How Fast or How Well?

Seth: "I'm the new manager."
Jerry: "But you were a bank executive. This is fast food!"
Seth: "Not fast food, good food quickly."

The American experience is a constant trade-in of quality for speed. This issue was recently driven home during my morning workout. The Nike Training App has been my go-to for a while, and I appreciate each exercise is accompanied by video and audio reminders as you progress.

Today's routine included 30-second increments of the "Crab Reach", a move I've done umpteen times. However, a line in the audio immediately changed my approach to this move as well to the remaining sets in my workout:

"Focus on good form over speed"

In my desire to do something good (exercising my body), I'd been emphasizing speed over quality. I emphasized how fast I could perform the move instead of how well I could perform it. 

I think you may see where I'm going with this.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us-- yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17 (NIV)

Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses, the man working to establish an unstable people. Israel was coming out of Egypt and anxious to settle into their permanent homeland, but Moses fought that mindset. Moses prayer wasn't for a quick build, but a quality build. Throughout the Psalm he uses words like everlasting and steadfast. These are words that are willing to take time with the Lord to do things well.

Are you?  

Whether in our devotional time, family time, or work efforts, we must have a desire for God to establish our work as works of quality. Reading the Bible in a year isn't more valuable than studying the Bible for a year. One advances your reading plan, while the other advances your sanctification (becoming more like Jesus).

There's a lot to do everyday: For God, for others, for yourself. Don't focus on how fast you can accomplish these tasks, but on how well you can do them. You just may find the end of each day is more satisfying than it's ever been. 

OMG...Pardon Me?

I think we're doing that 3rd commandment wrong. 

Like me, you may have grown up in a household that didn't allow for phrases like...

OMG

Jeez

Gosh Darn

For those of you who just survived the PG-13 part of this blog, let's continue. If I may be so bold, I believe the commandment our parents tried to keep us in line with goes much deeper than a word spoken in anger or frustration. 

My seminary president once had the honor of teaching an Old Testament study to a group of rabbis. Afterwards, they repeatedly thanked him for not using the proper name of God, Yahweh, during his teaching. Many Christians who'd been invited to teach had used the name, causing extreme offense to their audience. 

If you've ever noticed in your Bible, the word LORD is often capitalized throughout the Old Testament portions. This is actually a substitution by the Hebrew scribes for the name Yahweh that for them was too holy and special to even be written down. The Jews have always treated God's name with a deep reverence, but it goes far beyond the understanding you may have grown up with. 

How do we use God's name in vain.

1) Profanity. Ok, so let's get this out of the way. If you're using the English expression for God as a curse word, then you clearly are speaking it vainly. However, for those with no relationship with Him, "God" is simply a word. We need to be careful about demanding lost people use the name of God properly. Lost people gonna lost. 

2) Prayers of Unbelief. James 1:5-7 says that when we pray we should do so, "...in faith with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord" What is the issue with this prayer? It called upon God in vain, doubting His ability. We recognize God may answer differently from our preference, but in faith we pray trusting He will answer. 

3) False Oaths. Some people "swear to God" in proving their sincerity, mainly because they've been found insincere in the past. Numerous people swear before God to love "until death do us part", but step away long before. James 5:12 challenges us, "Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear--not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple "Yes" or "No."

So now what?

Obviously, we just say OMG all we want....NOT! My purpose isn't to be flippant about our attempts at honoring God, but to simply think a bit deeper on how we go about it. Idol worship in America looks differently than it did in biblical times, but we have recognized how to think deeper on the temptation to idolize fame, fortune, etc. 

In the same way, let's approach the name of God our Father and Friend with the complete reverence He deserves. Using the name of God with purpose in front of our kids or co-workers will speak louder than simply avoiding random utterances of His name at all.