Jump Start # 996

Proverbs 30:18 “There are three things which are too wonderful for me, four which I do not understand.”

  The book of Proverbs contains lists. We love lists. There are lists for about everything. The best restaurants; the greatest Christmas songs; the 10 movies of all time; the 10 places you must visit before you die; the 10 greatest sport finishes, and on and on and on the lists go. Everywhere you look there are lists. Here in Proverbs there are a series of lists.

Earlier in Proverbs there was a list of seven things that God hates. Now in this chapter we find this series of lists: four things that will not say “enough” (15); four things which I do not understand (18); four things which the earth cannot bear (21); four small things that are exceedingly wise (24); and,  four things that are stately when they walk (29).

In each of these, the Proverb writer begins by saying there are three things, then he ups the number to four. This is done for emphasis and is common in Hebrew poetry. It is not that he just remembered another one to add to the list, this was intentional.

Our hymn, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one,” is a way of making a spiritual list. Priorities are based upon a mental list. We tend to get do first, what is most important. Parents work hard on getting their children to live by priorities instead of just what they feel like doing. The lazy college student often doesn’t feel like getting out of bed and heading to class, so he won’t. Often, he would rather play video games than crack open his book. He is not just setting himself up for an uphill struggle in that class, he is learning to only do what he feels like. Later on, there will be many things that he does not feel like doing, and if he hasn’t changed, he won’t do them. Priorities. Lists. What is most important.

We see the same things when it comes to worship. There are some who can never make it on time. I understand, especially with a family, and traffic and weather, that there are times a person is going run behind. Some always do. It doesn’t matter what the weather, traffic or anything else. They are always, always late. Their lateness disrupts class, throws the teacher off, and they miss things that are important. What’s the issue there? Get to bed earlier on Saturday night? Don’t drink caffeine after a certain hour? Set the alarm clock? No. It’s a matter of what is important to them. Lists. Getting down to the church house before things start isn’t high on the list. In fact, for some, it doesn’t even make the list.

Have you made a list of what is important to you spiritually? That would be a great thing to do. Better yet, after you make your list, share your list with your mate. See if his or her list is the same as yours. Without knowing it, we push ourselves according to our lists. The athlete will drive and drive himself, even when he hurts, because practice and being in shape is high on his list. Others will practice and practice a song, going over the same song, dozens and dozens of time, because they want to sing it the best they can. Why do they do that? It’s high on their list. Without even having a written list, we live by a list. That list is what we feel is important. Each day, we think about that list. We get up early when our bodies want to stay in bed, because of our list. We stay up late, when we are ready to go to bed, because of that list. Everyone has one, most just don’t realize it.

Here are some things to consider, since we are talking about lists. These are spiritual items that go near the top of our lists:

1. Getting to Heaven. What’s the point of anything else, if we miss this? This ought to be number one all the time. This will shape our choices, defines our attitudes, and build our character. Gotta get to Heaven. If living godly is part of that, then guess what? We’ll live godly. If worship is part of that, then we’ll worship. Once this moves off of the number one spot, everything else in our life becomes readjusted.

2. Pleasing God now. Putting this high on the list will help you keep getting to Heaven number one. Pleasing God. You think about that after you have a verbal meltdown with someone. You think, “I shouldn’t have said all that.” You have returned to your list. You remembered that pleasing God was important. You’ll apologize to God first, and then the person you destroyed verbally. Please God.

3. Making a difference for others. This ought to be high on our lists. So many folks can use you. Christianity is not a white collar, think-tank type of religion. It is a roll up your sleeves, blue collar, get your hands dirty type of faith. It’s helping people like Jesus did—all types. The lepers, the Samaritans, the Zaccheus’ of this world. This isn’t a big thing nor is it something that others will know about. It’s being there for a friend. It’s helping a neighbor. It’s lending your Saturday to help someone move. It’s babysitting in a pitch for a mom who needs to take another child to the doctor. It’s handing someone some money. It’s staying late at work to get a project done. It’s going above the call of duty. It’s a phone call across state lines to a friend who is concerned about his teenager. It’s a friend who shows up with a housewarming gift. It’s seeing someone from church coming to sit with you in the hospital waiting room. It’s going to the mailbox and finding a sweet note that touches your heart. It’s Christmas cookies taken to a neighbor. Making a difference is walking where Jesus walked. It’s putting self on hold. It’s walking away from the ball game because someone could use a hand. When this is high on our list, we look for opportunities. We are on the search for people we can do things for. Sure it’s tiring. Sure there are days you want to be on the receiving end. But you keep doing it. Why? It’s on your list. It’s important. It’s important to you. When it’s not on our list, all we think about is ourselves. We don’t see others. We walk right by them. We don’t hear the announcements in church. We don’t see the needs at work. All we see is self. It’s not some are just too busy, nor that they have a small family, nor that they are in school. Not at all. The problem is that helping others has never made their list. Without being on the list, they won’t move.

Priorities. Lists. What’s important to you. That’s what we are talking about. These three, Getting to Heaven, Pleasing God, and Making a difference to others—will shape and mold our lives. These three are the big difference.

What is important to you? Give it some thought. Do some adjusting. Get your order in order.

Roger