Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:7 ESV)
Our lives today are pretty easy.
We don’t know what it means to wait for something anymore. If you want food, simply go to a fast food joint. If you want a new record, click a link on your computer instead of waiting in line at a record store. If you want to know what a friend is doing, text them instead of calling or check out their Facebook or Twitter page. We have became a people who consume food, entertainment, news, and so on.
Unfortunately we have brought this into the church as well. We go to church because we know we can consume a great worship experience. We don’t have to do anything on our part because the lights are set low, the music is excellently performed, and we don’t have to think about the Bible because we are told precisely what to believe. This can foster a consumerist mentality in the body of Christ.
The consumerist mentality not only deals with our experience at church, but our personal experience as we read the Bible individually. We have a study Bible which gives us the answer right away, or we are one click away from a Bible site to explain to us the meaning of a given text. Or even the daily devotion in the email every morning (yes we know). These are not bad resources, but can cause us to be dependent on them instead of God.
Paul is giving instructions to Timothy. Some of these instructions were hard to understand and Paul didn’t want Timothy to just depend on him. Instead, he knew Timothy should depend on God and the Holy Spirit that was dwelling in Him. We must be careful that we don’t become a simple consumer, but learn to think over what we have read and ask God to give us understanding. There tends to be much greater joy in God’s word when we think and pray over it than just read what others have said of it.
Do you put forth effort in the hard work of study and praise, or do you rely solely on others?
