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Working Believers

by Jerry Ousley  
8/30/2008 / Christian Living

Early one morning there was a knock at our door. I was in the process of getting ready for work so I was up. When I opened the door the man standing there caused instant anger to well up inside of me. You see, even before Deb and I were married this man and his family had begged and borrowed us nearly into poverty. It was the late seventies and between the two of us we managed to bring home a whopping $125.00 per week. This man (who was a relative by marriage only) had managed to borrow money from us nearly every week. Oh, he'd come back the next week and pay it back but then, almost in the same breath, would borrow it again with interest. In other words he wanted more. Folks, I'm not kidding, it got to the point that I dreaded to see pay day come!

There he stood in the doorway. "Jerry, my car has quit and I can't get to work." He had managed to find a job in a town about twenty-five miles away. It was a decent job and to be honest he was now making as much money as Deb and I put together. "I need to go to work. Can I borrow your car?" We had two cars and we were working at the same place so I couldn't refuse him. Besides, we had to keep this guy working or he was going to put us in the "Poor House." I reluctantly agreed and of course he needed the better car. But then he asked something else. "Jerry, I don't have gas money. Can I borrow some until Friday?" I sighed, looked in my wallet, and all I had left was five dollars. It was early in the week and that had to last me until Friday. "All I've got is five dollars for the week," I responded, expecting him to say something like, "Oh, I'll get it somewhere else." At least that's what I would have said. But his answer was, "That'll be enough." We wound up loaning our better car to this guy and my last five dollars. Somehow I made it through the week and we didn't see our car again for about three months. When we did get it back he was, of course, unemployed again. That's another story for another time.

This man claimed to be a believer in Jesus Christ and according to the Word I am not allowed to judge. But the Bible does give us the right to be "fruit inspectors." He would say, "Christian people are supposed to share and help one another." But he never helped anyone else as far as I know. He was always the one in need. Later on he and his wife divorced and I thought that I was finally rid of this man. But guess what; now his son has grown up and has proudly stepped into his father's shoes. I think maybe God has placed these guys in our lives to give us patience or something.

The fact is that Christians need to take care of business. I have known some believers who have come to the Lord with the idea that since God is the Great Provider that they can just quit their jobs and sit their back-ends at home and the Lord will take care of them. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." God expects us to work. As you read the Bible you'll discover that God expects more work, better quality work, and diligent work from Believers. We are to be examples in the work place. We are to be model employees. Our supervisors, bosses, and fellow workers should see us as the example.

I always thought that God would choose to use me in full-time service for Him. Not that I shouldn't work but that I should be able to spend all of my time working for Him. He has never allowed me that. He has seen to it that I have a good job and has given me health to work every day.

I also want to say that I know there are many who want to work but because of economic hardships, factories closing down, jobs moving overseas and so forth, they have lost their jobs. From the emails I have received from some of you I know you want to work. You want to provide for your families. To you I say, be patient, seek other employment and wait on God. He knows your heart and if you remain faithful to Him He will not let you down.

But if you are one of those lazy, slothful Christians, then the message from God is that you need to seek the Lord to change your heart. Get out there and start looking for gainful employment or you might just find yourself wondering where your next meal is going to come from.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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