Message; Used and Abused, or Tested and True?
For today’s message, I almost used the title; Rode Hard and Put; Away Wet! But I made the mistake of telling my wife what I was thinking of doing, and she didn’t think it was very dignified to use such a title. I was going to use it anyway, but then started thinking…
So, after some consulting with some entities to be unmentioned… We have today’s title; Used and Abused, or Tested and True? I still like the other one better than Rode Hard and Put; Away Wet! (and I’ll tell you why later), but “Used and Abused, or Tested and True?” probably reads better on our Church sign out front.
The idea is this, we are the ones that are given the free choice to work on our attitudes and determine for ourselves if we are going to serve God in a real way (all in and grateful for the opportunity to serve God), or we can have the attitude that our service is just doing God a favor. But that way of thinking, wears us out physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The other rejuvenates, restores, and builds our very being.
One example of attitude and how we approach serving God is provided by the Prophet Isaiah, who time and again struggled to offer Israel a better way to be a part of God’s family, only to be ignored and rejected time and again. As I read from Isaiah, see if you can recognize why God would be so disappointed with His children’s attitudes and behavior. Reading Isaiah 58:1-10;
1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
*I want to interrupt Isaiah just to say; how often has this been my own attitude. Thinking to myself, why doesn’t God listen to what I have to say? Well, here’s God’s word in reply;
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
**Now God will explain why we fast, and what it’s for; and this could be said for life in general,
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
***Interrupting one more time to say; If we will change our attitudes about why we are serving God by serving others, because that’s what real life is supposed to be all about; loving, caring and hoping for others before our selfish selves leads to the good life, and life eternal! Continuing now, God will share through Isaiah what the good life leads to, at verse 8;
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
When I am all in on God’s plan; I am not wrapped around the stop sign of who is right and who is wrong all the time. I am ready to move on from the junk that dogs my very inner being. That nonsense that fogs up what it means to serve God, by taking up all the air in the room. That junk, nonsense, and deprivation called my bad attitude. That often is the difference of my thinking what the title on the church sign says; Used and Abused, or Tested and True?
When it’s all about me, I often will think that I am Used and Abused, that others are taking advantage of me because I am playing the martyr in my own mini-series of a melodrama life. All that’s missing is the popcorn, and twelve French Maidens being paid to wail at my Wake.
Or, I am at liberty to take the attitude of being grateful that God wants me to serve Him. In fact, He wants all of our service to Him and His family, and God’s family shows up at the most unexpected times and in a myriad of packages called His beautiful children. Old, young, happy, sad, wealthy, poor, in every color, and in every thinkable attitude in their own right. But when I strive to own the attitude of gratitude, all my efforts begin to reflect the concept of “Tested and True”!
In other words, I begin to understand that God is testing me, honing, and refining us, to be more like a members of His incredible family. Tested yes, and found to be following our True Lord and Savior, who gives life eternal, and love supernal.
Now, I am better equipped to listen to and apply correctly the ideals in today’s Call to Worship reading from the 112th Psalm;
1 Praise the Lord.
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.
2 Their children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.
7 They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn will be lifted high in honor.
10 The wicked will see and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth and waste away;
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.
You see while those going their own way in life, those whose attitudes are focused inward and on themselves are thinking that they have been Rode Hard and Put Away Wet by God, God’s family, or anyone God has sent our way, tend to gnash their teeth and waste away. It’s so easy to play the martyr in life, but when we shuck the victim status that our sick society wants to pin on us and claim, no own the attitude of gratitude available to all the willing… we get to hold, no, cling to the concept of Tested and True!
Once we begin to go down that road of discipleship service of our God, followers of our Lord, Jesus provides instruction on just how to be good stewards of our new found power in Him. Yes, now that I am learning to serve Him more and more in my life, Jesus will teach us how to do so without being a show off. Reading the Lord’s instruction from the Sermon on the Mount, here is Matthew 6:1-4, 16-18;
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you…
…16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Or; “Don’t be a show off”… Regardless of if we are fasting to save on our own upkeep in order to give to those in need, or our general service to God through service to others, don’t make a spectacle of your self just to get attention! Or if you do… you have been rewarded already by patting your-own self instead of pleasing God. Your choice, to be made with your own free will!
That’s the difference of feeling; Used and Abused, or Tested and True? And if you are beating yourself up right about now, because you have in the past been guilty of holding that; Rode Hard, and Put Away Wet, attitude… regarding feeling mistreated by God, His family, or the people in your life… Stop!
We all are guilty of that very thing at times. Choosing to feel; Used and Abused instead of Tested and True. And, it’s not bragging to claim you have been wrong, because if we don’t face our issues head on, only the devil wins out, cuz we tend to loose heart and give up.
The more that I decide to follow my Lord and am grateful that He allows me to, the more Jesus’ teachings and instruction begin to register within my very being. Everything begins to take a new and more refined image within our mindsets of life and service. As an example, let’s revisit today’s Message Reading from Matthew 5:13-20;
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
*Interjecting with our Lord’s Instruction just to say; our attitudes go a long way in our retaining our saltiness. Salt kills bacteria, and your positive attitudes kills the selfishness of sin and the feelings of Used and Abused. On to Verse 14;
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
**Interrupting to say; When your inner light is shining, its your attitude that acts as your witness, and not your braggadocio. God and all His creation are our witness when we serve for the sake of serving, and not for the sake of self-advertising. It’s our inner light that keeps us from feeling Used and Abused, and proclaims God as Tested and True! On to verse 17;
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
When we are all in with God’s plan, we have graduated from law, into instruction. From rules, into grace and mercy. From thou shalt not, into you will: Love God with all you have and are, and love your neighbor that God has sent you way, as yourself. That way of life anticipates all of the laws and rules contained within scripture and society.
My Prayer and Hope for you my beautiful and beloved family in God, is that this week you get a chance to reflect on where you are in your faithwalk right now. If you are not happy with where you are, don’t beat yourself up. You have been given an opportunity to look at if your life is; Used and Abused, or Tested and True? And then respond as you are led by the Lord accordingly.
Amen!
Benediction; 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, Romans 5:5,
9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
and Romans 5:5;
5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Amen!