Friday, October 06, 2006

Tired of Doing Right

Galatians 6:9-10 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Harvest time. They say we reap what we sow. Any farmer could agree with that.

I recently had a conversation about family with a co-worker friend. He is currently caring for a family member in incredible ways. In fact, he and his wife are going beyond what the typical American mentality is for caring for families. I had to ask myself a hard question. Would I be willing to follow in their footsteps, or would the cost to me personally be too great?

Then I asked myself, “Have I become tired in doing what is right? The right thing to do many times is obvious. Sometimes I make the “right thing to do” confusing because I justify or give reasons for why “the right thing” doesn’t have to be done.

I thought, “What kind of harvet will I reap at the end of this life?”

We are all given an OPPORTUNITY. Maybe it's the same opporunity (our life). Maybe it's not (comes along in our life). Question is…whatever the opportunity...do I take it? Do I ignore it and do what I want anyway? Do I compromise on the opportunity? Do I rationalize a halfhearted response? Do I ever say…”Hey, I’m too busy to visit people in the hospital - besides, isn’t that Pastor (fill-in-the blank)’s job?” This verse doesn’t allow room for excuses. It calls me to cease the opportuniy to do good…especially to my brothers and sister in Christ.

Hold up. Sometimes brothers and sisters in Christ are difficult to get along with. We are sometimes more judgemental and intolerant than many unbelievers. As a result, we can justify that it’s easier at times to treat an unbeliever better. You know, kinda like arguing with my wife, then the phone rings and I answer in a sweet soft voice. Scripture says if we do not care our relatives, especially our immediate family, then we are worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8).

Doing what is right now, without excuses, will bring a great harvest in the future.

God, You are the perfect example of doing good in every opportunity and never growing weary. Your Son had the opportunity to bail at the cross, yet He never tired of doing what was right. When it comes to my brothers and sisters in Christ - help me treat them with honor, respect, and love. I want my unbelieving friends to see that there’s something supernatural about how we love each other. I’ve failed at this…and I still need work. Help me treat everyone I run into with the same love that You’ve treated me with.

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