Bargain Basement Talk – Part 1
The Lord said to me, “I have heard…the words of this people... They have done well in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always.” [Deuteronomy 5:28-29]
I can recollect days of old (or not so very old), when my kids were in middle school and high school. Every year just before school started up again, I would take them on an excursion through the mall, where they would pick out some clothes to wear that school year.
Here’s the thing. Back in the day I was going through some tough times financially. We were living from hand to mouth. But it didn’t faze the kids. They would always pick out the most expensive clothes anyway! After all, the kids they hung with all wore suchlike duds, so my kids figured they had the right to wear them too.
They were never much impressed when I explained the facts of life to them. It went like this. When you have a hundred dollars, you can spend a hundred dollars. When you have ten dollars, you cannot spend a hundred dollars!
Not to worry. In our house we followed the golden rule: he who has the gold makes the rule! I had the gold, so we spent ten dollars and left the hundred dollars to those parents who had it. This led us to the bargain basement section of the stores—you know, the place where sales items and clothes without the interior design label and stitching were kept.
Not that my kids ever went to school looking like tramps, mind you. They blended in quite well and are well adjusted to this day. It was just that outrageously priced clothing didn’t grace their closets. What they wore was neat and clean and stylish, just not extravagant and gaudy.
At Mount Sinai the Lord spoke the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. As He spoke the ground shook violently like a canoe on white water rapids, the mountain smoked and burned like a humongous furnace, and lightning flashed in all directions like some sci-fi movie where electrical flashes open up a time warp.
When it was all over, the Israelites made a mad dash to Moses and vented their outrage at him. They said, “Listen up, Moshe! Everything the Lord said we will do. No problemento, señor. Only one itsy bitsy favor we request of you. Don’t let the Lord speak to us again or we’ll die! From now on you go hear what He has to say, and then you can tell us and we’ll do everything…everything, we tell you!”
It was at that point of the conversation that the Lord spoke to Moses the words quoted to commence this study. Look at the words once more. Read them to yourself very slowly. Stop and ponder them a bit. Allow them to roll over your tongue, as you sample the taste of each word. Okay, what did you learn?
Did you catch how the Lord contrasted their words with their hearts? Hmm. What does that mean? Well, He liked their words just fine. Every last one was all pretty and cuddly and quaint. No one would have any objection to marrying them and taking them home. They were pleasant to the ear and likeable to the sight.
Oh, but we are out of time today. We’ll take up the issue again tomorrow. In the interim be sure to enjoy your time alone with Jesus. He misses you.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
I can recollect days of old (or not so very old), when my kids were in middle school and high school. Every year just before school started up again, I would take them on an excursion through the mall, where they would pick out some clothes to wear that school year.
Here’s the thing. Back in the day I was going through some tough times financially. We were living from hand to mouth. But it didn’t faze the kids. They would always pick out the most expensive clothes anyway! After all, the kids they hung with all wore suchlike duds, so my kids figured they had the right to wear them too.
They were never much impressed when I explained the facts of life to them. It went like this. When you have a hundred dollars, you can spend a hundred dollars. When you have ten dollars, you cannot spend a hundred dollars!
Not to worry. In our house we followed the golden rule: he who has the gold makes the rule! I had the gold, so we spent ten dollars and left the hundred dollars to those parents who had it. This led us to the bargain basement section of the stores—you know, the place where sales items and clothes without the interior design label and stitching were kept.
Not that my kids ever went to school looking like tramps, mind you. They blended in quite well and are well adjusted to this day. It was just that outrageously priced clothing didn’t grace their closets. What they wore was neat and clean and stylish, just not extravagant and gaudy.
At Mount Sinai the Lord spoke the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. As He spoke the ground shook violently like a canoe on white water rapids, the mountain smoked and burned like a humongous furnace, and lightning flashed in all directions like some sci-fi movie where electrical flashes open up a time warp.
When it was all over, the Israelites made a mad dash to Moses and vented their outrage at him. They said, “Listen up, Moshe! Everything the Lord said we will do. No problemento, señor. Only one itsy bitsy favor we request of you. Don’t let the Lord speak to us again or we’ll die! From now on you go hear what He has to say, and then you can tell us and we’ll do everything…everything, we tell you!”
It was at that point of the conversation that the Lord spoke to Moses the words quoted to commence this study. Look at the words once more. Read them to yourself very slowly. Stop and ponder them a bit. Allow them to roll over your tongue, as you sample the taste of each word. Okay, what did you learn?
Did you catch how the Lord contrasted their words with their hearts? Hmm. What does that mean? Well, He liked their words just fine. Every last one was all pretty and cuddly and quaint. No one would have any objection to marrying them and taking them home. They were pleasant to the ear and likeable to the sight.
Oh, but we are out of time today. We’ll take up the issue again tomorrow. In the interim be sure to enjoy your time alone with Jesus. He misses you.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
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