February 5, 2007

Are You Willing to Do What Is Necessary?

I was having a conversation with my son and some friends over dinner. We were discussing the topic we were podcasting for the website “If The Bible Says, A Man That Finds A Wife Finds A Good Thing, Why Are So Many Men Backing Up?” I know him to be a man of wisdom and I wanted to know what he thought about it. And let’s be honest I was preparing for the podcast for men. I had to have some idea what they were going to hit us with.

His response to me was that having a good thing is like having good health. We all want it, but we have to decide that we are willing to do what it takes to get it. Are we willing to change our eating habits and work out?

I shared Bryan’s point with Mr. Roberts and he said that would require us to settle down. God would be happy for us to settle down with just one person. For that good thing (woman or man) that God has for us we have to decide that we are willing to give up all of the other contenders. God is not going to give a good thing to someone that is not willing to do what is necessary.

Mr. Roberts went on to say that it goes beyond being willing to do what is necessary to get the good thing we also have to be willing to do what is necessary to keep it. Good health requires that we not just eat right and work out the first day, but it has to become a lifestyle change. So I lose the weight I feel great and then I go back to the same old behaviors. What will the end result of my change be? It amounts to a 360 degree change which puts me right back in the place I started.

Having the good thing God has for us will also require a lifestyle change for many of us. You can no longer do whatever you want to do. What you do now has to be what is good for everyone involved. I can no longer spend my money any way that I want to. It is our money not just mine. How I spend my time now has to be conducive to us not just me. If I was accustomed to hanging out with my friends, I now have to consider what my good thing wants to do. Am I willing to stop hanging out with the guys at the club or to stop spending all of my time shopping or talking on the phone to my girlfriends?

What if he says I want you to start working out with me everyday and that is not one of the things I enjoy? What if he wants you to cook dinner instead of going out all of the time? Am I willing to make a home cooked meal for my good thing? The question is “Am I willing to do what it takes to get my good thing and then am I willing to do what it takes to keep him or her?” We may think we are but I would venture to say that if we are we could start making some of the necessary changes now.

Can I stop talking on the phone so much, can you stop going to the club?

I could spend more of the time I have right now off the phone and in the Word and Prayer to better prepare myself for the one God has for me.

He wants me to work on my physical body and get it in shape. Can I do that because I know that is what he wants — or even bigger than that — I know it is what God wants?

This podcast topic started a lot of conversation. On of my brothers shared that he believed the reason men back up is because they realize that they had a good thing and they let it get away. By the time they realized it, it was to late and the woman would not give him another chance. Are we willing to do what is necessary to get and keep the good thing God has for us? When we find out that we have made a mistake what do we do, just let it go or fight for it? Getting the prize is not all that we need to do we must also do what is necessary to keep it.

Many of us have gotten caught up in the thought that we don’t have to do any maintenance. Don’t allow yourself to get caught up in thinking like many people have that once the conquest has been made they don’t have to do anything else. You both do, just like maintaining that weight loss or maintaining the car.

I want to challenge you to evaluate some of the things that look like good things to you. Are they worth having? Are they worth what is going to be necessary to keep them? Are they really a prize? Will your life be better spiritually, physically, relationally or emotionally, just by having them?

Our relationship with God requires that we make some sacrifices and if it is our desire to have all that God has for us we are going to have to make some sacrifices. I can’t have all of the contenders standing around waiting and expect God to give me His good thing. The Message version of the bible explains our sacrifice for Christ like this:
Passage Luke 9:23-27: Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat — I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I'm leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn't, you realize, pie in the sky by and by. Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God."

Let God lead you to the good thing and then let Him show you what it is going to take to get and keep it. Know that the favor He has in store for your obedience cannot be surpassed.

  Weekly Scripture:

Luke 9:23-27: 23 -27Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat—I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I'm leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn't, you realize, pie in the sky by and by. Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God." (MSG)

For further discussion contact angela@mynewtemple.org or write to us on the message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html.