"If the Lord is not the builder, the builder builds in vain."
As I start to think about how to kick back in to the Jesus part of the world, which is something I want to do, I immediately remember the concept that doing things with spiritual implications because I want to, under my own strength, by my own devices and using my own resources is generally a prescription for failure.
God needs to be the instigator, not me - and not a motivational sermon or a feeling of guilt that I'm not pulling my weight, or using the talents, gifts, abilities and training I have received.
The concept is true enough, but can quickly become a cop out. The cop out goes something like this:
First, I'm really busy already - and loving life. I already have things to do, and they are important on their own. It's not like I'm sitting around with my thumb in my butt, bored to death and looking for something to fill my life with.
And, I have a couple of bushes in my back yard. If God wants me to get involved someplace, he can let one of them burn without being consumed, and talk to me. Saul was called by a blinding bright light, Samuel in a dream, Matthew was at work, Peter was fishing, etc. God has a history of making Himself heard when it's important for His people to do something.
Plus, like Jonah, I'm not completely sure I want to get my hands dirty with people who suffer greatly in life because of their own self inflicted wounds. I'm all for feeding hungry kids and helping people overcome bad situations that have happened to them. I'm all over showing people how to look at circumstances through the lens of God's logic. But when it comes to mercy, well I don't have very much.
God created a cause/effect world on purpose. People who do stupid things cause their own pain. I know that self inflicted wounds hurt just as much as wounds inflicted by life or others. I would never tell someone, "you've got this coming." But deep down, I probably think that 80% of the things that screw people up are because of a failure to respect the law of cause/effect.
Put all of this together and I have a great excuse to say, "Whoa, Horse. Hold on a second. What are you thinking about? If God needs your scrawny butt, He'll let you know. Otherwise, take care of what's on your plate today and don't worry about the rest of the world."
Man, I almost convinced myself just writing this post. But I also want to honor the God that has been so good to me. I want to do that by being thankful, by living a godly life, in worship, in my own private meditation. But I also want to do that in a way that impacts others in a positive way. Whether they deserve to be impacted in a positive way or not is not really the issue.
I have the ability to look around and see opportunities to put my faith into action, to serve, to help and to bless someone else. I don't need a miraculous experience to show me how to give food to someone who has none, or encourage someone who is discouraged or down.
I therefore reject the cop out. Now that that's out of the way, I wonder where God can use me today?