Careful – Healingsprings fellowship

Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before unknown men.

Good morning friends. To be diligent, one would be seen to demonstrate careful and persistent work or effort. This virtue is notable in the lives of most major characters in the bible, almost as if it’s part of an array of behavioural traits necessary for friendship with God. In biblical terms perhaps the opposite of diligence is slothfulness, and the bible has a lot to say about this word.

For instance, in a letter to friends in Rome, new to the faith; Paul mentioned it as one to guard against. In his words:

Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

In Jesus’ famous parable of the talent, He said gave this indictment to the servant that fell short of his master’s expectation:

But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.

Please note that word lazy is also interchangeable with the word, slothful.

In the proverbs there is this interesting one that emphasises the use of excuses, procrastination; and an unwillingness to learn. Let’s have a look:

The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!” As a door turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed. The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth. The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.

There are many more that can be brought to light in this thought, but in the spirit of brevity let us close with one of my favourite.

The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man’s precious possession.

SBN 13 (Paperback): 9781496975379
ISBN 13 (Hardbound): 9781496975386

~ Sabali

Spiritual Intelligence: The Grass Withers, The Flower Fades, But The Word Abides

The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Good morning friends. Our opening verses provides us with lenses to view life. In this beautiful dialogue the writer captures the fragility of life with the vision of a field or meadow. The grass and flowers beautifully arrayed in their glory, dancing to the winds; reverberating its currents through every stem, leaves and petals. As they dance they respond to the energy from the sun through osmosis is and diffusion; collection nutrients from the ground for food, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere for life.

They produce their seeds and die, their offsprings succeeds them; each one after its kind and the cycle of inception, growth, reproduction and death continues. Like humankind successive generations have played their part in the grand scheme of things and bowed out, but the power and authority of God’s word have remained infallible. With this in mind the position of the word of God as a proverbial mirror for life is unquestionable.

So, dear friends, I am more mindful than mindless, more careful than carefree, more thoughtful than thoughtless. In the words of Paul:

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

~ Sabali

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