A commentary on one small verse.

Proverbs 19:2 says:
It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.

While I was on my way to a family outing, I read my bible in the car and thought about this. And I wrote my thoughts down and wanted to share them with you, because I think God gave me something that all of us can apply. But do not think that I am telling you what to do, this is just to make you think.

Enthusiasm is good, enthusiasm for knowing the Lord; but if we take matters into our own hands and do what we think God wants us to do, without first finding out what God actually wants, then we miss the point. Serving God is about doing what He wants, when He wants is, not what we want or what we think He wants. The timing of our obedience is also crucial. Note that the proverb says: zeal without knowledge. The Israelites acted without knowledge here and because of that they doubted the Lord. Then they were punished for it here. The Israelites naturally have one of their characteristic pity parties, crying about their mistakes. Then they decide that they're going to obey God. But they received a warning, which they disobeyed, and then Moses' prediction comes true: They disobeyed God, even though they thought they were obeying him, and thus they were punished for it. The lesson here is that delayed obedience is really disobedience. Now, Jesus seems to contradict this here, and my interpretation of that is that delayed obedience is better than no obedience, but true obedience is best. But who can say that that is always true? It isn't. God may give us the opportunity to witness to somebody, and we will probably decide that we don't want to do it right then. Maybe if the other person lucks out we get to it later. But that means that we wasted the moment that God gave us. That person's heart and mind would have been most receptive in that moment, that's why God wanted us to do it then. But if we miss the moment, then it may not have the results that God planned for.

So, then, what is the answer? What can we as a youth group do to help our ministry become more fruitful? Well, first, I will speak to the couples, and if anyone reads and doesn't like what I say, I challenge you to have a response that says why this idea will not work. (And I say in advance that if you have a problem with it, then it means that you really don't want to do it, you really don't care about those lost and going to hell around you, and you're not willing enough to make the sacrifice necessary to serve God whole-heartedly.

Couples:
1.Stop placing such a high priority on so called "quality time" that mostly consists of watching movies, eating out, talking, or making out. Who does that benefit? Absolutely nobody. Daily quiet times matter, but if that's where your Christian life stops, then your Christian life has stopped indeed. Christianity is supposed to be all day, every day, not when we feel like it, not when our boyfriend or girlfriend is not around, not when we're not working, not when we don't like somebody. We are always under all circumstances called by God to be the same kind of person at all times, showing them how devoted we are to studying the scriptures to become more like Jesus and to serve God wholeheartedly. Don't ever say something 'Christian' to make your other happy, because that's what you think they want to hear. Rather, serve God first, and be honest in front of him and your other, because you can't lie to God. So start serving God first, and be willing to go through the doghouse if that's what it takes.
2. Stop persecuting the other. Stop calling and making a nuisance of yourself if your other is trying to do something for the Lord. Are you trying to be first in his or her life? That's not where we belong. At the absolute highest, we should be second in his or her life, and that's only after marriage. Before that, we need to be further down the ladder. God, ministry, and family should all come between you and your other until marriage.
3. Get more comfortable around our same sex. Until we are married to our boyfriend or girlfriend, we are still only brother's and sister's in God's eyes. Therefore, we should still spend more time with our own sex than that of the other one. Otherwise, we will have no ministry because we will have no connection to the people that God wants us to minister too.

4. Understand that Satan's most powerful weapon for persecution will be to use the other to persecute us. Who has the most influence on you? The other. So if Satan can convince your other that they're not being selfish when they ask or make demands of your time, then he's succeeded in keeping you from doing something that God may have wanted you to do. That's why it's so important to have a properly balanced Christian life, one that does not revolve around the other. Who do you plan your day around? God, or your other? Does God get a little time in the morning before work? Maybe a couple minutes spent in prayer before bed? Or should it be the other way around? Should God get most of the day, so we have so much ministry going on that five-15 minutes is all the other is able to get? Does this seem impossible? It only is if you make it so for your other...

Singles:
1. Do you take your faith to work? I didn't ask if you took your bible to work, I asked if you take your faith to work. There is a difference. McDonald's employees are probably used to seeing Lewis and I's bible sitting around. Any effect that they may have made is probably lost. So, Lewis and I need to sit down and talk about how we can continue to minister in McDonald's. Do you do the same? Are you a Christian at your job? Do you care about making a difference amongst the coworkers that God placed you with?

2. Sacrifice more time. You do not have a boyfriend or girlfriend to please, so the bible says that you are able to devote yourself completely to God. Spend time in prayer, spend time reading God's word. Volunteer to do things. Don't just sit ther like a lump on a log letting other people run everything. God has something for everybody to do, and you can serve God being single.

3. Be content. Be content with what God has given you. God may or may not have called you to be single for life, but He has called you to be single for right now. So be content, and serve Him until He gives you something better.