Finding the Right Balance Between Divine Duty and Daily Tasks
Matt. 22:5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
Nothing can be of more importance than being attentive to that which God has set in order. Here, many made light of the wedding which their king had arranged, and decided that they had better things to do. In like manner, I wonder how guilty this generation is of doing the same. We are living in the dispensation of grace, whereby the church has been commissioned to go out into the highways and hedges to compel those which are lost to come in; yet, many are too tied up in the affairs of this life to participate in the effort.
We can get so involved in temporal things that we neglect what is most important. I think the key phrase in our text which shows us where they went wrong is this, “…and went their ways…” It is when we go our own way and do our own thing that we miss out on what God is doing. You see, if we will acknowledge God in all of our ways, then He will surely direct our paths (see Prov. 3:5-6). That means that He will enable us not only to make provisions for our families, but also to accomplish the work of the ministry at the same time.
There needs to be a balance. If we get so caught up in “making provisions” that we turn our attention to business alone, then God’s will is neglected. We need to be able to seek the Lord and allow Him to show us HIS will for our lives, so that our business does not interfere nor hinder His from being accomplished.
Do we have to be SO busy that we can’t even attend the wedding? Really, sometimes we act as if God expects too much of us, do we not? 1 Jn 5:3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” In other words, God is not going to ask us to do something that, with His help, we cannot do.
Considering all our Lord has done for us, we are taught in Rom. 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” What God asks of us is neither grievous nor unreasonable! We can live balanced lives, ensuring that not only our personal affairs are taken care of so far as tangibles are concerned, but also ensuring that we live out God’s will and purpose for our lives. Go not your own way!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Nothing can be of more importance than being attentive to that which God has set in order. Here, many made light of the wedding which their king had arranged, and decided that they had better things to do. In like manner, I wonder how guilty this generation is of doing the same. We are living in the dispensation of grace, whereby the church has been commissioned to go out into the highways and hedges to compel those which are lost to come in; yet, many are too tied up in the affairs of this life to participate in the effort.
We can get so involved in temporal things that we neglect what is most important. I think the key phrase in our text which shows us where they went wrong is this, “…and went their ways…” It is when we go our own way and do our own thing that we miss out on what God is doing. You see, if we will acknowledge God in all of our ways, then He will surely direct our paths (see Prov. 3:5-6). That means that He will enable us not only to make provisions for our families, but also to accomplish the work of the ministry at the same time.
There needs to be a balance. If we get so caught up in “making provisions” that we turn our attention to business alone, then God’s will is neglected. We need to be able to seek the Lord and allow Him to show us HIS will for our lives, so that our business does not interfere nor hinder His from being accomplished.
Do we have to be SO busy that we can’t even attend the wedding? Really, sometimes we act as if God expects too much of us, do we not? 1 Jn 5:3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” In other words, God is not going to ask us to do something that, with His help, we cannot do.
Considering all our Lord has done for us, we are taught in Rom. 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” What God asks of us is neither grievous nor unreasonable! We can live balanced lives, ensuring that not only our personal affairs are taken care of so far as tangibles are concerned, but also ensuring that we live out God’s will and purpose for our lives. Go not your own way!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill