Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
Apr. 10, 2012

“Holy Middle Ground”
“Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” – Proverbs 4:27

We are still in the process of knowing how to “guard our hearts.” We struggle often with learning how to handle the life we have given—and in so doing we either miss or lose the passion that God wants us to have to make this life worth the living. The last verse in chapter four is truly a great conclusion. To keep the passion means to stay on course! Be careful not to get distracted and stay on course. I received an email a few years ago that is in my opinion a sad reflection of what has happened in our society…and unfortunately it has a tendency to spill over into the one place reserved for God—our hearts. It was labeled, “the paradox of our time.” It goes like this.
The paradox of our time in history is that…

We have taller buildings but shorter tempers. Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We buy more but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families. More conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees, but less sense; More knowledge, but less judgment; More experts, yet more problems, More medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired/ We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion. Big men and small character. Steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce. Fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring you all this information…and a time that you can either share it or keep it to yourself. To me, what I find disturbing is I see myself in far too many of these. I have allowed myself to “swerve” off of the road and into areas that would “drain the passion” from me. If I could conclude everything that we have discussed for the past three weeks—it would be this: GUARD YOUR HEART!! Stay focused on the “God-Life.”
Pastor J. T. Carnell