People are Not Easy to Love no. 29

“Then he said to his talmidim, ‘The harvest is rich, but the workers are few. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers to gather in his harvest’” (Mattityahu (Mat) 9:37-38). I am sure folks are still saying it today, “No one wants to work.” It is kind of a boomer mantra that ends up infecting our minds as we grow old. Folks get old and start to romanticize their youth and grow in disdain for the new youth. And a lot of that focuses on putting in the work. BUT I think if we are honest with ourselves, we can easily observe that we fail to put in the work too. I know that for decades I was not putting any work into my physical, mental, or spiritual health. I was doing better than other folks and that was good enough. And that life of complacency is a reality that a lot of us are living in daily. People are not easy to love because they are not willing to do the work.

A lot of our work ethic problem in Christianity is rooted in the church of Christendom. Folks are worried about getting themselves to Heaven. Then they get worried about getting their family and friends to Heaven. And there it ends for a lot of folks. Or maybe it’s not so much about Heaven and more about being sure they aren’t going to Hell. And if that is what Christianity has become to you and I, then we have missed the whole point of Jesus. Christendom and Churchianity have made folks complacent. Folks are more worried about what happens after they die than what they should be doing here and now. And what they should be doing here and now. What I should be doing here and now is living a righteous life.

I need to be less worried about “saving” folks and more worried about getting folks to repent. Getting “saved” requires very little work. You say a prayer and God takes care of the rest. Repentance is about change. Repentance takes work. Repentance is a daily commitment to doing better. And it’s a lot easier to be “saved”.

Grace is awesome. Without grace we have no hope. Nothing I do can “save” me. And that is why we need a reminder that, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but has no actions to prove it? Is such ‘faith’ able to save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food, and someone says to him, ‘Shalom ! Keep warm and eat hearty!’ without giving him what he needs, what good does it do? Thus, faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions, is dead” (Ya'akov (Jas) 2:14-17). Salvation is all the work of God. Repentance is the work of being Christian.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH