“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.”- James 1:22-25 NIV

It was a new term to me, but it caught my attention when I heard a CPA talking about “Idle Assets.” He explained that idle assets are assets that are lying unused or that are not earning any income. Any asset that is unused or not appreciating in value can be considered an idle asset.

For example when you place cash in your vault, it can be considered an idle asset. It is not being used for anything and nor is it increasing in value. If we had invested it somewhere or at least deposited it in a bank, it would be earning interest and hence we could not term it idle. Now since it is just lying there in the vault it can be considered idle.

Whoa! What idle assets do I have? What things and gadgets have I acquired that are not bearing economic fruit or not being used in a productive way? But it is more than an economic term, as there is a spiritual parallel here.

As a saved person, I have been given the sacred gift, given only by God to those who connect with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. Do I lock the Word and my spiritual gifts in a vault? Do they then become “idle spiritual assets?”

James says that if we listen to the Word and not do what it says, we are like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and, after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. We are implored to not forget what we have heard, but to do it.

To quote Charles Spurgeon: “Preachers must preach as for eternity and look for fruit—and hearers must carry out what they hear, or otherwise the sacred ordinance of preaching will cease to be the channel of blessing and will rather be an insult to God and a mockery to the souls of men!”

It is bad stewardship and bad economics when monetary and economic assets become idle, but it is far worse for our spiritual assets to become idle. Use what God has uniquely given to you in body, mind and soul and never ever have to explain to God why you have let them become idle.”
(a thought on life from John Grant )

by John Grant
used by permission
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

FURTHER READING

Playing to your Strengths

Using Our Abilities

Don’t Hide

The post Idle Assets appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13 (NCV)

What God said about Jeremiah, he said about you:

“Before I made you in your mother’ womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work” Jeremiah 1:5 (NCV).

Set apart for a special work.

God shaped you according to yours. How else can you explain yourself? Your ability to diagnose an engine problem by the noise it makes, to bake a cake without a recipe. You knew the Civil War better than your American history teacher. You know the name of every child in the orphanage. How do you explain such quirks of skill?

God. He knew young Israel would need a code, so he gave Moses a love for the law. He knew the doctrine of grace would need a fiery advocate, so he set Paul ablaze. And in your case, he knew what your generation would need and gave it. He designed you. And his design defines your destiny. Remember Peter’s admonition

“If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies”  1 Peter 4:11.

I encountered walking proof of this truth on a trip to Central America. Dave, a fellow American, was celebrating his sixty-first birthday with friends at the language school where my daughter was studying Spanish. My question “What brings you here?” opened a biographical floodgate. “Drugs, sex, divorce, jail”  Dave’s first four decades read like a gangster’s diary. But then God called him. Just as God called Moses, Paul, and millions, God called Dave.

His explanation went something like this.

‘‘I’ve always been able to fix things. All my life when stuff broke, people called me. A friend told me about poor children in Central America, so I came up with an idea. I find homes with no fathers and no plumbing. I install sinks and toilets and love kids. That’s what I do. That’s what I was made to do.“

Sounds like Dave has found the cure for the common life. He’s living in his sweet spot. What about you? What have you always done well? And what have you always loved to do?

That last question trips up a lot of well-meaning folks. God wouldn’t let me do what I like to do, would he? According to Paul, he would.

“God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him” Philippians 2:13 (NCV).

Your Designer couples the ‘want to‘ with the ‘be able to‘.  Desire shares the driver’s seat with ability.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart”  Psalm 37:4 (NIV).

Your Father is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery. As Thomas Aquinas wrote,

“Human life would seem to consist in that in which each man most delights, that for which he especially strives, and that which he particularly wishes to share with his friends.”

So go ahead; reflect on your life.

What have you always done well and loved to do?

Some find such a question too simple. Don’t we need to measure something? Aptitude or temperament? We consult teachers and tea leaves, read manuals and horoscopes. We inventory spiritual gifts and ancestors. While some of these strategies might aid us, a simpler answer lies before us. Or, better stated, lies within us.

The oak indwells the acorn. Read your life backward and check your supplies. Re-relish your moments of success and satisfaction. For in the merger of the two, you find your uniqueness.

by Max Lucado
From Cure for the Common Life
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2006)

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://www.maxlucado.com/info/view/about_max_lucado/

FURTHER READING

• Who Am I? What Am I Here For? 
• We Plan – God Directs
• God’s Plan or My Plan? 

The post Read Your Life Backward appeared first on Thoughts About God.