Fire Insurance Or A Savings Account
Today I have to pay my semi-annual insurance premium. It is not a pleasant matter with me, for there are many things that I would rather do with the money. Yet, I recognize the necessity of protection through adequate coverage by insurance, so out comes the checkbook and I grudgingly write out the required sum. There! It's done. Now I won't have to give any thought to it until next time the premium is due.
Sound familiar to you? Have you had the same problem with respect to auto insurance, home-owner's insurance, hospitalization insurance, etc? Probably so, if you are an average human being. And while we all recognize and accept this attitude as perfectly natural, how TRAGIC that so very many have the very same attitude toward Christianity.
I wonder if many "Christians" that I know do not look upon whatever obligations they have to the Lord as just so many payments to keep their policy in force that protects them from the fires of hell? When they come to assemble with God's children, it is because they feel they have to--it is one of the stipulations of their policy. They do not come out of love for the Lord and his people, nor out of gladness at the prospect of offering up worship. They just come, and you can tell the reason for their coming by the look on their face during the service.
When they give unto the Lord (if they do at all), it is not out of thankfulness for all the Lord has given to us, nor is there cheer at the thought of the money going for the support of the gospel proclaimed to the lost. It is simply a more tangible form of policy payment. But, there! It's done! And now, no more worry about these matters until the next time he or she comes to the assembly. There are things of the world they would rather be doing, and are glad to get back to them, sometimes even thinking of the extra items they could buy with the money they have given to the Lord.
But some have another and altogether different attitude.
Not only did I pay my insurance premium today, but I also put a few dollars in my savings account. True, it cost me something, but I enjoyed it. There certainly is a pleasure in watching those few dollars being put to use each week, and in contemplating the happiness the "finished product" will bring. You see, I'll get all that back (with interest), and it will make every bit of scraping and sacrificing worthwhile. It'll really mean something to me.
And so many likewise regard their service to God. Yes, it takes time, and money, and effort. But what a pleasure it is to give these things to God, who has given so much to us. And what a terrific interest rate, because these are "laying up in store... a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on the life which is life indeed." (I Tim. 6:19) Thus these are actually looking for MORE WAYS that they might invest in their eternal savings account, and they certainly don't begrudge one single thing they put aside.
Which is it for you? An insurance policy or a savings account? Changing from the "insurance" outlook to the "savings" outlook can make an unbelievable difference in your life. If you haven't tried it, why don't you do so before you find out, too late, that God has never promised to honor the conception of "insurance policies" that so many have.