Wise and Foolish

My daughter Christy is one of the main people in charge of the Christmas production in her church.  She, along with the pastor and the other people that help her, has many things to think about and prepare for.  She spends many hours preparing, making sure that everything is done and every part is filled with people that can perform them satisfactorily.  She tries to prepare the best she can.  Her purpose is to honor the Lord and to further God’s kingdom in some way.  If you asked her, I think she would tell you this is something she has wanted to do for a very long time and God has blessed her with the privilege of doing it, and she would thank and praise Him for it.  Making these productions successful is very important to her and she tries to prepare for any unseen problems that might arise.  This is her ministry and she doesn’t take it lightly and I don’t think anyone else does that works with her.  Christy, and all those that work with her, thinks about these productions as outreaches and pray they will be used of God to usher people into the kingdom.  The last production I saw in her church was very nicely done with gifted and talented people and was very well received.  To be wise, is to be well prepared and not put off what needs to be done until the last moment hoping things will turn out alright.

I remember one particular time when I was not wise but very foolish, and believe me it is not the only time I have been foolish and unprepared.  Let me tell you this story the best that I can recall it.  I was a supervisor at the Sheltered Workshop because of a back injury I had at the time, and still have.  I was working in the Rogers Trucking Company building at the time boxing and sending calendars out for Keith Clark Industries.  It was the first time I did this job and I wasn’t prepared for it.  I started out with one of the other supervisors helping me to get the job started.  Then I was left on my own counting on the young people that worked for me to help me get the job done.  Everything was going fine for a while then I ran into a real problem and this was where I realize how very foolish I was.  Instead of writing things down when the other supervisor was there, I counted on the young people that were working for me to take care of things because they seemed to know the job well.  The first truckloads I sent out went out-of-town in an Overnight Trucking Co. truck which the other supervisor called in and I should have written down to help remember the name of the company.  As time went on we ran out of the out-of-town material and started sending material in-town using a different trucking company.  In the meantime two of the workers that knew the job well, quit.  We then finished the in-town material and started doing the out-of-town products again.  Because I didn’t write down the name of the trucking company that took the overnight products, I called in the wrong trucks, and not only was my good standing marred, but as far as I know it cost The Sheltered Workshop money for the wrong trucks that I called to come and get the material.  The moral of these stories is that it pays to be prepared and ready because if you are not it could cost you more than you want to pay.

I said all this to tell you about a parable that Jesus talked about in Matthew 25:1–13, it is about ten virgins, or bridesmaids, depending on which version of the Bible you read it from.  Five of them were wise but five were foolish.  Being wise or foolish in this story determined where these ten virgins would spend eternity so their choices meant much more than my daughter’s and mine did.  

I am afraid that many in the church are being lulled to sleep today by watered down sermons and entertainment, they are not preparing for when Jesus comes back or if they are taken away before that time.  The five wise virgins were prepared, ready and waiting.  The five foolish virgins may have thought they had plenty of time and neglected to replenish their oil, in other words they didn’t prepare, they procrastinated.  Everyone is responsible for themselves and none will have an excuse for their lack of preparation.  It was foolish thinking they could hold off and borrow or buy what they needed when the time came for the bridegroom to come and it was not the answer.  

There are people today that think they are going to wait until they get much older to get right with the Lord, they are very foolish.  They may never have the opportunity at that time.  In 2 Corinthians 6:2 it says, “For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’  I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (NIV)

So don’t put this off another second, take the first step and get started and be prepared when the Lord returns.  Don’t be like the five foolish virgins but be like those that were wise.  I don’t ever want you to hear these words from the Lord, “Verily I say unto you I know you not,” or, “get away from me I never knew you.”  So be wise, be ready and waiting.  God bless you and have a super day.