Got Fruit ?

Well February has come and gone… the reason for the decline in posts last month is simply that there have been quite a few other things going on that demanded my attention, specifically discipleship training. Hopefully March will pick up; if not in quantity, I do hope that at least the quality will be there for visitors.

Speaking of quality and quantity…

Our Men’s Ministry Team Leader coordinated a get together/farewell to send off one of our brothers who’s heading overseas on military assignment. The time spent together last Friday evening was filled with laughs, great conversation and just quality time outside of the “church” (the building) as we all got a chance to get to know each other better, in spite of losing one of our members.

Afterward, I headed back to the bachelor pad to watch a movie that I’d rented earlier in the evening. The movie, “Why Did I Get Married?” by Tyler Perry, is about 4 couples that for years, have had a pact to gather for vacation for one week each year, to work on their marriages. When we enter the story the couples are on their way to a cabin resort in the Colorado mountains for their annual retreat.

Overall “Why Did I Get Married?” was a good watch, with a steady dose of a spiritual message, particularly in the character of Sheila, who goes through some life changing events. Through her low times, Sheila retains her faith in God, and it is through her faith and dependence on Him to deliver her through her trials that she learns to live her life through Him alone. Some of the other spiritual messages throughout the film are, the importance of placing priorities on family and marriage versus career, as well as forgiveness.

I won’t go into great detail about the plot, however part of the movie’s story does deal with infidelity. In one scene, the men of the group are sitting around talking, and the beans are spilled that one of the characters has cheated on his wife and has contracted an STD. One of the other characters goes on to explain why cheating isn’t worth the obvious reasons and risks, then proceeds to explain the 80/20 Rule:

“The rule says that in marriage you will only get 80% of your needs met. An outsider may offer you the other 20%. If you take the 20% you may risk losing out on the 80% that you were getting and then you’re left with less than you had before.”

This past Saturday, I sat down to take in my daily reading of Scripture for the discipleship training course. Having finished reading the Book of Acts a few days prior, I remember wanting to read another of Paul’s letters, but having instead, a prodding to read 1st Samuel.

In 1st Samuel 8, Israel asks Samuel for a King after becoming displeased with his sons, Joel and Abijah, whom he had appointed as judges in Beersheba. The Israelites were demanding a king to lead them to greatness, as their neighboring nations had. Having heard this Samuel was displeased and prayed to God for guidance.

1st Samuel 8:7
And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.

Samuel did as the Lord commanded:

10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

Two parallel thoughts that come to mind regarding the 80/20 Rule from the movie “Why Did I Get Married?” and 1st Samuel 8 are this:

• the luster of things coveted and obtained, dulls compared to what was had
• covetous attitudes leads to loss (spiritual, physical, material, emotional)

Proverbs 17:1
Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.

Grace and peace be with you.