"Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed"
(Jer. 48:10).
I do not want to traffic with those who wrench verses from their context. Proof-texting is a curse from which we are still trying to find redemption. I know that this refers to the destroyers of Moab, and the warning is that the sin of Saul in failing to utterly destroy Amelek not be repeated. Those who were to be the Lord's instrument of judgment on Moab were to do His bidding completely (by the way, Justin Taylor has an excellent article titled "How Could God Command Genocide." Read it here)
I had lately read this passage in my morning reading and it came back to my mind at our county fair yesterday. I saw a young lady wearing a tee shirt with this slogan blazoned across the back: "To do anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." The author of the quote was on the shirt but I could not read it and didn't want to stare.
This is a great slogan for ministry. What an unbelievable privilege it is to be called and gifted for ministry. If we do less than our best, we sacrifice, nay, we slander the gift that God the Holy Spirit has granted to us. Ministry is not for those who crave a life of wealth, ease, or comfort.
1 comment:
Paul expresses in the scriptures of his desire to remain single. This was, as your message just explains, putting everything and all your devoted time to ministry. Although I agree we should always attempt to give Christ our bsest,balance however is required in an everyday persons live. After all the biblical understanding of stewardship requires us to give are best in all areas of life, and this is in itself a ministry. I tend to avoid the "All or Nothing" mentality in these sort of discussions. Nowhere in scripture does God require us to have none of Christ. I believe that a little bit of Christ is always better than no Christ at all. The same with ministry. After all, all of us started from just a little seed that was sown. Does belief follow action, or does action follow belief? Somehow I thing we all fall short of giving God are absolute best.
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