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Look
here, you people who say, "Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town
and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit."
How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning
fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is,
"If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." Otherwise
you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
(James 4:13-17 NLV). Meerkats
are a type of Mongoose. You will find them in the wild on the broad plains of
the Kalahari. They are an
interesting study in cooperation. You will never see the young unattended.
Even when both the mother and father must be away from the young to
forage, another will tend the young in their place. They are very watchful;
standing on their hind legs and balancing with their tails to look for any
danger that might come to the “gang” (as the group is called). It seems that
each Meerkat has an assignment in the gang according to their individual ability
and each of them performs it without question.
They know what to do and simply go do it.
Burying
one's talent is a grave mistake. The following story appeared in the September
1995 issue of Law Enforcement Bulletin: "Officer Shirley M.
Atherton of the Pinellas Park, Florida, Police Department responded to a call of
people trapped inside a burning house. When Officer Atherton arrived on the
scene, she observed a woman covered with soot exiting the front door. The woman
was able to tell Officer Atherton that her husband was still inside the house.
Although smoke was billowing from the windows and doors, Officer Atherton
entered the residence to search for the man. As she crawled under the smoke, she
heard someone coughing, followed by what sounded like a body falling to the
floor. Officer Atherton located the victim but was unable to revive him. She
then dragged the unconscious man out of the house onto the lawn, where she
revived him. Hospital personnel later determined that the man had suffered a
stroke and probably would have perished in the blaze if not for the actions of
Officer Atherton." Shirley
Atherton, like the Meerkat, simply knew what to do and went and did it. There
are needs all around us. They may not involve something as urgent as saving a
life, but important needs still exist. The key question is, do we work together
or not? You have many opportunities to make a real difference for now, and for
eternity. For example, your most important need is to have a strong relationship
with God. Family, friends and co-workers have needs you can help meet. What
would be revealed by a heavenly audit of how well you are meeting these
responsibilities? Adopt as your motto the words of Edward Everett Hale, author
of "The Man Without a Country": I am only
one, but I am one. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. What are you DOING in the world God has placed you in? |
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