Diligence

Another Friday is before me and that means elementary chapel time. Our verse of the week is Proverbs 21:5 - "The plans of the diligent end up in profit, but those who hurry end up with loss." Our verses this year cover Christian character traits. We have learned about acceptance, bravery, and compassion so far, and today we learn about diligence.

I have written a skit that will be performed in chapel to illustrate the importance of diligence. I will be playing Dexter, a student who rushes through everything and ends up losing out on grades, understanding, and (gasp!) gym time. I will be supported by someone from the office staff playing The Teacher and a third grader named Nilufar Murodova playing the student I have creatively named Nilufar. She will teach me the importance of being diligent as a Christian.

The skits are a big hit with the elementary students because they are usually funny, and this year I have been using at least one student each week to play an important role. I like it that the student plays the hero of the play, the Christian who believes the Bible and tells it like it is as a friend. We all need people like that in our lives.

Growing up, my mother was often the one who spoke truth when I needed to hear it, whether I wanted to hear it or not. I realize that moms and dads may be reading my blog, and I want to encourage you to make the time to tell your child what he or she needs to hear, even though their flesh may not appreciate it. I never wanted to go to the cross as a young person - fear and pride being two major reasons why - so I sometimes needed to be led there by one wiser than I. Dying to myself was never pleasant until it was over and the newness of resurrection life in my new nature became my experience. And it was also quite an unpleasant revelation that I needed to die daily in order to have Christ's life in exchange for my own.

Diligence is taking time to try to do things right. I need to be diligent in my walk of faith and we need to be diligent to help our young people establish their own personal walks with Jesus Christ. That can be hard to do in a culture that encourages us to do more and more, faster and faster. I comes down to making decisions as to how we spend our time. Let's spend our time wisely on the things and people that matter and show our young people what is truly valuable in the ways we spend our time.