Beware Of Competition

Thought For The Week 192 By Val Warsop

This week my sister said, “Hold [a date] in your diary – for a family day.”  It felt like normal advice, since I regularly must harmonise diary-dates even with retired friends, just for coffee and catch-up.  Have you noticed how busy everyone is?  We seem destined to ‘stuff’ our days with time-consuming activities, commitments, family obligations, work [and play], and all the minutiae of everyday living.  I frequently hear people bemoaning the fact that there are not enough hours in the day.  How does your week pan out?

I regularly hear requests from the pulpit for more people to help in the differing areas of service in the church.  Do we have time for this? Do we make time?  Should we?  There are so many demands on our time, so much encroachment into that 24-hour allocation of each day.  Yahshua told us not to worry about everyday life, about ordinary things like food, drink, clothes, because, He said, “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” [Matthew 6:32]. I’m frequently challenged by that word ‘needs’!  It seems to me that there are a multitude of other things ‘dominating the thoughts’ even of believers.  Today’s world is materialistic, and threatens our contentment by constantly presenting us with urgent ‘wants’!  We must watch over our souls so that we don’t get sucked into the vortex of ‘needing’ non-essentials.  It’s important for us to, “Seek the Kingdom of [Heaven] above all else, and live righteously,” as Yahshua cautioned, understanding that Yahweh Himself will “give you everything you need.” [v33 emphasis mine]                                                   

Equally, we must beware of anything that competes with our loyalty to Yahshua.  I was in full-time service for almost 50 years, and quickly became aware that one of the greatest contenders for my devotion to Him was my service! Wrapped up in the ‘doing’, I would lose sight of Yahshua, and my relationship would suffer; consequently, so would everything else!  We can all benefit from the sound advice Oswald Chambers gave to his theological students, “Whenever there is competition,” he said, “be sure that you put your relationship to [Yahweh] first.”

Photo by darkmoon1968
https://pixabay.com/en/calendar-book-2018-date-year-day-3045963/

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