As for me and my house....
If you walk into my house, one of the first things you're greeted with is part of a Scripture verse from Joshua 24:15, which says "...as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
The entire verse reads this way:
Joshua 24:15New International Version (NIV)
15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Do I mean it though? I mean, really, do I mean it? Especially when it's hard.
I've had to do a lot of thinking about money (and mostly the lack thereof) this week and the reasons behind it. I had a bit of an unexpected setback, through no fault of my own, and it forced me to stop and take a good long look at some of the things I believe about me, and about God's Word.
I hate money. I really mean that. I hate what money does to people and I'm no fan of what it's done to me this week. But during the week, I have to admit an unpleasant experience is forcing me to re-prioritize how and what I view money as and what I use it on. Sometimes things happen that way, but along the way I learned a few things about my faith.
Today was re-affirmation Sunday at church for some, for others, a new beginning; a start of a journey in walking with Christ. New members were added to our flock. The rest of the congregation was invited to reaffirm their relationship with Christ. I needed that, not because of my walk, but because of the things in my heart toward a brother.
That's tough to say. Forgiveness sometimes isn't easy and as I drove home, I'm reminded that forgiveness always costs the one doing the forgiving something. Paying the price though is part of what trusting God is going to entail today. The funny(?) thing was that I went to church this morning knowing I needed to renew my heart.
Money comes in between people. Jesus confronted this head on in His ministry on earth. He said it was easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into heaven. He told a story of a man who planned on tearing down his barns and building new ones to store all his abundance, only to lose all of it and his very life the same night. Elsewhere, we're admonished that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. I'm no lover of money and Jesus told us we couldn't love God and Mammon (money) because we could only serve one.
So who was I going to serve?
There are no ways to put this nicely...I was wronged. It's not the first time it's happened; I will be paying for my mistakes and sins with money the rest of my earthly life. But this time it hurt. Badly and it wasn't so much the money, but the absolute lack of understanding or caring about the situation that I perceive to be the case. The reason I don't see it another way is that I'm me and I'm comparing what my actions would have been in similar circumstances to avoid what was done to me. The other man in question is not me and to apply my standard to him is unfair at best. I had some anger at the brother this morning when I went to church. I needed to get back to some Biblical principles in a hurry and I was confronted with this:
Who was I going to serve?
If I stayed angry, then Jesus was right and I was serving money. If I let it Go then I was going to be serving God, and I had some choices to make in a hurry. I chose to talk and think it through with God helping me and with some help of the Holy Spirit, I was able to make the right choice.
This was not the easy choice. The right choice seldom is.
So today, I can say, that while I didn't start out there, I reaffirmed to my God that as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. The brother I was upset with is a believer and the Holy Spirit dwells within him as well. I will leave the matter up to God for His will to be done. And I will leave the anger and bitterness at the cross.
The entire verse reads this way:
Joshua 24:15New International Version (NIV)
15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Do I mean it though? I mean, really, do I mean it? Especially when it's hard.
I've had to do a lot of thinking about money (and mostly the lack thereof) this week and the reasons behind it. I had a bit of an unexpected setback, through no fault of my own, and it forced me to stop and take a good long look at some of the things I believe about me, and about God's Word.
I hate money. I really mean that. I hate what money does to people and I'm no fan of what it's done to me this week. But during the week, I have to admit an unpleasant experience is forcing me to re-prioritize how and what I view money as and what I use it on. Sometimes things happen that way, but along the way I learned a few things about my faith.
Today was re-affirmation Sunday at church for some, for others, a new beginning; a start of a journey in walking with Christ. New members were added to our flock. The rest of the congregation was invited to reaffirm their relationship with Christ. I needed that, not because of my walk, but because of the things in my heart toward a brother.
That's tough to say. Forgiveness sometimes isn't easy and as I drove home, I'm reminded that forgiveness always costs the one doing the forgiving something. Paying the price though is part of what trusting God is going to entail today. The funny(?) thing was that I went to church this morning knowing I needed to renew my heart.
Money comes in between people. Jesus confronted this head on in His ministry on earth. He said it was easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into heaven. He told a story of a man who planned on tearing down his barns and building new ones to store all his abundance, only to lose all of it and his very life the same night. Elsewhere, we're admonished that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. I'm no lover of money and Jesus told us we couldn't love God and Mammon (money) because we could only serve one.
So who was I going to serve?
There are no ways to put this nicely...I was wronged. It's not the first time it's happened; I will be paying for my mistakes and sins with money the rest of my earthly life. But this time it hurt. Badly and it wasn't so much the money, but the absolute lack of understanding or caring about the situation that I perceive to be the case. The reason I don't see it another way is that I'm me and I'm comparing what my actions would have been in similar circumstances to avoid what was done to me. The other man in question is not me and to apply my standard to him is unfair at best. I had some anger at the brother this morning when I went to church. I needed to get back to some Biblical principles in a hurry and I was confronted with this:
Who was I going to serve?
If I stayed angry, then Jesus was right and I was serving money. If I let it Go then I was going to be serving God, and I had some choices to make in a hurry. I chose to talk and think it through with God helping me and with some help of the Holy Spirit, I was able to make the right choice.
This was not the easy choice. The right choice seldom is.
So today, I can say, that while I didn't start out there, I reaffirmed to my God that as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. The brother I was upset with is a believer and the Holy Spirit dwells within him as well. I will leave the matter up to God for His will to be done. And I will leave the anger and bitterness at the cross.
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