Don't dabble or fizzle
This week is on 2 Chronicles 12:14:
This verse is about King Rehoboam. I like it because it gets straight to the point. It doesn't say whether what was evil was his lack of desire, or whether it was what resulted from it. It really doesn't matter. Rehoboam fell short because of problems with his core. He didn't set his heart to seek God with all of his desire.
Not only did Rehoboam not enthusiastically seek God, he didn't even make up his mind to do it. That's not how to make it work. A relationship with God is not the sort of thing that happens on its own while we tend to daily life. It's not made out of leftover scraps of time that don't fit anywhere else. We have to set our mind to do it, and then do it.
How many politicians have you seen put more effort into convincing the voters that they're Christians than they do convincing God of that same thing? If anyone were to come across as religiously safe, it would be the king of God's chosen people, but yet Rehoboam was remembered as having done evil. It doesn't matter what you convince people of. It matters what you do.
A relationship with God doesn't fit neatly into a Sunday morning, and then not extend into any of the other six days of the week. It's not something you dabble in, and carry on as a sort of weak hobby. Don't you think a king would have had more excuses than anyone about why he couldn't find time for God? The whole country rested on his shoulders. What excuse could we make to top Rehoboam's?
Do you yearn for time with God, or has he gotten boring and low priority? If you let your relationship fizzle out, it's the same as if you never had it in the first place. If you pray the magic Sinner's Prayer and then spend the next thirty-five years watching TV until an asteroid crashes into your house, how well has God gotten to know you? Do you think when you first decide to become a Christian, God checks off a box on a clipboard someplace and says "Great! I'll see you at the resurrection. Don't forget to tithe!"
It wasn't just unfortunate that Rehoboam didn't set his mind on seeking God. It was evil. God was a political/cultural affiliation for him, not a friend or a lord. He was given a great opportunity in the world, and he took it for granted instead of just taking it. Are we really that different?
Take some time to ask God how you're doing, and what the purpose of your life is. Don't just talk to him when you think you have cancer or that somebody might be pregnant or about to lose their job. Talk to him on days that are unremarkable too. Sometimes you might say nothing and just be in the same place together, but at least you're relating and not off bustling around the kitchen while the party is in the living room. That stuff matters.
There are so many ways to be evil. Our prisons are full of people who broke hearts and lives, destroyed and stole property, and just did plain evil to their fellow men, but we never think of the sort of evil Rehoboam is remembered for. Charles Manson and Adolf Hitler aren't the only kinds of evil. Sometimes you can be evil just for not making up your mind to do what you were created to do.
And he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek (inquire of, yearn for) the Lord with all his desire.
This verse is about King Rehoboam. I like it because it gets straight to the point. It doesn't say whether what was evil was his lack of desire, or whether it was what resulted from it. It really doesn't matter. Rehoboam fell short because of problems with his core. He didn't set his heart to seek God with all of his desire.
Not only did Rehoboam not enthusiastically seek God, he didn't even make up his mind to do it. That's not how to make it work. A relationship with God is not the sort of thing that happens on its own while we tend to daily life. It's not made out of leftover scraps of time that don't fit anywhere else. We have to set our mind to do it, and then do it.
How many politicians have you seen put more effort into convincing the voters that they're Christians than they do convincing God of that same thing? If anyone were to come across as religiously safe, it would be the king of God's chosen people, but yet Rehoboam was remembered as having done evil. It doesn't matter what you convince people of. It matters what you do.
A relationship with God doesn't fit neatly into a Sunday morning, and then not extend into any of the other six days of the week. It's not something you dabble in, and carry on as a sort of weak hobby. Don't you think a king would have had more excuses than anyone about why he couldn't find time for God? The whole country rested on his shoulders. What excuse could we make to top Rehoboam's?
Do you yearn for time with God, or has he gotten boring and low priority? If you let your relationship fizzle out, it's the same as if you never had it in the first place. If you pray the magic Sinner's Prayer and then spend the next thirty-five years watching TV until an asteroid crashes into your house, how well has God gotten to know you? Do you think when you first decide to become a Christian, God checks off a box on a clipboard someplace and says "Great! I'll see you at the resurrection. Don't forget to tithe!"
It wasn't just unfortunate that Rehoboam didn't set his mind on seeking God. It was evil. God was a political/cultural affiliation for him, not a friend or a lord. He was given a great opportunity in the world, and he took it for granted instead of just taking it. Are we really that different?
Take some time to ask God how you're doing, and what the purpose of your life is. Don't just talk to him when you think you have cancer or that somebody might be pregnant or about to lose their job. Talk to him on days that are unremarkable too. Sometimes you might say nothing and just be in the same place together, but at least you're relating and not off bustling around the kitchen while the party is in the living room. That stuff matters.
There are so many ways to be evil. Our prisons are full of people who broke hearts and lives, destroyed and stole property, and just did plain evil to their fellow men, but we never think of the sort of evil Rehoboam is remembered for. Charles Manson and Adolf Hitler aren't the only kinds of evil. Sometimes you can be evil just for not making up your mind to do what you were created to do.
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