ODJ: respecting God
February 25, 2011
So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well . . . and brought it back to David. But David . . . poured it out as an offering to the Lord (v.18).
READ: 1 Chronicles 11:10-19
In his book Faith at the Edge, philosopher Robert Wennberg describes attending a small church with his students as they traveled through Europe. The students were not greeted warmly by the church members, did not know enough of the language to follow the songs or the sermon, and generally considered their Sunday morning to be a complete waste of time. Wennberg assured them that it wasn’t, for the effort they made to worship with fellow believers was an act of respect toward God.
Wennberg quoted Pascal: “Respect means; put yourself out. . . . It amounts to saying: I should certainly put myself out if you needed it, because I do so when you do not; besides, respect serves to distinguish the great. If respect meant sitting in an armchair we should be showing everyone respect and then there would be no way of marking distinction, but we make the distinction quite clear by putting ourselves out.”
We respect others when we put ourselves out for them. It may be something small, such as standing to our feet when they enter the room, saluting or tipping our hat, or kneeling in front of their wheelchair. It might be huge, as when David’s elite warriors crept behind enemy lines to bring him water from Bethlehem, or when David—overcome by the magnitude of their devotion—poured out the water as a drink offering to the Lord (1 Chr. 11:17-19).
We respect God when we put ourselves out for Him. We all experience dry spells when the Bible seems irrelevant, our prayers don’t seem to matter, and we’d rather sleep in than go to church. These down times are opportunities to express our allegiance and devotion to God. If we continue to put ourselves out, even when we don’t feel any benefit, we pay God the highest respect. —Mike Wittmer
What has God done to show that He respects you? Think of some people who would benefit from your respect. How might you go above and beyond the norm to sacrifice for them?
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I thank God finally I’m here (ymi blogging), its not been easy standing out for Christ, but the benefit I get from here is putting my self out for reaching others with the word of God, I pray God do help me.