Maintenance Is Necessary

PROVERBS 21:25

The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. (NKJV)


I have a friend who I have known for 7 years. She has become the one I have depended on greatly. Her name is Betsy and here lately she has taken ill. I can’t depend on her like I used to. It is frustrating because I need her. It takes her extra time to get going in the morning and once she does I still wonder if this will be the day she dies. It seems that every day I find something new wrong with her. She is getting slower and slower. I am thinking about ditching her and getting a new friend. Does that sound awful?

Of course if you asked Betsy she will tell you that I haven’t done my part in keeping the relationship healthy. It has been my responsibility to feed her, bathe her, and take her to the doctor when necessary. I admit I have neglected to keep up with all that on a regular basis.

Now before you think the worst of me let me defend myself. Betsy is my van. And yes, I come from a long line of women who nicknamed their vehicles. I have greatly depended on this van to get me all over this side of the country. It has gotten me to hospitals in emergencies, my kids to school for necessary education, us to church to engage in worship to our heavenly Father, to midnight pajama runs with the family, and romantic dates with my husband. What a wonderful friend! Yet, it is about to give up. It is only 8 years old but well used. It doesn’t help that I spent more time using it than I did taking care of it. I have heard people say, “they just don’t make vehicles like they used to” but I say, “we just don’t take care of our vehicles like they used to.”

We are busy people these days. We use so much yet maintain so little. This is so in many areas of our lives. We lack maintenance in our relationships with our spouse and our children. We lack maintenance in our material goods such as vehicles, houses, landscape, etc. We lack maintenance in our relationship with God. And we wonder why everything is falling apart.

God gives us material things expecting us to maintain them. He gives us relationships with others expecting us to maintain them. He gave us life, and even more so His Son, expecting us to maintain a healthy relationship with Him. Our relationship with God will not fall apart if we make it a priority to maintain it.

How do we maintain our relationship with God?
1.We feed on the Word daily. If we can eat more than 3 times a day we can certainly feed on the Word of God at least once a day.
2.We have constant communication with God. If we don’t talk and listen then we roam around guessing what God wants us to do.
3.We obey God’s commands. They aren’t suggestions. They are there for a purpose. We show we love Him by obeying.
4.We go to church on a regular basis. This allows us to worship and be fed the Word of God while at the same time ministering to other’s needs.

I challenge you to examine your maintenance: with God, with church, with your loved ones, with your material possessions. If you are neglecting any of these take time to refocus and prioritize. God Bless!