Coyote Stew

Luke 6:25-26 "woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did they of the false prophets."

This passage of scripture could lead into the discussion of a number of issues, ranging from "living to eat" to the pitfalls of being "popular" in the world. (Here is wisdom; if everybody's doing it, don't do it) I'm going to focus on the excess part as Americans heep to themselves treasures for the last days like no other nation. As a whole, we spend more than we earn and we have a national debt that reaches to the stars. Today we're going to give presents one to another, and rejoice in the incredible increase of trappings. Folks will claim that "Jesus is the reason for the season," however I think it would be more honest for many to proclaim "The Season is the Reason for the Season" as it would be more reflective of the general attitude. (a couple of days ago I read a post that said "the tilt of the earth is the reason for the season") I think that many will place a nativity scene in their yard but their heart is far from the Lord Jesus Christ who came into the world to save sinners. They sing Jingle Bells, Winter Wonderland, and Frosty the Snowman, while decking the halls and engaging in "combat shopping." They cover the house with lights and decorate the Baal bush...er...I mean...Christmas tree in an attempt to recreate the ambience of Christmases long long ago.

My family and I are as guilty as anyone of this materialistic approach to things; more than we would like to admit. The attitudes that one acquires when everything has always been readily available. Few in this country have any idea of what it means to go without; to not know where their next meal is going to come from. (Not all of us, but most of us.) The title for this post comes from a phrase that's common in our particular household. Whenever leftovers go unconsumed, we'll take them out past the fence and dump them in the field behind the house. We call this "feeding the coyotes;" knowing that these leftovers will be gone in the morning. We have the chunkiest coyotes in Michigan living in the fields and woods surrounding our property. Sometimes when you clean out the refrigerator, you'll find the meat loaf from last week, the tuna cassarole from last month, and the grey fuzzy thing, sitting on a plate that growls when you go to remove it. This becomes the coyote stew that keeps the canines coming back for more. It amazes me that a family of six can throw out so much food. We're not overly careless and yet a lot of stuff goes to waste while millions in the world have no idea of what it feels like to have a full stomach. I don't want to sound like a socialist or a promoter of any political agenda. This is simply a casual observation of a condition that Jesus told us would exist until his return.

Matthew 26:11 "For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always."

As I write this post tonight, I'm getting on my own case as our household doesn't do all that it could do when it comes to being charitable. This is a condition that needs to be corrected in our household along with many others. Many of us are like the rich men that were, out of their abundance, casting in to the treasury. We tend to give God the leftovers. They might be big leftovers; depending upon the reserves that one has available, but they're leftovers just the same. The heart attitude is one of "I don't need this" instead of "somebody needs this." The attitude of the heart is what God looks at. He made heaven and earth; he's not impressed by the stuff that you think is yours that you think you're giving back to him. He is pleased, however, when you just give because you have true compassion for another. I don't know how this post got steered into this direction but lets run with it.

Luke 21:1-4 "And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in hither two mites. And he said, Of a truth, I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had."

This is such a priceless lesson if we can grasp the significance of it. This lady, first of all, loved the Holy One of Israel. By casting in all that she had, she may very well have gone without food for a time. She forfeited "basic necessities" to help out a stranger. She had no idea as to what those two mites would go to but she had a heart to please God and she was faithful in a way that few would be. This falls into the catagory of not loving the things of this world even more so than tithing. For this I turn to another familiar event.

Luke 18:18-21 "And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up."

This guy really wanted to please God. He had kept the commandments from the time of his youth. You don't do that if you have no reverence for God. The fact that he came to Jesus and asked such a question indicated that this was something that he thought on much. "Where am I lacking?" He had, however, an idol in his heart; a weight and sin that beset him when Jesus brought it to light..

Luke 18:22-23 "Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

He loved his stuff more than God. I have to wonder to myself if I'm as sold out as I think. If the Lord revealed to me that I was to work tons of overtime in January and give the entire amount of the months income to an orphanage in Guatamala, how would I react. It would be a test to be sure and I can't honestly say that I would definatly pass. To just say "OK Lord; I love you no matter what and you know what you're doing." And then do it. I fear that most of us would fail such a test. Jesus was trying to do something for that young ruler; to bring him in to a closer walk with the God who is from everlasting to everlasting. To bring him to a sweet place of total trust in the Lord; regardless of the physical situation or the shrill voice of conventional wisdom.

Luke 18:24-27 "And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needles eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

That last verse encourages us to keep pressing on. This is one of the reasons that I tend to get on the cases of the prosperity preachers. A couple of days ago, one was on Larry King proclaiming "God wants you to have it all." He was focusing on this world and causing his followers to pierce themselves through withn many sorrows. Riches will change you; this is an unavoidable fact and why we're told to love not the world.

Psalm 62:10 "Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them"

Just imagine for a moment that tomorrow morning, a guy comes to your door with one of those giant cardboard checks for 500 million dollars. All yours! You would be physically unable to maintain the same mindset that you had prior to that moment. It's simply impossible. Praise God that he doesn't allow us to be tempted above what we are able. I for one couldn't handle that kind of money. I have a "standing prayer" if you will; asking the Lord to not allow anything in my life that will take my focus away from him. I'm most likely not a Job. It's easy to proclaim "though he slay me, yet will I trust him" but when the heat is on, you find out if you really believe it.

Matthew 6:19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

God wants you to have eternal life in the world without ending. This world is temporal, along with its "time honored traditions of men" and stockpiles of wealth. I need to close this out as it's 5:20 AM and I haven't been to bed yet. I pray that these things would be taken into consideration and that we all would strive to remove anything from our lives that would cause us to stumble. That we would draw closer to the Lord Jesus Christ with each passing day; even when those around us think it strange that we run not with them to the same excess of riot.

OH! ONE MORE THING! A few hours ago, I heard about a shooting in a shopping mall in Florida. One person went into eternity as a result. They interviewed this lady who said "It's terrible that this had to happen on the day before Christmas." OH; so if it had happened in May, it would have been better? A soul going into eternity is serious; regardless of what day it takes place on. You may say "Well you know what she meant." Yes I know what she meant. She meant that if this had happened in May it wouldn't have been as noticable. We place an excessive amount of emphasis on a date. The virgin birth is an intregal part of the gospel on every single say. Jesus came into the world to save sinners.