Good Intentions
I have a friend, Zeb Mengistu, who pastors the church we are helping to plant in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Zeb is the kind of guy that can't open his mouth without saying something profound. His insight into Scripture always inspires me. I just got an excerpt from his message this weekend that I thought I would share.
You remember the way David's older brother, Eliab, gave him a hard time when David started asking questions about Goliath? In fact, Scripture says he burned with anger. Then he talked ancient smack. "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle."
Ouch! In the words of Tommy Boy, "That's gonna leave a mark!"
I love David's typical little brother response: "What have I done now? I was only asking a question." I think he probably said geez somewhere in there too :)
Here is Zeb's take:
David had good intentions, but they were misinterpreted. People will not celebrate or accept your intentions. You will waste your time fighting to prove your intentions. But where intentions are not celebrated, fruit is. The very ones who reject your intentions will rejoice over your fruit. In fact, by fighting to justify your intentions you compromise your fruit. We must learn to let our fruit fight for us. Scripture says that wisdom is proved right by her children. Wisdom does not fight for herself, her children do. Instead of fighting for man's approval, we must fight for God's approval because, "if God is for us, who can be against us?"
You remember the way David's older brother, Eliab, gave him a hard time when David started asking questions about Goliath? In fact, Scripture says he burned with anger. Then he talked ancient smack. "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle."
Ouch! In the words of Tommy Boy, "That's gonna leave a mark!"
I love David's typical little brother response: "What have I done now? I was only asking a question." I think he probably said geez somewhere in there too :)
Here is Zeb's take:
David had good intentions, but they were misinterpreted. People will not celebrate or accept your intentions. You will waste your time fighting to prove your intentions. But where intentions are not celebrated, fruit is. The very ones who reject your intentions will rejoice over your fruit. In fact, by fighting to justify your intentions you compromise your fruit. We must learn to let our fruit fight for us. Scripture says that wisdom is proved right by her children. Wisdom does not fight for herself, her children do. Instead of fighting for man's approval, we must fight for God's approval because, "if God is for us, who can be against us?"
1 Comments:
That line "The very ones who reject your intentions will rejoice over your fruit" reminds me of that old Susan Ashton song, "A Rose is a Rose." The lyrics go "They say you're a fool/They feed you resistance/They tell you you'll never go very far/But they'll be the same ones/That stand in the distance/Alone in the shadow/Of your shining star." ........... Thanks for the early morning uplift.
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