the basic message #E240

1/21/04

I've been a user of the New International Version of the Bible for many years.  I think it reads easier, therefore I tend to read it more than I would a version that is less user friendly.  Although I've found very few passages that differ much from the King James translation,  I have found one this week that I do believe is significant.

Romans 12:11 (NIV)

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Romans 12:11 (KJV)

(be) Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

I'm not sure how being slothful in business in the KJV became lacking in zeal in the NIV, but I do see a major difference in the way this reads.  I would personally interpret "lacking in zeal" to be more in line with our zeal to proclaim the Gospel, and I would interpret "slothful in business" to simply mean that a person is lazy in their job.  If the latter is true, let's explore that.

Many people like to keep a Bible on their desk at work.  That's fine with me since we need all the advertising we can get, but what message is being transmitted?  If I see a Bible on someone's desk, I'm figuring one of two things: they're either a committed Christian or maybe they're just starting out reading the Bible to figure out whether they want to be a Christian.  Either way, they're putting themselves in the spotlight in terms of other people watching their actions.  If a man keeps a Bible on his desk, yet curses like a sailor, his workmates will likely wonder if his behavior is accepted and endorsed by God.  Whenever we publicly proclaim that we're a follower of Christ, we should be ready to exhibit the characteristics of Jesus.  Please don't misunderstand, I'm not suggesting that any of us have reached Christian perfection, but what I am suggesting is that a man who regularly curses shouldn't keep a Bible on his desk- it's hypocrisy.  Some of you are probably thinking, "Old John must think a Christian has to be perfect to even discuss the Gospel."  Not at all, my friends, I think we should look for every opportunity to talk to folks about the Good News, but we must consider how our effectiveness for God is diminished when we talk about how we're followers of Christ yet then do something totally opposite from what Christ would do.

Let's get back to being slothful in business for a moment.  I've known some folks who make a big production of their identity as Christians, yet on the job they're about as lazy and unproductive as they come.  That, my friends, is a contradiction that our Savior can't be happy about.  I'm not suggesting that every Christian be some sort of super workaholic, but we should give our employer their full money's worth.  It's really simple- a day's work for a day's wages.  For some reason, there are folks out there that will recoil at the question, "do you ever steal?", but when we regularly fail to provide our full services for our wages, we're thieves.  To add insult to injury, I've known plenty of people who "borrow" office supplies, shop supplies, etc. from their workplace to use at home.  "Oh, it's just a can of WD40- they've got plenty at work."  Let's take that attitude to Walmart for just a moment:  Go to Walmart, put a can of WD40 inside your jacket and take it home without paying for it- after all, it's just a can of WD40, and Walmart does have plenty of it, right?

Make no mistake, their are millions of unconverted people in the world that will never consider Christianity as a viable alternative simply because they watch the actions of the Christian community.  If we proclaim loyalty to Christ, yet do immoral and even illegal things, our testimony will be empty.