It’s not going fast enough

Last weekend, I put a lot of work into our lawn.  I borrowed a friend’s lawn tractor and pull-behind aerator.  I methodically drove all over our grass, pulling up plugs of dirt.  There are many benefits to doing this – improved drainage; loosening of any compacted soil; allowing water, air, and nutrients to penetrate deeper into the soil; and the stimulation of grass root development so you have a thicker, healthier lawn.  After aerating, I then spread grass seed, fertilizer, and lime.  It was several hours of effort to do all this work, even on our small-size lot.  I definitely felt a bit tired that evening, and even had a little arm soreness the next day due to pushing the spreader for laps around our grass.

On Monday, I was looking out one of our back windows at the lawn, feeling a little pride in the effort I had given over the previous days.  I then jokingly quipped to my wife, “Why don’t I see any grass yet?  I put in all that work, why hasn’t it all grown up by now?”

Although my questions were asked with my tongue firmly in my cheek, there was a little bit of familiarity to the impatient feeling that I was mocking.  How many times do we begin to put in effort on long-term projects, only to quit out of frustration that we’re not seeing results fast enough?  How many of these sound familiar?

·       I lifted weights this morning, how come my biceps aren’t bigger and stronger?
·       I ate a super healthy salad for lunch, why don’t I see my abs?
·       I’ve been putting money all year into my retirement account, how come it isn’t fully funded yet?

Ok, so maybe you’re not that impractical.  Let’s try these, instead:

·       No matter how many times I talk to my daughter, she still struggles.  I don’t know what to do next.
·       Being fully open and honest with our customers is cutting into our bottom line.  Maybe I don’t have to tell them everything.
·       I’m tired of taking care of things around the house without being recognized or appreciated.  Maybe I’ll just quit doing it until someone notices.

When we don’t see an immediate return on our efforts, it’s easy to want to throw in the towel and coast.  And, short-term, there may not be any immediate consequences.  However, we need to take the long-term view to see clearly…and I’m not talking about a decades-long viewpoint, either.  By “long-term” we need to be viewing life from an eternal perspective.

I find it interesting that Paul says this to the believers in Galatia:

Galatians 6:2
Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

He then says a few verses later:

Galatians 6:9-10
Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

The law of Christ refers back to Jesus stating the greatest commandment – to love God and love others as yourself (Mark 12:29-31).  We fulfill Jesus’ expectation of His followers as we take care of one another. 

The incredible thing is that Jesus doesn’t just tell us to do this “Because He said so”.  Instead, we will reap a reward from God as a result of following Jesus’ example.  While some people have recoiled at this, claiming it’s improper to think that God would have to “bribe” us to do good things.  To that line of thought, I would simply ask: “Do you not reward your children for a job well done?  Do you bless them and give them greater opportunities as they show themselves capable and worthy?”  God is treating us in the same manner.

However, there is an important stipulation to this reward…it’s not immediate.  Note what Paul says – Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.  God has in mind a proper time to give us the reward, and that will only come if we don’t give up.  Persistence (continuing to give the same level of energy) and perseverance (continuing when challenges arise) are key to obtaining God’s rewards. 

Notice, too, there is no indication that perfection is needed…but we need to keep the long-term mindset in order to keep on loving God and loving others, even if we don’t see immediate results.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Want a mature response? That’ll take some time.

We’re impatient people.  I mean, really impatient people.

Look no further than how rookie players on professional sports teams are treated nowadays.  If players don’t come in and light up their competition right away, the “BUST” label starts to be tossed around.  It used to be that first round draft picks were afforded 3-4 years to develop into a “Pro”, but not these days.  Any more, if you don’t produce after 1-2 years, the team moves on. 

Teams and impatient fans often throw around the phrase “It’s just business” – but is it really good business to put 19-21 year old rookies against seasoned veterans, and expect the newbies to always succeed?  It takes time to physically, mentally, and emotionally mature…but no one seems to have time for that any more.

It’s not just sports, either.  We put our kids under tremendous pressure to perform at an adult-level, way too early.  Of course, it is important to have standards and rules and expectations – but you can’t demand an 8 year old have the same emotional maturity and personal awareness of a 45 year old.  There are going to be mistakes, misses, and meltdowns.  They’re going to happen, no matter how you respond as a parent. 

I think this happens in the church, as well.  Someone believes in Jesus for eternal life, and BOOM, they’re part of the family.  They are a Christian, forever and ever, amen.  God doesn’t take His gifts back, but they are still a young, immature believer.  And then…while nobody comes out and says this directly…this new believer is suddenly expected to clean up every negative aspect of his behavior, never get angry, never cuss, stop smoking, stop drinking, and on and on and on.  Instantly, as if God flipped a switch and they went from sinner to saint in 3.2 seconds.  And if this new believer slips up a few times and goes back into his old habits?  Well…the veterans might start to wonder if he’s “really a Christian”.

I was recently reading through the stories of Judah’s kings and found a wild situation where a boy named Josiah – through crazy family circumstances and the assassination of his father – became king, at just 8 years old.  That’s just bonkers!  He turned out to be a very good king, but take a look at the timeline for his reign:

2 Chronicles 34:1-3, 8
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.  He did what was right in the Lord’s sight and walked in the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to the right or the left.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images…In the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent [several of his officials] to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

So, here’s the timeline:

8 years old = becomes king
16 years old = begins to seek God
20 years old = begins to remove various idols from the land
26 years old = begins the repair of the temple

I wonder what the people of Judah said about their king during the four years between when he began seeking God and when he took down the first idol in the land:

“You know…the king says he follows the God of David, but I still see all these other idols around here.  So, I don’t know if he’s really following this God.”

I also wonder what the people of Judah said about their king during the 6 years between when he began removing the idols from the land and when he started the repair work on the temple:

“You know…the king says we can’t worship these other gods anymore, but he hasn’t put any effort into the temple of the God he says we should worship!  Where are his priorities?”

Josiah wasn’t ready to fix the temple or clean up the nation within two months of becoming spiritually aware and seeking the God of his ancestors.  Those outward actions came later, some even 10 years later!  Josiah had to mature first.  He had to learn first.  He needed time first.

I think the parallel for us modern believers is pretty obvious – instead of demanding immediate behavioral perfection, we need to look for progress…and progress in maturity can take time, even years.  Instead of questioning a believer’s salvation because they aren’t behaving the way you think they should, why not find ways to encourage their maturity?

Isn’t that what a family should do?

Keep Pressing,
Ken