Let no one seek his own good.....

....but that of his neighbor. That's what I preached yesterday. Right out of 1 Corinthians 10:24.

As I prepared for that sermon last week, I kept asking myself if I was living the life I was about to preach about. This is one of the great blessings of bringing the sermon on Sunday morning, the self examination that occurs as you prepare to stand before the congregation and share what God has shown you during the week.

I felt pretty safe come Sunday morning but I also had the inkling that had not been tested in a while. You know the 'testing' God brings to you when you've said something? The opportunity that rises up after you've made a statement or commitment about something or someone.

Last week was a loooong week. I managed to squeeze more than my usual number of mistakes and miscues into a perfectly fine week, stretching it out and causing it to elongate into one of those "I'm glad it's over and now I can start a new one" weeks.

I didn't get out of bed until after 10 AM on Monday! I had some things I wanted to do, including mowing the lawn, before Kelly returned from Vermont. She went up very early Sunday morning to join Ruth for a baby shower her friends were throwing. Kelly was due back sometime after dinner on Monday. I was really looking forward to a leisurely day.

I got most of my chores down and went out to start cutting the grass. As I started the mower, I looked over at our neighbor's lawn and saw that it was about a foot high. They are a Hispanic family that moved in about three months ago. We have spoken to them a few times but there is a pretty significant communication gap. A number of weeks ago, I saw the father had used push mower on his grass and went over to offer him our riding mower. He said, "Thanks." but never came over to get it.

So, naturally when I saw how tall their grass was today, my first thought was, "Now, why don't they come over to use our mower? Maybe when I see them again, I'll talk louder and slower so they can understand. YOUUU CAANNN UUUUUSE MMMYYYYY MOOWERRR!" Somehow that never really works but it makes you feel like you have, at least, tried.

I began mowing my lawn. Every time I turned and mowed in the direction of their yard, I saw something different: no one was home, the yards lined up perfectly, I had a full tank of gas.

You can probably see what's coming. I couldn't! It was the Lord speaking to me, "Are you just going to preach it or are you going to live it as well?" What a two by four to the face! I never even considered mowing the grass for them! Just yesterday, I spoke those words from 1 Cor 10:24 and now I was totally immersed in having my day go the way I wanted it too.

I'm not a rocket scientist but I do know what a two by four can do and I wasn't eager to get whacked again. I just rode over there and began cutting.

Now, I'm not sharing this to demonstrate what a spiritual giant I am. My flesh fought that calling to mow all the way. "You don't have time. You need some rest. They might get mad!" It went on and on. The simple fact of the matter is that it took a lot of effort to live like my neighbor was more important than me.

When I was finished, no angels came down from the clouds, no ray of sunshine beamed down on me, I didn't hear a big voice from the heavens saying, "Well done....", the whole neighborhood did not throw a big party in my name. I just felt at peace. I felt rested.

God's lesson are for all of us. Scripture is not always easy to follow. Our fight with the flesh is unceasing and arduous. But our God is good and His mercies are never ending. When we are willing to listen to Him and apply His Word to our lives we experience a sweetness of blessing that goes beyond our understanding.

It's been a great day.