When you’re in charge, never let anything stop you…not an animal, not a machine and not a man. Show the feather and they’ll eat you alive.”
–Elmer Kelton (The Man Who Rode Midnight)
“Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.”
–Acts 9:36 (RSV)
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Dull means lacking of interest, lacking brightness, or to make less intense. It means lacking sharpness or brilliance. Yesterday I wrote of “dull knife, dull boy.” There is a real danger in becoming dull. We know that iron sharpens iron, but used in the wrong way or when a blade has been used in battle, iron dulls iron. It has to be used in the right way to sharpen and once it becomes dull the knife must again be given a sharp edge.
A good friend of my family served four tours in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Three of them in Vietnam and one in Thailand. He was a member of the Special Forces, but on his third tour in Vietnam he was sent out on patrol with nominal soldiers. They were there because they had been drafted; there was no real driving force in their lives–none, but the force of survival and in that they took a lackadaisical attitude. Fear often gripped them or they thought it “can’t happen to me.” My friend became frustrated and disgusted with the style of his comrades. When on patrol and given a break the pseudo-soldiers would relax, maybe smoke, or try to catch a few winks of sleep while my friend would hone his knife keeping the blade razor-sharp. He would wipe down his weapon making sure that in a firefight it wouldn’t jam. He would check over his equipment so he was ready if the enemy should attack.
Far too many Christians are like those nominal soldiers. They have been trained to a certain degree, they have been given the proper equipment; it was up to them to keep it up to the proper standard. They have heard about the enemy, however, the problem, which was a major cause of casualties was–complacency. They didn’t like where they were so they complained and had a bad attitude. They were lax and uncaring about their bearing, their equipment, and in general life. They didn’t want to die, but they did not keep the proper alertness. My friend, on the other hand, lived his training. He learned through his training and through experience. He wasn’t ignorant of the snares, traps, obstacles, and devices of the enemy (2 Corinthians 2:11). He wasn’t going to be taken advantage of, he was ready for action.
“We are called to ‘learn to devote’ ourselves to goodness. Our actions shouldn’t just be the result of an emotional surge or come about only when we feel like it. Instead, we are to endeavor on a daily basis to do the kingdom work that God has planned for each one of us, and do it intentionally and habitually. And we are to look at those further on in their faith who live this kind of life and seek to learn from them.” (Alistair Begg) How true are those words–live your training, learn from it and your experiences, plus the experiences of others. Do not be ignorant as you walk through the jungles of this life for the devil has placed snares and traps along the way and he is lurking in the density of the vines.
Interestingly, my friend, through three tours, survived the ordeals and fire of war. It was on his fourth tour, in Thailand, that he became a casualty. He was in his hooch and the gas stove blew up severely burning him. That is another lesson–no matter how prepared we are, no matter how alert we are, no matter how sharp we keep our knives, there can be the unexpected thrown our way. Though badly burned, he survived and the most important thing is that he continued to serve. The incident did not distract him from his duty, but made him more diligent in fulfilling it.
Be ready–until the day of our Lord.
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Dull means lacking of interest, lacking brightness, or to make less intense. It means lacking sharpness or brilliance. Yesterday I wrote of “dull knife, dull boy.” There is a real danger in becoming dull. We know that iron sharpens iron, but used in the wrong way or when a blade has been used in battle, iron dulls iron. It has to be used in the right way to sharpen and once it becomes dull the knife must again be given a sharp edge.
A good friend of my family served four tours in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Three of them in Vietnam and one in Thailand. He was a member of the Special Forces, but on his third tour in Vietnam he was sent out on patrol with nominal soldiers. They were there because they had been drafted; there was no real driving force in their lives–none, but the force of survival and in that they took a lackadaisical attitude. Fear often gripped them or they thought it “can’t happen to me.” My friend became frustrated and disgusted with the style of his comrades. When on patrol and given a break the pseudo-soldiers would relax, maybe smoke, or try to catch a few winks of sleep while my friend would hone his knife keeping the blade razor-sharp. He would wipe down his weapon making sure that in a firefight it wouldn’t jam. He would check over his equipment so he was ready if the enemy should attack.
Far too many Christians are like those nominal soldiers. They have been trained to a certain degree, they have been given the proper equipment; it was up to them to keep it up to the proper standard. They have heard about the enemy, however, the problem, which was a major cause of casualties was–complacency. They didn’t like where they were so they complained and had a bad attitude. They were lax and uncaring about their bearing, their equipment, and in general life. They didn’t want to die, but they did not keep the proper alertness. My friend, on the other hand, lived his training. He learned through his training and through experience. He wasn’t ignorant of the snares, traps, obstacles, and devices of the enemy (2 Corinthians 2:11). He wasn’t going to be taken advantage of, he was ready for action.
“We are called to ‘learn to devote’ ourselves to goodness. Our actions shouldn’t just be the result of an emotional surge or come about only when we feel like it. Instead, we are to endeavor on a daily basis to do the kingdom work that God has planned for each one of us, and do it intentionally and habitually. And we are to look at those further on in their faith who live this kind of life and seek to learn from them.” (Alistair Begg) How true are those words–live your training, learn from it and your experiences, plus the experiences of others. Do not be ignorant as you walk through the jungles of this life for the devil has placed snares and traps along the way and he is lurking in the density of the vines.
Interestingly, my friend, through three tours, survived the ordeals and fire of war. It was on his fourth tour, in Thailand, that he became a casualty. He was in his hooch and the gas stove blew up severely burning him. That is another lesson–no matter how prepared we are, no matter how alert we are, no matter how sharp we keep our knives, there can be the unexpected thrown our way. Though badly burned, he survived and the most important thing is that he continued to serve. The incident did not distract him from his duty, but made him more diligent in fulfilling it.
Be ready–until the day of our Lord.