I went to the store the other day to pick up a few items. It was one of those days where there was a drizzle of rain. It was not enough to where you needed an umbrella, but just enough to get you a little wet if you stayed out in it too long. I was a little perturbed when I realized how far away the area where you are supposed to return the cart was. While I walked the cart back to its return place, I noticed how many carts were left unreturned at the parking spaces.
What do you do with the shopping carts you use at the grocery store? Do you follow the rule to return them when you are finished unloading your groceries? Did you know that what you do with the shopping cart says something about your character?
Life is about keeping rules or deciding not to keep them. Every civilized society has rules. We call them laws. Bad citizens are those who live lawlessly. Good citizens keep the law. Great citizens keep the whole law, even the portions they do not like, and they keep the law consistently. Come to think of it, that describes great citizens in the kingdom of God as well.
The church is made up of good members, and members who are not so good. Good members are not those who are perfect. You cannot find that kind of member in the Lord’s church. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23). They are, however, those who keep the law of Christ consistently because, instead of being consumed with self, their goal is to do the will of God. Does that remind you of someone?
John 4:34 (ESV)
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
Back to the shopping carts. Why do some people think it is okay to leave a cart by the side of their car instead of putting it where it belongs? It is because they are self-consumed. They only think of what they want, not what is best or even what is right. They do not think of the damage a loose cart can do to the cars around them. They are unconcerned about making the job harder for the worker who, instead of being able to go to one place to gather the carts, now has to walk around gathering the carts of the rule-breakers. They certainly do not care about the rule itself, showing a general disregard for authority. Too many demonstrate those same characteristics in the church. Let that not be said of you.
There is something else I thought of while I was returning my shopping cart to the return area, getting a little wet in the process. While some never return their carts to their rightful place, on this day, some did not do it simply because it was inconvenient at the time. If it was not raining, they would have, but given the circumstances, they thought it to be okay to break the law this one time, or at least until the next time it is inconvenient for them to keep it.
We have some church folks like that as well. They generally keep the rules of the kingdom, attend the services of the saints (Hebrews 10:25), obey the elders who have rule over them (Hebrews 13:17), and they usually do the will of God (Matthew 7:21). But, when life rains on them, even if it is only a drizzle, they put aside the law of Christ until a more convenient season comes.
The next time you unload your groceries from a shopping cart, make sure you do what is right with the cart. More importantly, the next time you have the privilege of observing one of the rules of the kingdom, do what is right and obey God, regardless of the circumstances.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.