Being About God's Business

Have you ever said something that you immediately regretted?  I had one of those moments last night.  I made a comment that was just plain dumb. I won't divulge the comment or the conversation it came from.  Just know that it was dumb and it definitely showed that my heart was not about my God's business.

I love my church.  I love the people, the worship and the solid, Scriptural teaching that constantly challenges me to grow and learn.  I have an awesome pastor who is not afraid to tell the Truth of things no matter how uncomfortable it may be. 

Since when did God want us to stay in the "comfort zone" anyway?

But last night did not reflect where my heart is suppose to be.  It reflected a worldly opinion and perspective that is so detrimental and damaging to our churches today.

God wants us to be about His business.  He wants us in the church, caring for His people.  Shining His light.  Grappling with the heart stuff so that His greater glory is revealed.  He doesn't just want us to sit idly by in our pew or chair and become complacent.  Since when did complacency ever accomplish anything?  Really.  The greatest victories have come through stepping out of the bubble and into something scary and different.  Moses did it.  Jonah did it. David did it.  Abraham did it.

Jesus did it.

He stepped into a human form. He lived among His people.  He faced ridicule, hardship, and eventually death for you and for me.  He faced it not so that we could sit in our usual comfortable spot on Sunday morning and be complacent all the rest of the week.  He faced it so that we could bring His message of grace, hope, redemption, salvation and love to a lost, broken and hurting world.  To shine His light in dark places.  To let all those around us know of a Heavenly Father who loves us so richly and deeply that we could never comprehend or fathom it fully.

He wants us to be about His business.  I definitely was not about His business last night.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." -Proverbs 4:23

Exactly.  If I am taking in garbage, my actions and words are going to produce garbage.  If my mind and thoughts are cluttered with the refuse of worldly things, my life is going to reveal the garbage dump that is my heart.  It's time to call in the garbageman and get rid of those things that cloud Godly judgment and taint His work in my life.

I want to be about my God's business.  I want to know Him more.  I want to seek out His will and not my own.  I want there to be no question what I believe and who I believe in.

I don't want another careless comment like the one made last night to be made again.  It was so flippant and completely hurtful.  There is no excuse for it.

It's time, church.  It is time to throw out the trash.  The movies we shouldn't be watching.  The words we shouldn't be using.  The lies we shouldn't be believing.  The way we know we shouldn't be living.  Neglecting the Bible we should be reading.  Treating others better than we treat them now.  Quit watching out for number one and showing compassion to those who really need to know who He is.

And quit fighting with each other over sanctuary carpet color or worship styles.  Shouldn't we be thankful to have a place to worship in the first place?  Freedom to be able to still speak His name?  The freedom to sing His praises and the honor to be able to help His people?  Isn't that what it should be about? LOVE?  

He is just asking us to step up and say yes.  And to be about His business.