April 5-6 An Impatient Faith

I Chronicles 10:13-14 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the LORD.

The thought of the price of infidelity - Saul died because he was unfaithful - is powerful, but not something about which we think very often. If we understand this verse correctly, Saul's life would have been much longer, and happier, had he been faithful to God.

A couple of thoughts come to my mind here - one, do we even recognize all the times we are unfaithful to God? Yesterday I sat in on a discussion about evil, and it was apparent that we in that room did not even agree in what constitutes evil. One person brought up the biblical imperatives that we are to love God and love one another with the idea that if our action is not loving, then it must be evil. Another was concerned with what we might view for entertainment, and it reminded me of how little is available that we might watch with the physical Jesus Christ present.

Then, it occurred to me that whenever we make a decision to put something else ahead of God, choosing to give greater influence or power or pressure in our lives, we are being unfaithful to Him. For instance, perhaps choosing to wear something we know is questionable, choosing to give Him the last fruits of our day or life instead of the first or best time of our day, choosing to skip church and the fellowship there for an early start to a day of shopping or vacation maybe....

Two, do we even consider how different the quality of our lives might be were we more faithful to God? God wants us to experience love, joy, peace, patience..... And when we are unfaithful to Him and His Word, there is a cost. First our fellowship and community with Him are damaged, even put at risk. Then the very directives He gave us to ensure love, joy and peace are compromised. He gave us those commands because He knew their outcome would be for our good. When we lie, steal, envy, covet, look at or think about things that are not pure, there is a price, a change in our lives that is not good.

As far as impatient faith - we want immediate satisfaction, and when God asks us to wait, it is for our own good - not His. And when we bull our way into having our own will, the price may be death...death to fellowship, death to relationship, death to love and joy and peace, and perhaps a sooner than expected physical death.