We got talking about puzzles this morning after our morning study and how long it took to put some of them together. Then comes my least favorite part, after all that hard work over a period of days, weeks, or months depending on the puzzle...you pull it all apart in seconds and stick it back in the box. Well....what takes years to build only takes seconds to destroy in our life. Our reputation, a marriage, a career, all of these things are grown and last when we honor God, but even after years of work can be destroyed in a day through our foolish actions.
#SetYourMindAbovePodcast
We got talking about puzzles this morning after our morning study and how long it took to put some of them together. Then comes my least favorite part, after all that hard work over a period of days, weeks, or months depending on the puzzle...you pull it all apart in seconds and stick it back in the box. Well....what takes years to build only takes seconds to destroy in our life. Our reputation, a marriage, a career, all of these things are grown and last when we honor God, but even after years of work can be destroyed in a day through our foolish actions.
#SetYourMindAbovePodcast
Welcome back to all of our listeners! I’m BJ Sipe, and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above podcast – where everyday ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in today, I am excited to share my life and my faith with you, and I sure hope that you’ll do the same with me along the way.
I sat enjoying short, careful sips of my freshly brewed Brazilian dark roast coffee this morning over at the Hub. Wayne, Randy, Ronnie and myself had just finished engaging in an hour long discussion over several questions that were brought to the table. As we started getting our things together to go about with the rest of our days, we started round the table to find out what everyone else was getting themselves into for the rest of the day. I had two more studies before preparing for my last evening of my gospel meeting tonight in Stanford, Kentucky as well as my podcast. Ronnie was off to work and Randy was off to his workshop to wrap up some projects. I looked at Wayne and with his usual, whimsical grin he remarked, “Well, I have some very important business to attend to. I’ve got a puzzle to go finish back home.” We laughed as he told us he was on a timeline to get it finished because his wife Kaye needed the table cleared before they start prepping for the upcoming holidays. Randy chimed in and asked if Wayne wanted another puzzle after this one was done, that Pam had just completed one herself with many different birds on it. He thanked Randy and said he was good, but then asked what was Pam going to do with the puzzle now? I knew what he meant, I actually know many people who will glue their puzzle and have it framed once it is completed and it becomes like it’s own piece of art you can hang on the wall. Randy said, “No, I’m sure she’ll just break it all back into pieces and stick it back in the box.” As he said this a little part of me cringed inside, and let me explain why. I too love doing puzzles, I personally am a fan of the Thomas Kinkade paintings that have printed into puzzles in particular, but I’ll do anything. Of course, some puzzles are harder than others. My daughter has a Disney’s Frozen puzzle with these massive pieces that might take you a whopping 2 minutes to complete. Most puzzles I do are generally 750-1000 pieces, but some of the hardest puzzles can get into the thousands. It’s not just the many pieces that make them difficult, but often the print does not allow you to really have much to work from. I’ve seen 1500 piece puzzles of things like marbles, coffee beans, snow, or even just one solid color. To complete such a puzzle would take days, weeks, even months to complete. Granted, by the time you are done you have accomplished something beautiful, but it has taken a considerable amount of time to do so. This is why I cringed when Randy said Pam was just going to box her puzzle back up, because that is my least favorite part. What takes days, weeks, or months to put together takes only a matter of seconds to completely destroy. What once was a beautiful picture with all the pieces carefully fitted together in the right places just moments later is chaos, pulled apart, and broken up.
As I started to think about it, actually, a lot of things work just like this – don’t they? What takes a great amount of time to build only takes a few minutes to destroy. Buildings that take years of planning and construction can be toppled over instantly by a great storm or explosion. Hand crafted pieces of furniture that had hours of labor poured into them can be destroyed in a matter of minutes. This is the nature of life. While this specific warning found in Proverbs 5 is about avoiding an adulterous, look at the language used here and how it can apply to so many things. Proverbs 5:7-14, “And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” While the immediate context warns of the consequences that will become of an unfaithful man, allow the language to make some further applications to other areas. Solomon begs his sons to listen to his warnings to keep their way far from an adulterous woman, and warns them of what will happen if they do not. He says, “lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless.” How long does it take to build a good reputation in your life? To become known as someone who is faithful, honest, and true takes years of right living and godly actions. And yet, through foolish actions one can destroy their honor & their reputation in just one day. While you might yet find forgiveness in the future, sadly we live in a “cancel culture” that is not as forgiving as our God. Not just our reputation, but other things that have taken years to build only take seconds to destroy. Marriage is hard work, isn’t it? It takes years to build trust, to learn your spouse, and to continue to grow closer together as “one flesh” in all things. And yet, how quickly a marriage can be destroyed by the faithless actions of one or the other. I have sadly seen marriages that lasted well over thirty years come to an end because of awful decisions that were made in an instant. A career takes years to build, to develop a good work ethic and be known for your expertise and consistent performance. Yet, how many times have you heard of someone destroying their entire career in a matter of day because of their foolish actions? Something they said to their boss, they lied on their expense report, or they even stole from the company. Are we starting to see the sad nature of life here through Solomon’s warnings to his sons? Whether it is a relationship, a reputation, a career, a family, or anything else – destroying something is much easier than building it. That is why we must pay much closer attention to ourselves & how we walk by faith. Don’t allow the temptations of the world and the lies of Satan to deceive you into throwing away what you have diligently worked in building by faith in this life. Be thankful & cherish what is yours before God, because if you are careless with it, it just might be gone tomorrow.
Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Fridays, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and video sessions. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.