Burning the Candle at Both Ends

 

Have you heard of “burning the candle at both ends”?  That’s when someone is working too much.  The problem with burning a candle at both ends is that eventually, it is consumed.  An old-fashioned oil lamp, however, burns the oil that’s in the reservoir.  The wick occasionally needs to be trimmed, but it doesn’t burn up – only the oil is consumed.  And that’s how we as Christians should operate.  Our strength is not in how many hours we work burning the candle at both ends; our strength is resting in the Lord, our oil.  It’s not how hard we work; it’s how much we surrender.  Proverbs 3:5&6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Sluggard

 

My third year in college, I worked at Standard Coosa Thacher thread mill on the night shift.  I went to work at 10 pm and got off at 6 am, just in time to shower and get to breakfast at 7 am.  Then at 8 am, I had Old Testament Survey with Dr. George Earnshaw.  The class was big and met in the Sharp auditorium at the edge of campus.  The first day of school, Dr. Earnshaw announced a job in class.  My hand shot up, and he picked me for what he called Operation Priority: it was my job to raise my hand and signal him that class was over in five minutes.  I got extra credit for it!  But I was always sleepy after working all night.  So, I would sit in the very back of the big room right behind someone with my head in my hands and elbows on my knees and sleep sitting up.  My friends would wake me up five minutes before class was over so I could raise my hand and get the extra credit that I needed.  I was such a sluggard, but the dear Lord gave me good friends (that I didn’t deserve).  Proverbs 6:9&10, “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:”  I’ll not finish verse 11.  It’s too convicting.  ;<)

The Price Is Right

 

Have you ever noticed the stage girls on “The Price is Right”?  They always move to be in front of the camera.  They ooze elegance with those fake smiles on their faces.  Then they cleverly slip aside with a wave of their hand as the curtain opens and the new car is shown.  They slide right behind the new car, stroking the fine finish with one hand while flourishing with the other hand in the air.  We notice them because they are gorgeous, but their purpose is to showcase the car that is up for bid.  Oh, they get our attention, but their job is to shift our attention from them to that new car on the stage.  Hey, that’s our job as Christians.  We are to look good to the world, but our real job is to draw attention to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Paul said in I Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”  Everything that we do, every move that we make, everything that we say, everything that we accomplish, ALL should point others to Christ.  Hey, be a good Christian example and draw attention to yourself.  But then point people to Jesus Christ, for He is above all things, and He deserves all the honor and glory!  After all, it’s not about us; it’s all about Jesus Christ, the Lord!