Daily Lesson for October 28, 2014

Today's daily lesson is from Luke chapter 11 verse 35:

"Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness."

It's stewardship time in the church, which means its time for considering commitment and pledging ourselves to what is required of us. And let's be honest, it's also time for a little evil-eyeing also. I mean really, doesn't it tick us off just a little bit that everybody else gets to do something fun and adventurous with that extra ten percent?

As people of faith who desire to be faithful, holy, and good, we each carry with us a sense of duty which, if not undergirded by a deep sense of grace, can steal all the joy out of trying to love God and neighbor. Faithfulness becomes a burden and a chore and ends up a source of embittered pride as we look upon the rest of the world having all its fun.  We good Christian boys and girls end up like the older brother in the Prodigal Son story or like the hall monitor in my junior high school. Ugh!

Bitterness, resentment, frustration, and a judgmental spirit are never far away from the faithful.  In fact, these are the shadow side of all that is good and holy. And the greater we grow in faithful obedience and commitment, the greater the shadow grows also.

Watch out for the shadow. Or as Jesus put it, "Be careful lest the light in you be darkness."