For several months now, the Lord has impressed upon me the truth that everything in life is about Him and His glory. The emphasis, the attention, the benefit is for God and His glory. It has nothing to do with what I can get out this relationship. It’s simply about God and His glory. In Romans 12:1 Paul says to “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice” and that this is our worship to the Lord. The purpose of sanctification … the purpose of our obedience … the purpose for our pursuit of godliness is ultimately to worship God. Period. It is NOT to bring more benefit to me. It is to make God’s name great.

In many ways this is so liberating and comforting to me. To be completely honest, the pursuit of godliness and obedience to the Lord can be a “burden.” If I just think about the time and energy I have to commit towards obedience and sanctification (church, spiritual disciplines, relationships, accountability, lifestyle, etc), I already feel tired . But I realized that it was a burden only because I approached these things with the subtle motive of how they would benefit me. And when I saw no immediate benefit that satisfied a selfish desire, those things became a burden. But mediating on this simple truth transformed this burden into a privilege when I saw that what I offer to the Lord in complete surrender glorifies and worships Him. It’ not about me, it’s about Him.

“While purporting to ‘see through’ others’ facades, cynics lack purity of heart. A significant source of cynicism is the fracture between my heart and my behavior. It goes something like this: My heart gets out of tune with God, but life goes on. So I continue to perform and say Christian things, but they are just words. I talk about Jesus without the presence of Jesus. There is a disconnect between what I present and who I am. My words sound phony, so other’s words sound phony too. In short, my empty religious performance leads me to think that everyone is phony. The very thing I am doing, I accuse others of doing. Adding judgment to hypocrisy breeds cynicism.”

- Paul Miller, A Praying Life, page 91

[C.J. Mahaney writes about sin of procrastination]

Lazy? Not me. I’m busy. Up early, up late. My schedule is filled from beginning to end. I love what I do and I love getting stuff done. I attack a daily to-do list with the same intensity I play basketball. Me lazy? I don’t think so!

Or at least I didn’t think so. That is, until I read about the difference between busyness and fruitfulness, and realized just how often my busyness was an expression of laziness, not diligence.

I forget now who first brought these points to my attention. But the realization that I could be simultaneously busy and lazy, that I could be a hectic sluggard, that my busyness was no immunity from laziness, became a life-altering and work-altering insight. What I learned is that:

* Busyness does not mean I am diligent
* Busyness does not mean I am faithful
* Busyness does not mean I am fruitful

Recognizing the sin of procrastination, and broadening the definition to include busyness, has made a significant alteration in my life. The sluggard can be busy—busy neglecting the most important work, and busy knocking out a to-do list filled with tasks of secondary importance.

When considering our schedules, we have endless options. But there are a few clear priorities and projects, derived from my God-assigned roles, that should occupy the majority of my time during a given week. And there are a thousand tasks of secondary importance that tempt us to devote a disproportionate amount of time to completing an endless to-do list. And if we are lazy, we will neglect the important for the urgent.

Our Savior understood priorities. Although his public ministry was shorter than one presidential term, within that time he completed all the works give to him by the Father.

The Father evidently called him to heal a limited number of people from disease, raise a limited number of bodies from the dead, and preach a limited number of sermons. As Jesus stared into the cup of God’s wrath, he looked back on his life work as complete because he understood the calling of the Father. He was not called to heal everyone, raise everyone, preach copious sermons, or write volumes of books.

While we must always be extra careful when comparing our responsibilities with Christ’s messianic priorities, in the incarnation he entered into the limitations of human life on this earth.

So join me over the next few days as we discover the root and nature of laziness, so that we might devote ourselves to biblical priorities and join our Savior in one day praying to the Father, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4, ESV).

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I have been reading through the Old Testament account of the Israelite journey in the wilderness.  One thing that I noticed was when the Israelites came out of Egypt and traveled through the wilderness, the majority of what they had to say were complaints. They complained about their circumstances even though they experienced great miracles of God. Here’s one of those complaining moments in Numbers 20:5 while in the wilderness.

“Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.”

As I read these complaints, I can’t help but think to myself … “Come on … don’t complain! Why do you guys keep complaining and complaining? Didn’t God split the Red Sea right in front of your eyes?  Don’t you know by now that God has a special favor on you? He saved you from the Egyptians. How can you lack so much faith?!” And I have to admit, as I read these complaining accounts, it’s easy to read it with a prideful and righteous heart. I think to myself, “If I were an Israelite, I wouldn’t have complained.”

But the Holy Spirit convicted my heart and helped me to realize that I would have done exactly the same thing if I were part of this mass exodus, constantly on the move to an unknown place. The Israelites were not complaining about lacking “middle class” luxuries and comforts. Often, they were asking for the bare essentials – food and shelter. And if I were traveling with my family in this massive caravan through the wilderness, experiencing a certain measure of discomfort, I know that I would be in the front of line demanding food and shelter from Moses.

I realize something about reading the Bible. It’s very easy for me to have pride and think to myself, “I would have never done that.” “Don’t they see it?” “Come on … Don’t eat the apple!” It’s a sobering thought to me about the human condition. Pride is even evident in how we read Scripture.

One of the things that I appreciate about the Bible is that it’s a complete, unedited, honest depiction of the human condition. It tells it as it is. And the reason for this is not to make us feel good about ourselves, thinking that we could have changed the trajectory of humankind if only, the Bible story was about me – that in some way I am better than those people of the past.  No way! Rather, the Bible is like a mirror that reflects accurately our depravity as human beings.  Reading these Bible stories shouldn’t puff me up with pride, but rather humble me because I am susceptible to the same types of sin and disobedience against the Lord.

