SHIP OF FOOLS
Ecclessiastes 5:1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
Ecclessiastes 7:4,5 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
Where might your feet be leading you this Sunday? For what reason might you go to the house of God? Is it recognition for what you bring which compels you, or what you might gain from the recognition. Or, is it what you might learn from God’s messenger and how to apply God’s knowledge?
In the church you attend would you consider yourself one of the crew or a passenger?
Is the complement of your church more passenger or crew? Does your church concentrate on the mission God has commanded to every believer; or rather dote on the gratification of its members?
Consider the church you attend. Is it equivalent to a cruise ship where fun, fellowship, and praise reigns supreme? Is it a ship in the midst of a worldly sea making frequent stops at appealing sites to allow passengers time to mingle a little in the world? The church which concentrates on the internal gratification of its members or “passengers” and little if any on the foundering populace in the ocean of lost souls will find itself without direction or purpose. Such a ship will become permanently moored to the worlds quay with a steady stream of visitors coming and going for their own gratification. This kind of ship needs no crew and has no captain. Many of these churches become merely a gambling showboat where dead spirits gamble on their souls and never win. Will you gamble your soul on glitz, glamour, and flattery? Do you think God is fooled by the fool?
Have you seen that church which screams utilitarian but awesome power? It isn’t a ship of passengers, but a ship of rescue and a ship of war. This ship has a crew, officers, and a captain. It’s purpose and plan is defined, it’s mission transcribed in blood and sacrifice. Each crew member gives a piece and portion to the efficiency of the vessel. Its way is lit, the sea marked with a definitive path. The current seems always to be against it. Yet, through the sweat, tears, and pain of the crew can be heard the anthems of praise and worship. Tortured throats sing in melody, dry lips form eloquent words of praise, and the sweat rolls as each tired body toils at a task. The crew strains at the constant repairs from enemy assault. The enemy finds ways of sabotage from inside and attack from without. The guns are never silent, as volley after volley of the Gospel message is sent out over the waves. From its sides, little boats with a few crewmen are lowered down to reach out to lost souls swimming the worldly sea. Occasionally, they encounter and bring back those who’ve been overcome by the Gospel and are seeking God’s will in their lives. This ship and its crew is at war against evil and seeks to rescue, through a toil of love, the lost.
Where might your church be in comparison to the these examples?
And, in retrospect, what does this say about you as a Christian?
Ecclessiastes 5:18-20 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.
