Beware of the “Careful” Christian

Today’s Scripture Reading: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Revelation 3:14-19

Mark Twain wrote a poem called,

Opportunities Missed:

There was a very cautious man
Who never laughed or played;
He never risked, he never tried,
He never sang or prayed.
And when he one day passed away
His insurance was denied;
For since he never really lived,
They claimed he never died!

Some Christians like to "play it safe." They will go through life without ever taking a stand, without ever risking their reputation or their rights for what they believe. They may claim to be living on the safe side, but when their days on Earth are over, no evidence will show for their existence. "Blending in" with the crowd is not living; it’s merely existing.

A man wrote to his college-bound son, "If you change who you are, you are not you anymore. You become a leaf, driven about by the wind of people who do not know you, do not care about you, and are very busy for their own interests." The careful Christian has no solid moorings, choosing rather to drift in the shifting seas of popular opinion than to anchor himself upon the steadfast truth of God’s Word.

Have you been living a comfortable Christian life lately? Is your dedication only skin-deep? Go against the flow and stand up for Jesus!

(James Scudder)