister, Bill Morneau, neglected to put his shares in his family company, Morneau Shepell, into a blind trust. He has been accused of profiting from his position as Finance Minister. The Toronto Star noted he is now selling the shares of his family company (the very ones he did not put into a blind trust) and he will donate the profits and the profits he realized when the shares should have been in the blind trust. (The total donation could reach $10 million according to the article in the Star.)
Every single decision, however big or small, has consequences. One Halloween candy will not add 20 kilos to your waist, but the action will lead to fruit-bearing either for good or evil. Our fancies and our pleasures will kill us. Every action comes from our thoughts. Every behaviour leads to consequences. All the consequences are the fruits of our actions. We are responsible for our sins--great and small. All of our sins, great or small, show us that we hate knowledge.
While it is critical that all our MP and Cabinet Members are held accountable for their actions, all of us must examine our own hearts and ask: where am I compromising? Where am I letting my own complacency destroy me?
While many of us do not have fortunes and responsibility over millions of dollars, God our Father has placed into your hands and mine whatever resources He chooses so that by them and the decisions we make about them we will be found to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ. If we ignore this trust, we will cry out to God and not be heard. If we are bearing the consequences of our bad intentions and wrong-headed actions, cry out to God now while He may use painful circumstances to draw you back to Himself.
Father in heaven, the Scriptures clearly teach, You are the Giver of every good gift. The greatest gift is our new life in Christ. You also, Father of Love, make us stewards responsible for whatever it is You entrust--for some it is wealth, for others it is responsibility over large families, for some it is learning to be content whatever our lot. By Your Spirit and in Your mercy, help our government leaders to cry out to You for mercy and forgiveness when they are caught in wrong-doing. Let us all, as believers, be kind-hearted and empathetic enough to know soon enough we too will need Your mercy for the wrongs which are (or will be) exposed in our lives. Cause true believers to be warriors on our knees for the sake of Jesus, the Captain of our Salvation, for Whose glory we serve. Let Christians be found to be first of all warriors in prayer for all those who are in authority and then show us to be defenders of truth in the public square. Let us all, on behalf of our own needs and then on behalf of our leaders, call on You, O God, for wisdom and justice, for forgiveness and love, for justice and judgment. May we live the blessed promise held out to us in these verses from Proverbs: that listening to You we will dwell safely and be secure, without fear of evil." Amen.
