Wednesday – July 27, 2016
Greetings and blessings with protection from The Three Minute Word Ministries in the name above all names, Jesus. Wednesday is hump day and time for another feeding of God’s Word.
Colossians 3:22-23 (KJV)
22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
In the verses immediately preceding the verses above I have discussed wives submitting to their own husbands, husbands loving their wives as Christ loved (loves) the Church, each of us submitting one to another, children obeying and honoring parents, and fathers not frustrating their children. Now we come to a section dealing with servants. This reference to servants in the time of Paul would apply to slaves and employed persons. According to the Complete Word Study Dictionary this word ‘servant’ from our text is defined as a slave, one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other, bound to serve, in bondage, and in involuntary service. It can also be referred to metaphorically as voluntary service, a servant, implying obedience, and devotion.
We Christians commonly refer to ourselves as servants in service to the Lord Jesus. Our serving the Lord Jesus and our Heavenly Father is a voluntary service where we exercise our will to be obedient to His will not our own. We choose devotion (enthusiastic, dedicated, fervent, zealous, and dutiful) to Him. We are freewill beings and God does not make us do anything. Like everything else in life, not doing the will of God has consequences which can be terrible. Not because He wants us to have terrible things in our lives but we choose, we choose death or life, our way or His. The smart money in my opinion is submission and obedience to His will and His way. Another way to think about the word and concept of a servant is that when a person is bound to another, they are in bonds, knit to another, tied to another or entwined. They are not bound together like a husband and wife but in a subjugated or inferior position according to Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.
Next in our text after ‘servants’ we come to the word ‘obey’. To obey is to hear and do without question if it is a lawful order. In the days when the Book of Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul there were slaves just as in the earlier days of this American nation. Today in Western countries slavery is rightfully illegal. However, there is another slavery that is far more insidious and most do not even realize they are servants, bondservants, or slaves. That slavery is to the government, which is being dependent on the government for our living. The other area is living above our means with our without indebtedness. You might think that living above ones means would automatically involve debt but it might not, it might just preclude savings. Savings when adequate give a freedom hard to describe. Let me ask a question of those reading this who are working. How long could you maintain your current level of living without your job? If your answer was less than six months you are in bondage. It should a minimum of six months and ideally two years.
Proverbs 22:7 (KJV)
7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Underline added)
There is a debt crisis in this country. As a nation we are approaching twenty trillion dollars of debt. Personal debt is encouraged by our governmental leaders. Increasing personal debt increases the need for governmental programs because many will fail and need assistance for they have no financial cushion. There are many in our country and around the world that are making the government their god and the people in government are willing accomplices due to their lust for power. This is a demonic trait not a Godly trait. When we are in debilitating debt not only are we captive to our jobs but so is God! God’s ability to use us fully is very much compromised when we have no money and we have no flexibility of time. These were our choices not His. We must repent of our debt and all the distractions of life that take us away from His will. His will is not just for us to show up Sunday morning.
By Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
