Fresh Mannaby Pastor Tim BurtI've experienced something lately that I don't ever remember experiencing to this degree. What is it? It's unthankfulness, ungratefulness, and a spirit of entitlement. I'm not going to write specifically about these attitudes now, but I have to say that they're deadly, destructive, and dangerous. Tim, your saying these attitudes are that bad? The answer is Yes! Probably worse than I could find words for. These attitudes blind your heart from seeing the depth of God's love and all He has done and is doing in your life.They steal your faith! They blind you and turn you to look at what you don't have instead of what you do. These attitudes are like the train to a miserable life that also fuels detrimental side-effects impacting all of society. These attitudes wear down the most giving and selfless people who live to serve others and make other's lives better. Selfless people are the salt of the earth. Life on earth would be miserable without them. And these horrific attitudes (which on the surface seem so insignificant) wear even the best people down! Why am I bringing this up now? Because these horrible attitudes start with neglect—neglecting God.Do you want to know what the polar opposite of neglect is? It's appreciation, thankfulness, and worship to God for all He is and brings to our lives. It's these three heart attitudes toward God that help keep you from neglect and help you learn to live as Jesus said, "A servant to all..."What does neglect look like? Like the picture I painted in Part One of the beautiful garden—something beautiful that's been neglected, taken over by weeds, and almost dying. That’s what neglect does. Our relationship with Jesus could be a beautiful and wonderful relationship but neglect can make it feel dead. As a Christian, when you relationship with God is neglected and suffers, other significant relationships in your life suffer also. Why? Because neglect often stems from indifference, irresponsibility, and or apathy—giving up caring on what you should care for. Your life can start to look like an overgrown weed patch where the beauty is overtaken by the weeds. Neglect comes from the family of lazy, procrastination, and indifference and will lead you to attitudes of unthankfulness, ungratefulness, and a spirit of entitlement.The story of Nehemiah is a story of neglect. But, it has a good turn as it becomes a story of revival, passion, and redemption. God's people had neglected God, His word, and His ways. They developed the attitudes I described above. Eventually, those attitudes led to the neglect of God, followed by the abandonment of God, and then to the destruction of Jerusalem as it was torn down by its enemies and led off to captivity. God's people would be captive in Babylon for 70 plus years. The were only a handful that cared and tried to turn God's people's hearts back to Him. There were two main individuals who always cared and were used by God to influence God's people back to Him—Nehemiah and Ezra the priest. They knew the neglect of Jerusalem could not go on. They repented and prayed for God's help. God miraculously enabled them. The prayers and passion of these two men slowly influenced and stirred others. They drew others into their zeal knowing it was the will of God, and together they fought passionately for what they knew God wanted. They miraculously, through God's help, went back and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and reestablished the city, temple worship, and the home of the Jews despite suffering every tactic the devil could conger up and throw at them to give up. They then made a pledge to God saying, "The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and oil to the storerooms where the articles for the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the singers sang. "We will not neglect the house of our God."Nehemiah 10:39 (NIV) Have you been neglecting God? Have you been displaying attitudes of unthankfulness, ungratefulness, and entitlement toward God and others in your life that God has pointed out to you more than once? How can we neglect something significant and think it won't make a difference? Only deception produces that kind of thinking.
So what's the solution? Ask God to show you and make you aware of what you've neglected beginning with Him. Meditate on it and as God shows you, let thankfulness, gratefulness, and appreciation grow in your heart. Let them bubble up and manifest as actions and doings in your life. Thank God for revealing them to you! Express that thanks to Him! Begin again to let gratefulness bubble up and spill from you until it becomes the new you! The grace of God will lead you to action to dismantle that neglect. That in turn will result in a new level of joy and thanksgiving to your life that is almost indescribable. It will immediately touch others around you! You'll become that salt of the earth. You'll begin to look like that beautiful garden and oh the joy of being surrounded by such peace, joy, and purpose!Matthew 23:23 (NLT) “... do not neglect the more important things."In His love,Pastor Tim Burt
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