Busy
Good Morning,
Most of us understand that life is busy, although, some people think they are busy because they cannot sleep when they want, play when they want, and watch television when they want.
I do not know much, but I do know this: if you want something good, then it will take time. A good home requires tireless work. Good children, a good marriage, and an orderly and well-cared-for house all require an enormous amount of time. Even keeping your body good takes time. Time is necessary to plan good meals, to get exercise, and to assemble a well-planned wardrobe.
I can personally say that my life includes almost no relaxing time. The desire to minister to people requires lots and lots of time. Rearing good children took every moment I could squeeze out of life. Of course, to stay married and like it requires me to draw from the last few moments from every day.
We cannot do what we feel like doing. If we relax all day and exert ourselves only when it involves some personal pleasure, we should not expect anything good to come from our lives — this is the recipe for failure.
I have watched successful college-age young people (those who have worked their way through school, served in ministries, and worked to do right), and in watching them, I can tell you, they were tired — they had no extra time. When I was in college, I worked six blocks from the Sears Tower in Chicago and never once got to go inside the building. The first time I ever entered the doors of the Sears Tower was after I was already in the ministry and took a group of young people with me. When I was in college, I had no time to play; but I never missed my bus route, never slept through a class, and never dreamed of missing a church service (except for Wednesdays when I had to work nights to pay my college bill). (Student loans are the government’s way to get you indoctrinated in their globalism, secularism, and immoral mentality.)
Mark 1:10 “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:”
Mark 1:18 “And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.”
Mark 1:20 “And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.”
Mark 1:21”And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.”
Nineteen times in the book of Mark, the word "straightway" is used. This word is only used eight times in the book of Matthew (a book almost twice as long), four times in the book of Luke, once in the book of John, four times in the book of Acts, and once in the book of James. “Straightway” does not appear in any other New Testament book. Why was this particular word used so often in the book of Mark? It is the book that portrays Christ as the servant; and a servant has no time to waste.
Do you want great children? Training children will take every free moment — none to waste. Do you want a great marriage? No free time is available to the couple wanting a great relationship; a couple must work constantly at making marriage better. Do you want a great church? Having a great church requires your getting off the golf course, shutting off the ball games, quitting sitting around eating with friends, and getting to work! A millionaire once said, “You make a living from 8-5, but you make a success between 5 and 8.” I know pastors who have been in the ministry for several years who do not run any children's or teen’s activities. That is why they have no young people; they simply do not care to work at it. We ran our first teen activity with two teens, and the activity was held only two weeks after starting the church. Since the first day of our ministry, we have had bike races, ball games, and countless children’s and teen activities — it takes work, but it also pleases God. I may be accused rightly of being unorganized and terrible with numbers and schedule, but no one will accuse me of being lazy. In case you have not noticed, God blesses work!!
I am in favor of leisure if it involves walking with my wife or fishing with my son. I am for leisure if it includes a board game with children or reading a story at bedtime. Ladies, sleeping in for half the day is a recipe for a messy home, an unhappy husband, and sorry children. Get up and get to work!!
"Work" and doing it "straightway" is one great key to success.
Genesis 5:29 “And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.”
Exodus 20:9 “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:”
Exodus 23:12 “Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest”
Exodus 31:15 “Six days may work be done;”
Exodus 34:21 “Six days thou shalt work”
Exodus 35:2 “Six days shall work be done”
Leviticus 23:3 “Six days shall work be done”
Deuteronomy 5:13 “Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:”
So how many days are we supposed to work?
Do you spend your time playing Pokemon, spending hours on video games, or sleeping in half the day? When do you have time to train your children to work when you are sleeping all the time? Watching television every night is hardly fellowship, nor is it a part of child training. I walked in on my daughter-in-law the other day, and she had her eight-year-old carrying a small vacuum up the stairs to clean the carpets; and the next thing I knew, she was using two rags to dust all the wood along the stairs. My sons were mowing the lawn long before they were as tall as the mower handle. What is wrong with children cleaning their rooms, or washing and vacuuming the car inside and out? The big issue is that it takes work to teach children to work, and most parents are too lazy to teach their children.
The average parents would rather toss their child into a public school and let the state tell the child he is free to choose his gender. Allowing heathen people to train your children to think that the government owes them a living and that there is no God is being a lazy parent.
To make a living for the family, to teach a Sunday school class, or to run a bus route for God and the eternal souls of men takes WORK. Some churches would rather have a rock concert and entertain people rather than work at changing lives.
Do you want your children to attend the Christian school? Your children could attend the Christian school if cans were collected all summer or sign twirling was done one day a week. One of our men was out of work, and as a father of four, he walked house-to-house with a lawnmower and tools to wash cars — he paid his bills that way for several weeks until a job came along. This dedication involves humble, hard work! Work long hours; work till you drop; work two full-time jobs if necessary. With hard work, anything can be accomplished!
Work! Labor! A few years ago, I talked to a single lady, whose story was not unusual. She worked twenty to thirty hours a week and could not pay her bills and wanted my help. I felt like making her follow my wife around for three days and see what the word WORK meant. A single person could work eighty hours a week and still have eighty hours a week to do the rest of their duties. I know Christian school teachers who teach full-time and work another twenty to thirty hours a week to pay bills because they want to serve God.
We live in a cursed world. If we want to make anything a success, work and toil is our lot. Rest will come when we enter Heaven. I have to say, if there is any fear in my life (with the exception of sin), it would be the day when I can no longer work long hours and make a difference — to sit unable to work would kill me.
Pastors, read, study, write, visit, and run activities for young people!
Pastor