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Jun 17, 2022 18:30pm

The Easy Way Out

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In high school, during conditioning for basketball and track, we would run the road and the hill by the cemetery. In a small town like Charlotte, there wasn’t a lot of traffic. The occasional tractor chugging along, Burl in his little red truck, or a Senior getting out of school early and headed to Arms Grocery.

As we ran the road, we would get further and further away from our coach. We were tired for sure. We dreamed of a cool drink from the fountain the moment we were finished. As coach was out of sight, two girls passed me going the other way. Would our coach know if I didn’t actually go to the end and then turn around? If I turned now, I could just slow down a little and no one would really know the difference.

I could take the easy way out.

The Israelites were faced with a similar decision. In Numbers 32, as the Israelites prepare to cross the Jordan River, three tribes look around and see how good the land would be for cattle. These tribes had a great deal of cattle and family. As they talked, ideas started to formulate.

“Let’s just settle here. No need to cross the river for land, this place is perfect!”

“And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?” (Numbers 32:6-7)

Moses couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Could these tribes really be saying this? Immediately, he believed these men were trying to take the easy way out. He reminded them of what happened before when their ancestors were sent to spy out the land of Canaan and came back with a false report and cursed the Israelites to wander in the desert for 40 years.

But the men spoke up and tried to put Moses’ fears to rest.

“And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.” (Numbers 32:16-18)

They vowed to make sure that even though they had their own land, they would continue to help the other tribes battle for theirs.

They could have built a life there, settled and decided to not go to war. They could have abandoned their word, their honor, and just stayed to let the other tribes do the rest of the work.

They could have taken the easy way out…

But they didn’t.

What about you? Are you taking the easy way out? Or are you working together with the body to accomplish the task set before you?

The Lord commanded us to go and make disciples. He instructed us to work and serve in the local church, to share the gospel and to give. But many times, we are tempted to take the easy way out. We get saved, we attend church on the occasional Sunday morning, but that’s the extent of our commitment to the Lord.

Let today be a revival within our hearts! We are here for God’s glory alone! If what you are spending your time doing isn’t glorifying God, it’s not worth it! Get involved. Reach out to your pastor and see where there is a need. Work together to fill it. Reach out to church members about something they might need help with or even prayers for them or their work. Now is the time we should be busy about the Father’s business, not taking the easy way out.