Putter Not

Puttering people make me smile.  My grandfather (Daddy Bill) and Uncle Neal were puttering people – seemingly content to leisurely busy themselves with non-urgent small tasks.  They did so with such pleasantry, it was hard to imagine they were working at all.  In the end, however, the door no longer creaked and the faucet didn’t leak any more and the mailbox stood a little more upright.

We must not putter in our pursuit of holiness!  Christians should never assume righteousness just happens!  Over time, that faucet will leak – that mailbox will tilt – that door will creak.  Likewise, when ignored, our spiritual lives easily and quickly slip into the abyss. It always begins with slip-ups – we skip a day-or-so here-and-there from study, meditation, and prayer then soon the days turn into weeks, months, etc..  John Piper writes, “Fight for us, O God, that we not drift numb and blind and foolish into vain and empty excitements. Life is too short, too precious, too painful to waste on worldly bubbles that burst. Heaven is too great, hell is too horrible, eternity is too long that we should putter around on the porch of eternity.”  Believers must discipline themselves to never simply tinker at the goal of righteousness; it is a discipline to be embraced and protected at all costs.  Hear the heart of the psalmist: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” (119:9-10).  As much as I love those memories of puttering people, I do not choose to putter in my spiritual life.  Seek Him FIRST and with FAITHFUL FERVOR -- Putter Not!