The Snake of Carelesness

Come, thou Fount of every blessing; tune my heart to sing thy grace; streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above; praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, mount of God’s unchanging love!

Robert Robinson, was converted under the mighty preaching of George Whitefield, wrote some of the most powerful songs of the century and was a mighty pastor.

But that later he drifted from the Lord, He had been greatly used as a pastor, but neglect of spiritual things led him astray.

In an attempt to find peace, he began to travel. During one of his journeys, he met a young woman who was evidently very spiritually minded.

“What do you think of this hymn I have been reading?” she asked.

It was his own hymn!

The Snake of Carelessness

We can call this snake many names: Apathy, lethargy, neglect, irresponsibility.

It does not matter what its called, what matters is that we make the faithful decision each day NOT to fall into its trap.

The Bible is very clear on this:

Ephesians 4:19 AMP

19 In their spiritual apathy they have become callous and past feeling and reckless and have abandoned themselves [a prey] to unbridled sensuality, eager and greedy to indulge in every form of impurity [that their depraved desires may suggest and demand].

Ecclesiastes 10:18 BSB

18 Through laziness the roof caves in, and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.

Hebrews 2:3 BSB

3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

1 Thessalonians 5:14 HCSB

14 And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are irresponsible, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

What does carelessness look like in the Christian context?

What does it mean to be a careless Christian and why is it so incredible dangerous?

Luke 12:35–40 KJV 1900

35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

A Doctor becomes careless when they stop caring about their patients health.

A policeman becomes careless when he stops being an officer upholding the law.

A Teacher becomes careless when he stops putting in the work of educating his students.

A Christian becomes careless when they stop expecting the Return of Jesus Christ.

When you are “living in the future tense,” it is difficult for the things of the world to ensnare you.

Examine the first verse:

Luke 12:35 KJV

35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

This is basically a word for word repeat command that God gave Israel when they had to eat the Passover meal:

Exodus 12:11 KJV

11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.

God command his people to eat the Passover dressed and ready to leave at a moments notice.

Why?

Because it was God who was going to deliver His people, He was in charge and Israels only duty was to be ready to go when God said so.

My friends, God is still in charge. And God still calls His people to be in a state of constant readiness so that when He calls us with the Trumpet we are ready to go.

The Warning

Luke 12:37–40 KJV 1900

37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

God’s ways are not our ways and God’s ways are always much, much wiser than ours.

God wants us to know that Jesus is coming back and that we must be ready.

Our way to make sure that everyone is ready for such an important event is to make sure that everyone knows the date, the time, the venue - everything!

God does not do it this way.

Instead, he tells us: Nothing.

And He cuts off any and all speculation we might have by saying:

Matthew 24:36 KJV 1900

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Why do it this way?

Wisdom.

You know as well as I do that the moment you give people a date, they prepare for that date.

If i say “We are having a test on James on Sunday 6th August”, As the date gets closer so your effort increases.

But if there is no date, just a call to be ready: Those whose motivation is to live to please the Lord will then not just be ready ON the day, they will be ready FOR the day.

Does a thief leave you a note telling you the day and hour to expect him? No.

So does that mean that the thief is going to successfully rob you? No.

Because though you may not know the hour or day, if you live vigilant - that is: If you live as if you may be robbed any night - so long as you remain sober and alert - The thief, though he has the element of surprise, will still find your shotgun on the other end of they key hole.

God is so wise!!!

Knowing when He will come is actually worse than not knowing for our souls sake!

By keeping us “in the dark” we are required to live by faith.

The deliberate uncertainty is God’s wisdom on display.

What does a Ready Christian look like?

Luke 12:42–44 KJV 1900

42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

What is the blessed servant doing when the master returns?

Luke 12:36 KJV 1900

36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

How do we do this?

For me a very simple concept to live by is:

Galatians 6:9 KJV 1900

9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

A ready christian is prayed up; read up, dressed up, looking up and going up.

The Danger

Luke 12:42–47 KJV 1900

42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

Our responsibility is to be faithful when He comes.

We may not appear successful in our own eyes, or in the eyes of others; but that is not important.

The thing God wants is faithfulness

1 Corinthians 4:2 KJV 1900

2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

Once a believer starts to think his Master is not coming back, his life begins to deteriorate.

Our relationship with others depends on our relationship to the Lord; so if we stop looking for Him, we will stop loving His people.

The motive for Christian life and service must be a desire to please the Lord and be found faithful at His return.

Conclusion:

You dont always know you are being careless untill you make a careless mistake and suffer the consequences.

We must examine our lives very carfully for signs of carelessness.

Are you a careless husband who does not make sure his wife knows how much he loves her?

Are you a careless wife who never shows proper respect for her husband?

On that note....

Are you are careless member of Christ’s Church and dont attend regulary and consistantly?

Do you support your church financally or just enjoy all the “free stuff”?