Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

Over the past two decades, our family has moved eight times. Interstate. Intrastate. East Coast to Pacific Northwest. Deep South to far North. Over the years of our travels, we have had the opportunity to live in several different homes. Newer homes. Older homes. Much older homes. We’ve rented more than once. We’ve also enjoyed the mixed blessing of being homeowners. It’s a goal most of us have. The hope of someday owning a home and living “the dream.” Whatever that dream may be. Unfortunately for those of us who have been blessed to achieve the goal, we have been met with the abrupt realization that the dream isn’t always what we think it is. Homeownership isn’t all back porch barbeques and front porch leisure. There’s a lot of work involved. Work you never think about when you simply pay the rent and rely on the landowner to take care of the upkeep. 

As a renter, you have the luxury of relaxing while someone else mows the lawn, weeds the planters, and does general maintenance. It’s their responsibility, not your concern. It is also their responsibility to handle your emergencies. Heating system glitch in the dead of winter? Call maintenance. Plumbing issues? Contact the office. Roof leaks in the middle of the night? Ring up the landlord. Don’t worry about the cost or whether it will get fixed. That isn’t your problem. The homeowner holds that responsibility. They have to call the insurance, hire professionals, find the answer, pay the bill. It’s quite simple, really. For the renter.  

Not so when you are the homeowner. When the tree falls on the roof in the middle of the night, the plumbing reverses into the shower rather than the drainfield, or the air conditioner blows hot instead of cool in triple-digit weather, the responsibility falls on you. When the yard needs mowed, the fence repaired, the siding has hail damage, that’s all you. When the termite inspection needs done, the siding needs power-washed, or the driveway needs repaved, guess who’s up? You. You have to mow the yard and fix the fence. You have to schedule the exterminator and hire a crew to clean your siding. You have to call the insurance company, wait for an adjuster, get a quote, find a repairman, and pay the deductible. You. You alone are responsible. And some homes are more susceptible to problems than others. Believe me, I know.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, when the housing market was at its most ridiculous, we purchased a 20-year-old property sight unseen. Yes. We knew it was risky. We knew it then. We know it now. It didn’t stop us. The previous owners had proudly designed and helped build the house. It looked wonderful on the outside. Beautiful, well-kept yard and gardens. Huge wrap-around porch. Fantastic fire pit. Coordinating paint job. It made a lovely picture nestled there in the valley surrounded by hay fields and barns. The sight hinted at peace and calm, a place of rest and security. Funny, isn’t it, how often looks are deceiving. 

Although the inside of the home had pretty wood floors and a lovely little sunroom, it was in desperate need of some upgrades. Obvious ones. We did them. Granite countertops in the tiny kitchen. Roller shades in the windows. New carpet in the bedrooms. Water-saving commodes. New heating and air conditioning system. We renovated and updated nearly every room in the house. And every time we did a renovation, we found an issue. The master washroom wall wasn’t plumb anymore. If it ever had been. The plumbing hadn’t been installed properly or with the proper number of vents. Some electrical work was questionable. And regular repairs had been done with obvious lack of care for accuracy or longevity. Previous poor repairs had to be righted before proper repairs could be done. Everything took twice as much work and double the time. It was exhausting. It seemed the only dependable thing about the house was the foundation. Never once did the house sink or the floorboards shift. No cracks appeared on the walls as evidence of a faulty foundation. No questions about its quality ever occurred to us. But even if the foundation was solid, the house standing on it didn’t always seem to be. 

The house hadn’t received the type of upkeep it should have had. Where the previous owners clearly took care of their outdoor lawn and gardens, berry patch, and hay field, they hadn’t been as fastidious indoors. Inside, window sills were loose and casings ill-fitted, allowing air to flow around them. Mold was discovered in the attic. Unsealed openings around pipes welcomed rodents. Unfinished floorboards put splinters in feet. And a safety railing was missing from the side of the stairs. We’d never have guessed it by looking at the outside. But it was there. Lurking on the inside. Ruining the safety of the house. Damaging it from the inside out. Making it more of a shambles than a home. Because somewhere along the way, the owners had become negligent concerning the upkeep of the house.

I get it. I do. It is easy to put off repairs that aren’t immediately threatening life or limb. The fun factor is low. The funding often high. They still have to be done. Internal upkeep of your home is as important as external manicuring of your property. And it’s not only true for the physical house you inhabit. It is also true of your spiritual house, the inner part of you that no one else can see. The part that is easy to let slide so long as you keep the outside looking good, use all the right words, attend church regularly, and raise your hands at the right part of every song. The inner part of you that is so easy to ignore in the busyness of life. The part that isn’t fun to evaluate. The part that costs to tend, but will cost far more if you don’t. The part on which your eternity rests.

