10.30.07
“WHERE ARE YOUR MANNERS?”
Romans 11:21-22
“For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in His kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.”
Last week I conducted the funeral service for a lady in her eighties. During the service her younger brother rose to share a few words. He poignantly shared how his sister had taught he and his brother how to treat a lady. She insisted that they walk on the street side when walking with a lady, opening doors for her, being thoughtful, saying please and thank you and showing respect for your elders.
It suddenly dawned on me that manners are seldom taught in our modern society. In this day and age many are so busy trying to get ahead of others, it matters little whether it is a lady or an older person, just get out of my way! How sad and tragic this is.
Notice the second sentence of today’s Scripture: “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God.” As I have mentioned in the past, anytime you turn to a passage of Scripture and see a “therefore”, you should ask yourself; What is the “therefore” there for? It means that something has been mentioned that has an effect upon what you are reading. I hope that makes sense.
In this instance, the “therefore” relates to the unbelief of the Jews who were so entrenched in traditions and manmade structures of spirituality, that they would not accept the reality of God in their lives. As a result and as a consequence, they were cutoff.
I am going to try to use an illustration which I hope applies. Back in 1963, I was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the United States Air Force. Joyce and I, along with our three children, were planning to make the Air Force a career. There was one problem - I was a reserve officer and did not have flying status. There was a price to be paid later on. There would be a “therefore” later in my career!
Promotions came along as scheduled—from 2nd Lt., to 1st Lt, to Captain. The promotion from Captain to Major, however, basically required being a flying officer or a regular officer. Ninety-eight percent of all reserve Captain were passed over for promotion to Major and were forced to leave the service. There was a “therefore” that took years to occur, but the result was the end of a career.
Consequences in life generally do not just happen. They are the result of actions we take that do not seem critical at the time, but - oh! — the price that comes later on!
The other word for today is “kindness.” We live in such a dog-eat-dog world, that the very concept of kindness is foreign. The dictionary describes kindness as: a kind of good deed or favor, a state or quality of being kind.
God has been so kind to us. By His grace and mercy, He has overlooked the faults and failures of our life, and has demonstrated a gentleness. Do we deserve it? No way! Do we need it? Yes way! (I don’t think that will pass the grammatical test, but I hope you understand).
But here again, kindness is conditional. We receive God’s kindness as we continue in His kindness. That is, if we stay close to Him in thought, word and deed. May that be so in our lives.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
- - - Pastor Cecil