From Negligence to Action: Heeding God’s Call to Serve
2 Chronicles 29:11a
My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him…
According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, to be negligent is to be habitually careless or inattentive. Strong’s Concordance also gives us another definition which says “to mislead”. I think both go hand in hand, don’t you? Think about it; here, the Levites are chosen by God to stand before Him and minister in the house of The Lord, and yet they had become negligent of their duties. This means in essence that the leaders of God’s chosen people were not leading like they were supposed to. And when a leader does not lead, he or she is in fact misleading by example. To do nothing sheds no less weight of responsibility from off your shoulders as a leader. In fact, those who are in leadership positions are held doubly accountable not only for their actions but for their inactions. It has been said that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Here’s the point; active leaders lead others to action, while negligent leaders lead others to negligence. You’re going to influence others regardless; why not make it count for something good!
Now, as for your service to The Lord, where are you in terms of your level of positive influence towards others? When other people look at you, do they see someone who is actively involved in the work of The Lord, or someone who is inattentive to the things of God and His church? And what about your children? What kind of lessons are they being taught by your leadership or lack thereof? This is a vitally important point that we do not need to hurry on past without it impacting our thinking for future generations.
One of the first steps in becoming people of ACTION is to ask ourselves the tough questions, such as: What key areas of my walk with God am I most negligent in? How does my lack of attentiveness to these areas affect those closest to me? If I were not negligent in these areas, how much of an impact for Christ would it have on those closest to me? Could I be the match that ignites revival for my family and church, by simply committing to never be negligent again? And, what action steps do I need to take TODAY to start creating the healthy habit of giving worthy attention to God’s call?
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him…
According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, to be negligent is to be habitually careless or inattentive. Strong’s Concordance also gives us another definition which says “to mislead”. I think both go hand in hand, don’t you? Think about it; here, the Levites are chosen by God to stand before Him and minister in the house of The Lord, and yet they had become negligent of their duties. This means in essence that the leaders of God’s chosen people were not leading like they were supposed to. And when a leader does not lead, he or she is in fact misleading by example. To do nothing sheds no less weight of responsibility from off your shoulders as a leader. In fact, those who are in leadership positions are held doubly accountable not only for their actions but for their inactions. It has been said that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Here’s the point; active leaders lead others to action, while negligent leaders lead others to negligence. You’re going to influence others regardless; why not make it count for something good!
Now, as for your service to The Lord, where are you in terms of your level of positive influence towards others? When other people look at you, do they see someone who is actively involved in the work of The Lord, or someone who is inattentive to the things of God and His church? And what about your children? What kind of lessons are they being taught by your leadership or lack thereof? This is a vitally important point that we do not need to hurry on past without it impacting our thinking for future generations.
One of the first steps in becoming people of ACTION is to ask ourselves the tough questions, such as: What key areas of my walk with God am I most negligent in? How does my lack of attentiveness to these areas affect those closest to me? If I were not negligent in these areas, how much of an impact for Christ would it have on those closest to me? Could I be the match that ignites revival for my family and church, by simply committing to never be negligent again? And, what action steps do I need to take TODAY to start creating the healthy habit of giving worthy attention to God’s call?
~ Pastor Gary Caudill