Coming Up Short

Earlier this week, I finally got around to doing something I had been putting off ... going to the bank to make a deposit. Now it's not that I find going to the bank unpleasant (like going to the dentist!). It's just that with automatic deposit of my pay check, I don't need to go nearly as often. So when I do, I see it as an inconvenience, knowing that I will most likely have to spend some of my time standing in line. But yesterday I had about five checks I had accumulated across the past several weeks, so to the bank I went. It turned out to be painless - and took very little time out of my day.

The next morning, when I checked my online bank statement, I noticed the deposit from the day before was listed. I also noticed that the amount was a few hundred dollars less than I thought it should have been. So I checked my deposit slip and sure enough, the amount on the bottom line was indeed short. Now this was NOT due to any mistake by the bank. It was totally MY error. I had done my math wrong which resulted in the shortfall.

I wonder how often we do this very same thing in our relationship with God. We shortchange ourselves. How so? Bottom line, we fail to seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Instead we pursue the stuff and fluff of this world, only to come up short in filling that "God-shaped" vacuum inside of us. In the "busyness" of our schedules we often "don't have time" for the spiritual practices that the Spirit of God will work through to shape us into the image of Christ. So things like Bible reading, personal prayer and worship, serving others, community worship and biblical fellowship with God's people - all take second place (if they even make it that high on the ladder of our priorities).

All this to say .... we would all benefit if we just STOPPED ... got off the carousel of life ... and evaluated our lives. Just as I discovered when taking a closer look at my bank deposit ... we might see that we are shortchanging ourselves -- and robbing God of HIS due!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj