Jump Starts # 1353

Proverbs 24:32 “When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction.”

  Our verse today comes from a man who walked past a vineyard. The owner was lazy. The vineyard was overgrown with weeds. The stone wall around the vineyard was broken down. It was an absolute mess. It had gotten this way because of neglect. The owner is called a “sluggard,” and one “lacking sense.” In our times we see homes, and yards that are in a similar conditions. This vineyard would be the basis of a TV show today—”Fix it or leave it.”

Our thoughts are not upon the owner of the vineyard. We are not looking at laziness. Rather, the attention of the verse and our thoughts today are upon the man who walked past the vineyard. He saw the sad state of things. He “reflected.” He took it to heart. He gained insight. He learned some valuable lessons by just walking past, looking and thinking. This man will do well in life and with the Lord. His attention is upon doing right and doing better. He is learning lessons everywhere. These unspoken, silent lessons come from a heart that is spiritual and from a spirit that is humble and willing to learn.

This man shows us the key to being successful spiritually. This man stands far above most people, then and today. It’s that “reflecting and receiving instruction” from a broken down vineyard, or from a story that we call a parable, or from something someone says, or from just observing the birds, as Jesus said, that will mold and shape his heart into what is pleasing to the Lord.

If you and I could only learn to do the same. The vineyard spoke to this man but there were no words heard. There were great lessons learned, but there stood no teacher. A man simply walking by saw and reflected.

You wonder how many others walked by and complained about the mess, but didn’t receive any instruction. You wonder how many walked by and wanted to report the owner to the city and force him to clean it up, yet they never reflected internally.

It is amazing to me that people can sit through a funeral and learn nothing. No insights. No reflection. No instructions gained. It’s amazing to me that some people can go through a dark valley and nothing. They saw nothing, learned nothing and were not changed. The same can sit through a church service and nothing.

Reflection must be the key. It is taking lessons, everyday lessons, God’s lessons, and internalizing them and seeing yourself. It’s always having your radar on. When Jesus told the disciples to look upon the fields and see that they were ready for harvest, He was talking about reflection and insights.

It seems to me that some folks are very good at doing this. The man walking past the vineyard was good at this. Some are naturals. They see spiritual lessons everywhere. They are growing, thinking, learning and applying all the time. Others don’t see such insights. Once told, they can then see them. The way we read the Bible ought to be this way. Some can read it and nothing much is gained from it. Others see their name on every page. They apply things to their lives. They are constantly being shaped, molded and changed by the word of God.

This wonderful ability to reflect and gain instruction is the key to growing with the Lord. They see things, they think, they reflect and they become better. These lessons come from very simple things such as walking past a vineyard. Even then, this spiritual person was thinking, applying and reflecting.

I fear that far too many do not ever reflect. Their thinking is shallow and surrounded with superficial things. They conversations are about trivial things that do not matter. Pride has built a wall around them so that they never see themselves. They never give thought to self. They never reflect. Never. They never think about their attitude, their walk, they behavior. Never. A life time misses all these valuable lessons. Lessons that maybe even the Lord puts before us, but are missed because no insight ever takes place.

Now, what do you think the man walking past that overgrown vineyard might have learned from that? Somehow he knew the owner. He knew the owner was a sluggard. He didn’t think the field was abandon. He didn’t think the owner was deathly ill and unable to take care of it. No, he calls the owner a sluggard. He knew something.

• Without effort and attention things grow worse not better. The vineyard illustrates that. The owner simply didn’t put any time into his fields and they were overgrown, the walls were broken down and the place was a mess. This vineyard would not be where one would found the best grapes. Children are like that. Left to themselves they will grow worse not better. They need love and attention. Parents too busy in their careers or who are too lazy will find broken down and overgrown kids. They will be a mess. Marriages are the same way. Effort and attention must be shared and expressed, otherwise the relationship suffers. Today, shepherding God’s people involves attention. Without that, the congregation grows worse not better.

As our Proverb man walks away from that field, his mind is busy. He’s seeing lessons. He is thinking, learning and making application.

• Another lesson he might have seen in that vineyard was turning things around. It would take some work, but get in there and fix up those walls, and pull some of those weeds and tend to the vines and in time this could be a really decent vineyard. There was still hope. Now he could see that with relationships. Apply some forgiving and do some apologizing and what was broken down can be fixed. It’s not too late to fix that marriage. Today, it’s not too late to turn that congregation around. Our Proverb man is seeing lessons. He is thinking, learning and making application.

• Yet another lesson might be seen in a neighboring vineyard that was beautiful and productive. The carelessness of one does not have to set the tone for others. You can’t force the lazy to pull the weeds in his vineyard, but you can keep those weeds from coming into your vineyard. Oh, the lessons there. You can’t change people, but you don’t have to let them upset you, change you or become sour like they are.  Dr. Henry Cloud wrote a book called “Boundaries.” It’s about that very principle in relationships. Our man didn’t need a book. He saw it, learned from it and became better.

• He might have thought that God had blessed the owner of the vineyard with land, rain and sunshine however God wasn’t going to till the land for him. Everyone has their own responsibilities. God blesses, but He wants us to work with Him. We partner with God. This is true in churches, families and evangelism. It’s easy to pray to God for the church to grow, but it’s through us that the process happens. Walking past a messy field would have taught one this lesson.

Reflecting. Insights. Seeing lessons. They are everywhere. It’s not hard to find them. Open your eyes and your heart. Dwell upon things. Think about things. See things. You’ll be a better person when you can do this. You’ll be ahead of the game if you can do this. You’ll find yourself walking closer to the Lord when you do this.

“I passed by the field…” What a simple thing. Out for a drive. Going for a walk in the neighborhood. I passed…I saw…I reflected…I learned.

Roger