Proverbs Chapter 24

Proverbs 24:30-31 (ESV) "I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down."

One of the most observable facts in our world is the fact that things tend to go from order to disorder. You don’t have to look far to see this "law" in action. Try planting a garden. Till the ground. Take out the rocks. Plant your seeds in neat and orderly rows. Then do nothing to the garden for several weeks. Don’t water it. Don’t pull weeds. Don’t prune your plants. After a couple of months you will have a jungle not a garden. Weeds will grow up around your plants and your harvest will be minimal at best. Houses and cars will go the route of falling apart if not tended. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find anything that will get better if left alone and untended. This is true in the physical world but more importantly in the world of our lives and relationships.

Our lives are built on relationships. We have relationships with family that must be tended in order to grow and not fall apart. Husbands and wives must put work and energy into their marriage or it will become overgrown with the weeds of life. The husband must love and provide for his wife. The wife must respect her husband. They have to work hard to overcome their natural differences so they can flourish as one. Parents and children cannot just meander through life living in the same house and expect to have strong and healthy relationships. They must work at it. Parents must lovingly guide, teach and even discipline their children and the children must respond to this instruction. And then we find special people in our lives and call them friends. It takes work to make that friendship to grow. We have to be ready for a little "iron sharpening iron" in the friendship. We have to be ready for the gentle rebuke or even the unkind word spoken in moments of distress or frustration. There is a common theme in all of these relationships. They take time, energy and attention in order to for them to grow. If left unattended they will get worse not better.

One final relationship that is the most important of all is our relationship with God Almighty. He is our Father and our friend. He desires to build a relationship with us. It takes work and He has done His part. Jesus Christ came to earth and paved the way for our relationship to Him by dying on that old rugged cross. He paid the debt for all of our sins so that we could come into a blessed relationship with Him. He continues to do His part faithfully by guiding us with His Word through the Holy Spirit. The problem in this relationship is that we fail to do our part. We become like the sluggard lacking sense who just lets it go. He doesn’t care for it or tend it. Soon the weeds grow up and the thorns come in and the relationship is much less than what God intended it to be. We have to put time, energy and attention into this most important of relationships. We must read His Word. We must pray. We must walk with Him daily. We must exercise spiritual discipline if we want to grow strong in the Lord.

God help us to be people who work at our relationships. Let us put energy and care into relationships with our families and our friends. Let us be patient and understanding with those around us. And please help us to be active in pursuing a close relationship with you. Amen.