PHILIPPIANS 2:14 -15- Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.
THEME OF THE DAY. IT’S ALL ABOUT PEOPLE NOT TASKS. Are you a planner? A control-type individual? A person who lays out a well-organized weekly schedule with a determination to keep it intact and executed according to plan? I am, but I think I am learning to let go a little; be a little more flexible and pliable. At least I hope so because there is a lot at stake for us who have to have all “our ducks in a row.” Being an organized individual with the skill to plan, schedule, and map out things to do, tasks to complete, and objectives to achieve is a great asset and a great liability. The asset side is easily discerned. Organized people, planners, tend to be highly productive, disciplined, and accomplish a lot. However, there is a downside, and I am learning a significant downside. Our great asset can produce significant spiritual damage in our lives. How so? Most of us who are organized, controlling, and work off an agenda are more task-driven than people-driven. Oh, our scheduling and planning includes people, but more often than not, our scheduling and planning is targeted to getting things done, not focusing on people. Spiritually, this can be very dangerous.
The most important thing nearest the heart of our Lord is not a thing or task. It is people. Even when He gave us the Great Commission, it wasn’t primarily about the task, but about the people who need the task – “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Christianity is relational that moves us to action, not action alone. We are not called to be activity-driven Christians, but abiding in Christ Christians which always puts people ahead of tasks. People are most important and whether this is true in our lives will be tested by our God who so loved people that He gave us His Son.
And here is one of those tests to reveal if we are really getting that people matter most. How do we respond when an unplanned “people interruption” comes into our lives and challenges our neatly crafted schedule? This is a loaded question because in the life of a Christian there are no such things as interruptions. There are divine appointments but no interruptions. Everything and everyone that comes into our lives are the workings out of our salvation through the wise hands of God’s providence. Nothing just happens. And no one coming into our lives just popped in. Everything and everyone comes into our lives sent from God for our spiritual growth. Do we believe that? Of course we do, but do we live that?
We may quickly know how spiritually in tune with God we are by how we respond when people enter into our lives and challenge our current plans and schedules. If we begin to grumble, complain, and rebel against the “interruption”, we are lacking the spiritual awareness of the God who is at work in our lives. If we submit, seeing the “interruption” as a divine appointment with the opportunity to manifest Christ to the person who “interrupted” us, we are learning to walk with the Lord Jesus by faith in this world.
Living life without attempting to control it and people through excessive, bondage-type organization and scheduling is freeing. We will begin to see the world as Jesus sees the world. And in that seeing, learn to love people more, and never see a person as an interruption but a divine appointment, even the opportunity to be Jesus before them.
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I misinterpret Your working in my life as interruptions not appointments.”
QUOTE: “Interruptions don’t happen in the life of Christians. Divine appointments happen in the life of Christians.”