Not a Joking Matter

By Edd Sterchi

    There was once a farmer who was going broke farming, so he quit and started selling hammers. He would buy hammers for $3 apiece and sell them for $2 each. He was selling a lot of hammers and seemed happier than before. A friend soon reminded him that for every hammer he sold he was losing $1. To which the he smiled and replied, “Yeah, but it’s more profitable than farming.”
    That joke is similar to what people sometimes do with their lives. Activities like drunkenness, sexual immorality, extreme selfishness, obsession with material possessions, deceit, etc. can cause folks to view their lives as being morally and spiritually bankrupt. So they decide to go to church services, pray, or read the Bible every once in a while without actually correcting the behaviors that got them into such a big mess to begin with.
    Going to church services, praying, and reading the Bible are good things to do, but until one takes some corrective action and makes a full commitment to Jesus Christ and His teachings, they are still “going broke.” It’s like buying hammers for $3 and selling them for $2 – or like taking two steps forward and three steps backward.
    It’s past time for some people to get more serious about their Christianity and truly change their lives and totally live for Jesus. He needs to be at the center of every thought, every intent, and every action in life. The old ways are to be completely left behind and the things that make for righteousness are to be constantly pursued (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Phil. 3:13-14; Col. 3:1-17; Jas. 1:21-25).
    You see, living in Christ and with Christ does not work unless we truly and totally live for Christ! Don’t make a joke out of your life. Live the way He wants you to.

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Rom. 6:12-13)

 - Edd Sterchi preaches for the Broadway Church of Christ in Campbellsville, KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website.