Yes, Lord
This week is on Matthew 21:28-32:
We agree to things sometimes without fully counting the cost of doing them. People say stuff like "God I will do anything you ask me to," or "I will go anywhere to spread the gospel." It sounds nice, but then when it comes down to it, sometimes the cost is too high. We're the guy who offers to buy the next round at the bar, without checking how much money he has first. It's better to underpromise and overdeliver than to make empty commitments.
In this parable, two sons were asked to help their father. One told his father what he wanted to hear, but didn't deliver, while the other told his father what he didn't want to hear, but did what he wanted anyway. So are we the one who says "Yes" without finding out if we can deliver? Or are we the one who says "No" but then finds out that we can?
It's tempting to tell God "Yes" without counting the cost. We feel like good Christians when we do that. We look good to others. "Yes Lord! Yes Lord!" But are we good Christians? Is it a matter of promising, or a matter of doing? Does our relationship with God exist only on paper, or is there a realness to it? Are we willing to act on what he wants from us, or do we just want to tell him we will in the hopes that we'll die before the bill comes due?
It's better to say "No" and still do what God wants than to say "Yes" and leave him hanging. Moses said "No" at first. Joshua said "No." Jonah said "No." All of them did what God ultimately wanted, but they were unsure enough of themselves or of what they were being asked to do that they initially said "no." It's honesty and humility. When we say that, we're saying "Not without your help."
We all know people who overcommit and underachieve. They love the high they get from telling people they can do something, but they don't have the resources to deliver what they're asked. Maybe the yes-man son in the parable was like that. In his mind, maybe promising to obey gave him the same sense of satisfaction as obeying would have. He got his dad's approval in that moment, but without having to pay for it.
The other son was more interested in his father's desires. He wasn't going to give him false hope by promising to help him, but when he found that he was able to help, he did. His interest and his father's interest were the same. He wasn't seeking approval or glory, but to accomplish the same things as his father wanted accomplished.
When John the Baptist came and called people to repentance, only the obvious sinners came and repented. In terms of who was obeying the call to set aside sin and chase after righteousness, they spent their whole lives saying "No" but finally did it. For the people without obvious sin, it was the opposite. They spent their whole lives saying "Yes" but when it came time to do it, they didn't do it. The good Christians, in this case, were the people who were horrible people right before they decided to be good. The people who were reasonably good, who were ahead of the game, ended up behind, because they wouldn't make the commitment to repent of what was left.
So do we make a lot of empty promises to God, or do we look for opportunities to obey even when we haven't committed ourselves to them? Empty promises get us nowhere. Anyone can say "Yes." The real question is whether we're interested in living a life in keeping with his desires for us. Are we going to keep saying "Yes Lord, Yes Lord" while not living the way he wants us to live? Or are we going to be honest and say "No," in case we can't do it, while looking for the opportunity to do it anyway? Be honest. God knows your heart anyway. If your "yes" can't mean "yes," it's better to say "no."
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
We agree to things sometimes without fully counting the cost of doing them. People say stuff like "God I will do anything you ask me to," or "I will go anywhere to spread the gospel." It sounds nice, but then when it comes down to it, sometimes the cost is too high. We're the guy who offers to buy the next round at the bar, without checking how much money he has first. It's better to underpromise and overdeliver than to make empty commitments.
In this parable, two sons were asked to help their father. One told his father what he wanted to hear, but didn't deliver, while the other told his father what he didn't want to hear, but did what he wanted anyway. So are we the one who says "Yes" without finding out if we can deliver? Or are we the one who says "No" but then finds out that we can?
It's tempting to tell God "Yes" without counting the cost. We feel like good Christians when we do that. We look good to others. "Yes Lord! Yes Lord!" But are we good Christians? Is it a matter of promising, or a matter of doing? Does our relationship with God exist only on paper, or is there a realness to it? Are we willing to act on what he wants from us, or do we just want to tell him we will in the hopes that we'll die before the bill comes due?
It's better to say "No" and still do what God wants than to say "Yes" and leave him hanging. Moses said "No" at first. Joshua said "No." Jonah said "No." All of them did what God ultimately wanted, but they were unsure enough of themselves or of what they were being asked to do that they initially said "no." It's honesty and humility. When we say that, we're saying "Not without your help."
We all know people who overcommit and underachieve. They love the high they get from telling people they can do something, but they don't have the resources to deliver what they're asked. Maybe the yes-man son in the parable was like that. In his mind, maybe promising to obey gave him the same sense of satisfaction as obeying would have. He got his dad's approval in that moment, but without having to pay for it.
The other son was more interested in his father's desires. He wasn't going to give him false hope by promising to help him, but when he found that he was able to help, he did. His interest and his father's interest were the same. He wasn't seeking approval or glory, but to accomplish the same things as his father wanted accomplished.
When John the Baptist came and called people to repentance, only the obvious sinners came and repented. In terms of who was obeying the call to set aside sin and chase after righteousness, they spent their whole lives saying "No" but finally did it. For the people without obvious sin, it was the opposite. They spent their whole lives saying "Yes" but when it came time to do it, they didn't do it. The good Christians, in this case, were the people who were horrible people right before they decided to be good. The people who were reasonably good, who were ahead of the game, ended up behind, because they wouldn't make the commitment to repent of what was left.
So do we make a lot of empty promises to God, or do we look for opportunities to obey even when we haven't committed ourselves to them? Empty promises get us nowhere. Anyone can say "Yes." The real question is whether we're interested in living a life in keeping with his desires for us. Are we going to keep saying "Yes Lord, Yes Lord" while not living the way he wants us to live? Or are we going to be honest and say "No," in case we can't do it, while looking for the opportunity to do it anyway? Be honest. God knows your heart anyway. If your "yes" can't mean "yes," it's better to say "no."
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