Reluctant Retiree

It is my experience that there are two kinds of people, hot people and cold people. If you are like me, you are a hot person. I always say that my body runs hot like an overheated engine. I prefer the temperature to be on the chilly side, both inside my house and outdoors. Of course, that causes some conflict with my wife, who is a devout cold person. She is always cold and prefers the temperature to be warmer inside and outdoors. You would think that there could be some middle ground, but we haven’t found a temperature that is comfortable to both of us.

If any of us were to take our spiritual temperature at any point in time, sometimes we would be hot and sometimes we would be cold. When we are hot, we feel God’s love and want to worship and serve Him. When we’re cold, God seems far away and we feel abandoned. Of course, God doesn’t leave us and it is that we have moved away from Him, not vice-versa.

God has a lot to say about hot and cold Christians, but He has something quite harsh to say about lukewarm believers. In Revelation 3 He says, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” This is a pretty strong warning to lukewarm believers. God will not look favorably upon us, if our faith is lukewarm. We must ask Him to revive a passionate faith within us. Our faith will then bear the good fruit in keeping with His purposes.

We went to the beach today with our son’s family. Although it was a bit chilly and the water was cold, our daughter-in-law and granddaughter braved the elements and waded into the ocean. They were careful to keep their clothes dry while soaking their feet. That is until our daughter-in-law turned to say something to us sitting on the beach. She took her eyes off the advancing waves and it cost her. Her capris got pretty wet. Fortunately, she shrugged it off in good spirits.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian church about staying alert in another important way. When he spoke about putting on the full armor of God to defend against the attacks of the evil one, Paul wrapped it all together by speaking about the importance of prayer. He wrote, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” We are called to persevere in prayer for ourselves and for all the saints. This obedience keeps us alert and ready for the schemes of Satan.

When we lived in Nepal we saw the Hindu religion practiced openly. Their festivals were celebrations of color, dance, and noise. People went out of their way to demonstrate their fervor. Animal sacrifices were public so everyone could know who was devoted. Loud prayers were also publicly offered. People would often incur much debt to put on a spectacle of religious commitment.

In the west, we may think that this kind of religious ceremony is outdated at best. However, we put on the same kind of religious displays. People wear crosses around their necks. We carry large heavy Bibles. We make signs and protest on occasion. In meetings we offer loud and long prayers.

Jesus was not impressed by public displays of religious fervor. In Matthew 6:1 He said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” Jesus is not saying that we should keep our faith secret and hidden. Instead, He is saying that our motives should be to honor God and serve others, not to gain attention and praise from others. We must always check our hearts when we worship to ensure our desire is to bring glory to God, not to get attention for ourselves.

In our area, every business seems to be hiring. “Now Hiring ” signs are everywhere. Many advertise signing bonuses, higher pay, and more benefits. The competition amongst businesses is fierce. The prospective employee not only has a choice of where to work but what benefits are to be chosen.

I wonder what benefits carry the most weight for job searchers. Is it fully paid medical coverage at the provider of their choice? Or would six weeks of paid vacation sway the searcher? In any case, those seeking employment are currently in the driver’s seat.

What benefits mean a lot to you.? Do you want a house with all the modern conveniences? Or how about a sleek new sports car? We need to be careful about what we seek and why. Our desires may take us in directions we do not really want to go.

Take a look at the benefits described in Psalm 103:2-5; “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Just from this short list, God forgives all over our sins, redeems us from our despair, grants us love and mercy, and satisfies us with good. Now that’s a list of unsurpassed benefits. I’ve signed up to receive these benefits by believing in Jesus Christ and the salvation He provided on the cross. You can do the same,but don’t wait. It is a limited time offer, available only during your lifetime or until soon return.

Our culture is diametrically opposed to the idea of contentment. Advertising pounds us relentlessly with the promise of obtaining more. The American Dream is to acquire a more financial success and personal possessions. We want to have the latest and greatest stuff and always more of it. We make significant sacrifices in the pursuit of things. Family, relationships and personal peace are laid on the altar of discontent.

Complacency comes with its own set of problems. As opposed to not having enough, complacency settles for less than our best when it comes to character development. Complacency keeps us from growing in godliness, honesty, faithfulness, love, and a host of other positive character traits. It gets us to believe that we are good enough and we should stop trying to become better.

While both words have negative connotations, God desires that we become content but never complacent. I Timothy 6:6-8 says, “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” It is good to be content that our basic needs are met. It is not good to be complacent with our character development. We must always strive toward godliness.