THE SECRET KILLER
Scripture for the day: James 4:1-3 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Thought for the day: The following story concerns Raynald III, a fourteenth century duke, in what is now Bulgaria. Grossly overweight, Raynald was commonly called by his Latin nickname, Crassus, which means “fat.” After a violent quarrel, Raynald’s younger brother Edward led a successful revolt against him. Edward captured Raynald but did not kill him. Instead, he built a room around Raynald in the Nieuwkerk castle and promised him he could regain his title and property as soon as he was able to leave the room.
This would not have been difficult for most people since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size, and none was locked or barred. The problem was Raynald’s size. To regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight. But Edward knew his older brother, and each day he sent a variety of delicious foods. Instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter. When Duke Edward was accused of cruelty, he had a ready answer: “My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave when he so wills.” Raynald stayed in that room for ten years and wasn’t released until after Edward died in battle. By then his health was so ruined he died within a year…a prisoner of his own appetite.
Today’s devotion is not about overeating, really it’s not. If it were I’d have to indulge in a serious amount of self-recrimination. It’s about lust (another not-so-favorite subject within the church). Think for a moment of the quarrels and/or splits that have taken place in so many of our churches and denominations. How many of these times of great pain have been caused by genuine disagreements over theological or moral issues and how many have been caused by one side demanding they get their way at the expense of “those other folks?” Let’s be honest; most of the conflicts in our churches revolve around one or more people demanding that their agenda be advanced – and too often that agenda has little or nothing to do with advancing the cause of Christ.
And what is the answer to this problem with lust in all its forms? James tells us it’s this simple: “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” I forget who said it, but one wise man put it this way: “A lot more would get accomplished if fewer people cared who got the credit.” And isn’t it true? Granted, we all want and appreciate due recognition for those things we’ve managed to accomplish, but how much richer the church would be if no one really cared about such things. I mean really, does it matter that the whole church knows I cleaned the bathrooms, or is it more important that the Lord knows I conscientiously served him with my time and best effort? Is it important that the denominational leaders know the pastor introduced 15 people to Jesus this past month, or is it more important that 15 new names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?
“Draw near to God,” James tells us, “and he will draw near to you.” Do we really want to get rid of lust and envy and strife and hurt feelings in the church? Let every member focus on getting as close to God as possible and those things will be forever left behind. You see, there is no room for envy or lust at the feet of Jesus so if we’re willing to spend some time there we will look for those things and not find them. And we’ll realize how little they’ve contributed to our well-being in the first place. We’ll discover just how much those anti-Christ attitudes have kept us back from being Christlike.
Remember, if a pig and a child get everything they want, you’ll end up with a good pig and a bad child. Lust and the attempted satiation of it lead only to disaster, morally, spiritually, and very often physically.
Now go take on your world - Bill