by David Brenneman
The Worthless Things
"Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways." Psalms 119:37 ESV
There are many kinds of worthless things.'The cap and bells of the fool; the laughter of the world, the dance, the music, and the drink of the immoral all of these we know to be worthless. They wear the title clearly.
Far more dangerous are those equally worthless things Jesus mentioned in Matthew 13:22- the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. A person may follow worthless things as truly in the place of business as
in the theater. If he spends his life amassing wealth, he passes his days in a worthless pursuit. Unless we follow Christ and make God the great object of life, we only differ in appearance from the most frivolous. It is clear that there is much need of the first prayer of our text: Turn my eyes from looking
at worthless things.
And then, Give me life in your ways. The psalmist confesses that he is dull, heavy, crude, all but dead. Perhaps, dear reader, you feel the same way. We are so sluggish that the greatest motives cannot enliven us, apart from the Lord himself. What? Will hell not awaken me? Can I think of sinners dying, and
not be spurred to action? Will heaven not stimulate me? Can I think of the reward that awaits the righteous, and still be cold? Will death not provoke me? Can I think of dying and standing before my God, and still be lazy in my Master's service? Will Christ's love not force me onward? Can I think of fervent zeal? It seems so!
No mere thought can bring our zeal to life- God Himself must do that. And so the cry, Give me life in your ways. The psalmist breathes out his whole soul in passionate pleas: his body and his soul unite in prayer. Turn my eyes, says the body. Give me life, cries the soul. This is a proper prayer for every day.
Oh, Lord, hear it in my case this evening
- Morning and Evening, C.H. Spurgeon
We live in a world where we're immersed in peer pressure from the moment we look cute in a cradle. Parents doing their best to impress upon our young minds their tastes and their prospective. No this is nothing about gender identification. God's Word says plainly male and female He created them and also before we were born in our mother's womb He knew us. This is about wise decisions and seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness. About removing the things from our lives that aren't helping with those two priorities to growing in Christ.
The first thing to understand is that which we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:3a. "This is the will of God for us...our sanctification.". Not our worldly success. Not our getting everything we wanted out of life from our perspective. Not money, riches or fame. Not anything this world would offer us. We come to Christ, we begin with a clean slate. We become His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. The Spirit of God, the Helper, the Paraclete, another of the same kind as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, will teach us all things pertaining to a life in Godliness. None of the things oh so many people grow up with in their lives that they are told they must do or must be like.
In Romans Paul wrote of the transforming work of God. This is that workmanship of Jesus Christ in us.
But we're quite often too enamored by what comes our way. The joys of acceptance by other just as fallen in nature.
Whatever we give our hearts attention to that isn't growing us in Christ will push out what the Spirit is doing at the moment. There can't be two people in the pilot's seat.
The Bible says that we are not our own that we were bought with a price, the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus said that we should take up our own cross and follow Him. Nobody heading for a crucifixion carried baggage.
We lay claim to not having enough time in the day to pray with sincerity of heart, yet find the time for streaming, podcasts, digital content, books that aren't beneficial to a life in Christ, events and everything else that's out there that the world offers and we snatch up.
We lay claim to not having any time to really stop n read God's Word yet fill our time with the same.
We sometimes don't check those whom we use as teachers for us against what the Word of God says should or shouldn't teach us...and get lead astray.
We will readily commit to others for our time and effort but neglect our first commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Then wonder why we're not becoming more like Jesus Christ.
The beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ, for 20 years, didn't have the whole Bible we have today. They had only the Old Testament and all that Jesus Himself taught the Disciples.
We have modern day Pharisees and Sadducees running so-called churches these days. Setting policies for how to deal with people and yet forget what or refusing to agree with what the Bible says about how Jesus would say or do in those situations.
Today's Church could learn a great deal from the early Church about how to meet the needs of others. There's way too much hypocrisy in many of today's so-called churches.
We can't hold onto what the world says is right, true and good for us and what the Bible says on that at the same time!
Obey God and leave the consequences to Him. Simple enough yet so many can't do that because it would mean not doing something they love or are preparing for.
My Dear Reader, IS what's important to God important to you?
Are you about the Father’s business as Jesus was and had instructed His Disciples to be as well?
Are you committed to growing in Christ or are you not?
Jesus said in many parables that consequences await all of us for how we lived in the body for Christ.
All of us will give an account of our lives before Jesus. He said plainly that it's going to go well for some and absolutely not well for others.
Which will you be?
What is most important to you? Right here right now.
Is it to live a life well pleasing to the One who saved you or to live a life well pleasing to you?
The Bible reads "Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." in Proverbs 3:5-6.
All your heart, not part of it. Not only on certain days or times. Not when we make room for doing so. Not only when a crisis hits. All of our heart.
Is what's important to Jesus important to you? If not, why not?
Better get your thoughts straight on that one because I guarantee you that is a question you will need to have an answer for before Jesus.
Know people in need? Pray about what you can do. Know people struggling in life? Pray about how you can come along side and help. Know of other things that the Spirit has placed in your path to do and you haven't done them? Do them now. Obey God and leave the consequences to Him. Get away from the "go and be warm and filled" while doing nothing mentality.
That's never what we learn from the Good Samaritan parable. That's not what we learn from how the Father’s view on caring for His children looks like.
Is what's important to God important to you or is is less than words on a page?
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Don't and they won't be.
You're either going to obey God without conditions or you'll be a Pharisee type that puts conditions on your obedience so that you're not burdened with what full obedience means.
You need to decide if you believe that obeying fully what Jesus wants you to do will result in what He says it will.
Is what's important to God important to you? I can't tell you that answer. You have to examine your own heart and be truthful to you. Being a fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ means never setting standards that He did not.
He laid it upon the hearts of the early Church to do whatever to help whomever and to make growing in Christ their highest priority. To be the Church everyday, everywhere, to fulfill the Great Commission. To attend to the needs of others, the widows and orphans. The Father’s business.
You need to choose what path before you that you're going to walk. The one in full obedience to what God wants of you or the path where you do what you want when you want.
How well you think on the truth that Christ died for you and how well you view living for Jesus will determine your outlook on life.
Worthless things are everywhere.
Worthwhile things are only found in Christ.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
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