But the good news is always the gospel! We don’t have to stay in despair because of our condition. Rather, the gospel gives us hope and strength when we realize that our only hope is in the Christ righteousness and God’s amazing grace.

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During one of my discipleship meetings, I noticed that one of the guys sounded kind of funny as he was sharing about his week. Trying to focus on what he was saying, I noticed that he had a retainer on his teeth? I asked him, “Hey … when did you get a retainer?” And he, orthodontist by trade, went on to explain that his teeth were getting “a little crooked”. Now, I don’t stare at other people’s teeth and judge to see if they are straight or not … maybe you do. As far as I know, he has a nice set of pearly whites even without the retainer. But as a professional orthodontist, he is able to pick up on little nuances of teeth that regular folk like me can’t even detect.  Anyhow, he went on to explain that having straight teeth is crucial as he works with people that come to him with crooked teeth issues. That makes sense.  I mean what kind of reputation would this orthodontist have if he practiced his trade with crooked teeth!?!

As I reflect on that conversation, I was challenged and convicted in my “profession” & “calling” as a pastor. I thought about how on a regular basis I meet people struggling with a “crooked” life. And they come to me because I am their spiritual shepherd, and they sincerely seek help to “straighten” their lives. Having been in ministry for a number of years now, I have become “good” at diagnosing people’s problems and giving them plans for spiritual victory and renewal. But I wonder, is my life worthy to be imitated or desired (1 Corinthians 4:15-16)?  Or is my life “crooked?” Am I able to diagnose my own “crookedness” just like my orthodontist friend was able to diagnose his own crooked teeth? As I counsel, do I exhibit the life that Christ has saved me to? Is my life producing Christ-Character (i.e. “the straightened life”) that others can see and be inspired to follow Christ in a greater capacity? My life as a pastor has to be more than knowing the techniques of ministry. I need to remember to always look at myself first and diagnose the reality of my crookedness before the Lord.

Ok. Before I get misunderstood here, I am NOT saying we should chuck the books from great Christian authors. These authors, past and present, are gifts to the church of God. These books are treasures to the soul. They are gifts to the kingdom of God. But, all I am saying is … I need to check my heart’s affection. How come it’s so much harder to just read the Bible versus reading “books?” There are many reasons … I know. How come we talk more about authors of latest Christin books versus talking about … “hey did you hear what Moses said in Exodus 3500  years ago?” I guess it’s sounds little outdated. But listen, it’s the Living Word of God! Yes, even Exodus 21-31 (today’s Bible reading). It’s active and alive! (Hebrews 4:12).

Reading is good for the soul. And the Word is the best “food” for the soul. And so, I want to grow in just reading & loving the Bible. Currently, I am reading the Bible through in 90 days. And, I am finishing up Day 7 today. And I hope to say some time in April that I have completed my goal. And I long to say then … I read it, and I loved it!

This narrative is about how Jesus forgives sinners. But the story starts with this sinful woman giving extraordinary attention and devotion to Jesus. What is so interesting to me was the fact that she gave this devotion to the Lord before she received anything. She just showed up to the dinner and she starts giving honor to Jesus. I don’t know what she had in mind when she did all that she did, but what is clear is that she offers her worship and devotion just because she understood who was in the room – her Savior.

Few weeks ago, I listened to a sermon at our church that talked about the consumer mentality of church goers. It’s this idea, “What’s in it for me.” I have seen so much spiritual unhealthiness in people when they come to church with a certain personal agenda and personal desire. Listen, God does meet our needs. That is the gospel. He met our greatest need by dying on the cross. And our gracious and merciful God does meet our needs always! Maybe not the way we want … but He does. He provides. What I am trying to say is when we come to church, do we have the attitude of this woman? Do we just want to be near Jesus … just because who He is? And does this desire to be near Jesus permeate our lives … not only during Sunday but the rest of the week?

Sarai takes matters into her own hands. She knew that God would bless their family through an heir, but she could not wrap her mind around the fact that how she could bear a son. God’s plan was to give an heir through Abraham and Sarah and not through Abraham and someone else.

It’s interesting. We are just like Sarai in many ways. We love to take matters into our own hands before seeking God’s wisdom. And when we lack this wisdom to seek the Lord first, we are impatient. And what this leads to often is rationalizing the situation with our limited wisdom. And yes. This takes us to a tragic place of sin. So often, we go ahead of God, and nothing good comes out of that. I have seen this in my personal life, and I have seen this in the people that I minister.

The Samaritan woman is confronted by Jesus. But the beauty of this story is that the woman (having been married five times & living with someone she is not married to) is not defensive of her transgressions. Rather, she finds hope & freedom from her sins in the Savior.

I don’t know about you, but my nature is non-confrontational. As a pastor, I have grown to address sin issues in the lives of the people I minister. But, it’s not easy. I have had too many talks when people are defensive and defend their “freedom” to rationalize in their sins. I am still growing to know how to counsel like Christ.

When I read the story of Jesus at the well with the Samaritan women, I was truly awed by how Jesus spoke & counseled the woman. Instead of running away in anger, the woman draws nearer to the Savior. She finds hope in her troubles. She finds grace in the Messiah.

In any of our confrontations and rebuke, the person has to find grace, hope, and Christ. That is the message of the gospel isn’t it?!