A Lottery-God or a Farming-God?

An honorable event occurred last week for my father, Dale Smith, in which he received due recognition for superior performance. He did not obtain this credit for winning the lottery, winning a lawsuit, or winning first place on The Voice. His grand achievement was driving a semi-truck for Walmart for 3,000,000 miles accident free! Anyone who has driven a car that far, accident free, is to be congratulated, but to perform this amazing feat in an 18-wheeler is rare. In fact, he is only the third employee from his distribution center to achieve this distinction.

The party which was held for Dale was a refreshing reminder that hard work and excellence should be recognized. He was awarded a new personalized semi-truck and was honored by the Banner Graphic. If you know my father, then you understand that it embarrasses him to be recognized. He is a man of good character that is too humble to draw attention to his own achievements. In fact, when talking about golf, he will often draw attention to his failures rather than his successes. However, it was timely for his children and grandchildren to see him honored for years of well-applied work ethics instead of for something more fleeting.

Much of the entertainment world would have us believe that the height of success is in gaining much by chance. This was instilled in me early as I watched various television game shows. I enjoyed watching The Price is Right while growing up and dreamed of winning a new car, but now I would rather my children earn their new cars rather than win them.

As Christians, there is not one thing in this world worth having, for the sake of having it. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10, NKJV). There is nothing worth having, because life is not in the possessions, the comforts, or even in the physical bodies we now possess. There is nothing worth having except life that lasts eternally. That is why the Jesus teaches on eternal life fifteen times in the Gospel of John.

Does this mean that Dale's labor was in vain? Absolutely not! The earthly fruit of his labor will one day "melt with fervent heat," but the labor itself is what is good. Solomon wrote, "So I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me . . . There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink, and show himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is from the hand of God" (Eccl. 2:18, 24, NASB).

This tells us a great deal about the kind of God we serve. The true God of the universe is a farming-God, not a lottery-God. We are to labor in faithfulness, but not to worry about the fruit of our labor, for true increase comes from God (1 Cor. 3:6). This labor should exist, not only in our occupations, but also in our marriages, our parenting, and our ministries.

"Therefore be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Do not complain, brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door" (James 5:7-9, NASB).

9 July 2017