Matthew 24-25 Boy Scouts Learn Well

October 12th, Matthew 24-25

       Today's text reminds me of my time in Boy Scouts. The motto is the antithesis of a little booklet put out years ago that reminds us of our struggle.

"Be Prepared" is the motto.

"The Tyranny of the Urgent" is the book.

       In a marginless society, our problem is that we live in reaction to everything around us instead of intention. Intention means I know where I'm headed, reaction means I head where the circumstances take me and I often find myself like  ladies in the parable without any oil.

       I notice the wise girls were asked for some of their oil. Their response, go find a store and buy it for yourselves. There is some personal responsibility in these matters. The whole point of the stories in this section is calling for individuals to account for themselves... "Be Prepared."
       Be Intentional: The good servants made money on their master's investment. The bad servant went and buried his masters money in the ground. Good things don't happen while living in reaction. Good things happen when we takes intentional steps to walk into life God's way. In our Covenant denomination we talk about "Healthy Missional."

Healthy: Pursuing God
Missional: Pursuing God's priorities in the world

       The urgent cries can't override God's call, being prepared has advantage over scrambling over what we believe to be limited resources, when the limitations come as a result of us. Being intentional about a preparedness concerning God's Kingdom should be our number one priority.