The gravy train has been shut down at our house lately. The wife and I have decided over the last few months to stop buying our kids anything that they don't wear or ingest. Basically, now that our kids are getting older, their wants are getting more expensive, and its also a good time for them to start learning some life lessons.
Its not an easy transition, because our kids are used to eventually wearing us down to the point where we give in to their requests. Its not huge stuff. Its 20 dollars here, 20 dollars there, but it all adds up. They have been doing chores for money for the past year or so, but there has been this 'slush fund' mentality that they have built that they someone how work me over to get something extra in the cart whenever we go out shopping.
Its done. Those little trouts are going to learn some life lessons no matter how much it hurts them (or me).
There is a video game my son wants to purchase that comes out in November. He started asking about it a few months ago and I told him I wouldn't buy it for him, but maybe (big maybe) he would get it for Christmas. You would have been amazed to see his little mind making the change over a matter of minutes- he finally realized that if there was something superfluous that he was desiring, he was going to have to make some money on his own to make it happen.
Immediately he asked if I knew any ways for him to make some money.
So yesterday he went to stack some wood at a friend of mines house. I had to drive him, and sit there for 2 hours while he did it, but that guy worked for 2 hours stacking wood. I was really proud of him. He didn't complain. He dug in and did some good hard work. He is learning a lot of different life lessons from this experience, but this is the one that I am most excited about- if my son wants something to change in his life, he is going to have to do something about it.
Did you catch that? If you want your life to change you are going to have to do something about it.
I know, I'm sure some of you are already thinking, aren't you a pastor? Aren't you supposed to speak words of faith and trust in God? Yes, of course I am. That is what I do- but even the act of Faith is an ACTION. Its requires that we have to get involved in the equation. Even when we begin to trust God it is an action. Its a process that we are involved in that requires some involvement on our part. No, its not entirely up to us, but there is this sense of cosmic interdependence between us and God that exists, but we must move. We must act. We must take part. We cannot sit on the sidelines and merely wait for everything in our life to somehow unfold.
You have to get out of bed in the morning.
You have to get dressed.
You have to stack some wood.
All that from stacking wood? Yes. Like I said, I sat there for 2 hours watching that kid stack.
Is there an action that you need to be taking? A process that you need to get involved in that you have been sitting around waiting to happen? Get involved in the process. Yes, pray and believe and ask of God, but realize that no matter what, at some point, you are going to have to get involved at some level in the process.
Sitting around doing nothing never produced anything. Unless you think nothing is something, then in that case you got something, even though I think its nothing.
Be blessed
pastor matt
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