The wise writer of Ecclesiastes penned words of warning about those who are lazy and neglect to care for their houses. He says those structures will come to disrepair, leak, and fall in. His meaning is echoed in the New Testament parable of Jesus as He tells of a property owner who was preparing to go on a journey. Calling his three servants to him, he entrusted each of them with a specific amount of money according to what he felt was within their ability to handle. Then he left on his trip. The servant who had received the most money went off and turned that money into twice its original amount. The second servant did the same. The third servant didn’t. He didn’t even try. Instead, he buried his singular allotment in the ground and waited for the man to return from his trip. (Ecclesiastes 10:18)

Eventually, the owner came back to reclaim his money. The first man confidently returned his allotment and the interest it had gained. The second man followed suit. Both were handsomely rewarded. Then the third man approached the owner. In his hand he carried a filthy, rotting sack with one tiny coin at the bottom. The same coin he’d been given so long ago. He was full of excuses. He was scared. He wasn’t sure what to do with it. He was distracted by other pressing matters. In the aftermath of the owner being gone and all the duties he had to do, he had failed to retrieve the coin and do something profitable with it.  

Rarely had the servant seen rage like that now crossing the owner’s face. Red, hot, menacing anger seethed from his eyes and spewed out his mouth. With everything the servant knew about him, with all his obvious exacting standards, the servant had done nothing with his money?! He’d left it to rot in the ground, to be found by anyone who happened along, to be lost, forgotten, gone forever? Not only had the servant not tended the money properly, making more with the little he had been given, he had been careless and negligent with it. His laziness spoke more than his words ever could. He wasn’t responsible enough to look after the owner’s possessions. If left to him alone, the entire estate would have fallen down around his ears. The same can be said for the lazy and negligent of soul. (Matthew 25:14-30)

You see, friend, it takes work to keep your spiritual house in order. No matter how firm the foundation of Jesus Christ, there can be no relationship, no growth, no strengthening without effort. Your soul will flounder and fail without constant, daily communication with God. So read your Bible. Alone. The actual Bible. Not a book about the Bible (although they have their place). Read the Word of God for yourself. His words. To you. Listen as He reveals His words and His will to you. That’s why the Bible was written. So you could know God. Not just about Him. Know Him. Personally. Intimately. Have a relationship with Him. Build your life, your beliefs, your convictions in Him and on His Word. Examine your heart, your soul by the Word of God. Allow it to pierce any part of you that is hardened from neglect and clean up the parts that are in disrepair from spiritual laziness. Pray. Talk to God. Regularly. Take time to listen. Sit in silence before God. Hear His voice. Know His nudging. Familiarize yourself with His Spirit working in and around you. Clean up your act. Take care of your house. Build your soul on a firm foundation, and do the upkeep to stay there. (Ephesians 6:11-12; Matthew 26:41; I Thessalonians 5:17; Psalm 119:105; II Corinthians 13:5)

Admittedly, that is the difficult part. The upkeep. The daily, weekly, and monthly consistency of abiding in Christ. When everything is the same day after day. When nothing miraculous breaks up the monotony. When something worldly glistens, catches your eye, and tempts you to turn aside, to leave the responsibilities of caring for your spiritual house for just a little while. When you are tired and worn and weary. When your energy is low and your anxiety is high. Forcing yourself to be on guard and keep your soul solid is sometimes the hardest thing you will do. Especially with all of the distractions of our day. Everywhere we turn, there is something begging for our attention. Our phones are constantly pinging. Our schedules are always demanding. Our souls are frequently smothered as we attempt to keep up with the earthly at the expense of the eternal. We become negligent saints. Lazy Christians. And if we aren’t careful, our spiritual houses will collapse without great care to keep them solid. (Galatians 6:9; John 15:4-5)

In a ringing warning, the writer of Proverbs says those who slack off are negligent, who allow laziness to crowd their souls will suffer the consequences. Their house and grounds will come to ruin. Spiritually, they will be overcome by evil. Those who are idle, lazy, negligent about the keeping of their spiritual house fall prey to sin. Easily. They are drawn aside by the lusts of their own hearts that become prominent when the preeminence of Jesus Christ is smothered. So take care of your house. Do the upkeep. Consistently. Meticulously. Keep your soul from evil. Words. Thoughts. Actions. Guard your heart with vigilance and care. Don’t let laziness or negligence spoil your soul and steal your reward. Take the time. Make the effort. Put in the work to make your soul solid, your eternity secure. (Proverbs 4:23, 24:30-34; Romans 12:9-21; Thessalonians 3:10-12; Luke 6:45; Colossians 3:2; I Peter 5:8; James 1:14)