I can give hearty affirmation to King David's observation, “I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25, NASB95) 
I have been well provided for, all of my life. The warm memory of a great meal from last night still lingers. I was refreshed by good night's sleep in a warm, comfortable bed, sheltered by a house that meets my needs. For most of my days, my situation has never been very far from hand to mouth. But that has been OK. By God's grace I was gainfully employed, and through that means the needs of my family and myself, were met. I am now moving into a realm where there is more room between payday and due-day. My late uncle put it this way. He told me a few years ago, "I don't work anymore; I just draw." Here in the West, many of us who worked through our adult years, are able to draw a Social Security check, and maybe on a pension fund. Even for those of us who need to supplement that income, the "have to" element is not nearly as great as back when the "baby needs new shoes, and transmission just went out on the Ford." More and more I find myself thinking, in answer to the question, "What do you have to do today?"
"Nothing. I don't have to do anything." But, I need to keep in mind there is a great deal I need to get done.
I've learned a lot from watching my wife, over the years. Kathy has been self-employed for most of our time together. She is a very capable piano teacher. For a time she also taught music to preschoolers. Her business, however, has never been more than a part-time job. Because of her Proverbs 31 management of our household, we have been able to live well, mostly on my income. Kathy chose to be good for nothing. She has led the music ministry in our church for decades, and has invested herself deeply in the lives of women and girls, through ministries like Coffee Break. I'm trying to learn from her, and from the work the Holy Spirit is doing in my heart, that . . .
though there may be nothing I have to do today,
there is a great deal I need to get done.
This is a challenge that John Piper has eloquently made in his book,Don't Waste Your Life. Look at page 46--the link accesses a pdf of the whole book--for a tragic story of some folk who concluded that because they didn't have to do anything that they had nothing to do.
Seniors, let's finish well.
Lord, I'm thankful to be at a place where more and more there is nothing I have to do. Help me see that there is much that I need to get done.
Young or old we all need the Lord. Find out more here. |
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