Zeal without knowledge

Luke 12:41-48

When Jan and I were new in our relationship with Christ there was great zeal especially on my part to do the work of ministry in the lives of teenagers.  We were part of a church and it mattered not what else was going on we were there anytime something was taking place.  Back to my zeal, I was a baby in Christ with a lot of zeal and little knowledge.  Thomas Fuller who lived in the 1600’s had this to say about a person like myself: “Zeal without knowledge is fire without light.”  If you ponder on his words, fire has one task it consumes what it comes in contact with, and Jesus called you and I to be like a city set on a hill, it’s light cannot be hidden.  We in Christ are the light of the world, but the knowledge of Scripture is the light that is required, look at 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

The local church had entrusted a novice to train their children in the ways of God and how to live life on planet earth, shame on them.  But God, first sent a storm to destroy our home so we could hire an out of work preacher named Chris to be our framer and lead carpenter, he was also a Dallas Seminary graduate.  Chris asked if he could sit in on our Bible studies and it was not long before he began to teach.  I do not recall much at this time of Chris’s teaching, but this one thing never left my thoughts; Chris told us often we would be very wise not to study the Scriptures unless we were going to apply them to our lives.  He went on to tell us that God would hold us accountable for all that we learned about His word.

Dr. Luke shares about Peter asking Jesus if being ready for the Savior’s return was a parable for just the twelve or for all?  And then Jesus gives the account of the wise manager and the evil manager, and the uninformed manager, and what will happen to them.  It is the last part of verse 48 I was drawn to: “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

The Scriptures do not call us to be fire, that is the work of the Holy Spirit as seen at Pentecost, “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.” (Acts 2:3)  This act of the Holy Spirit totally changed these men; they became bold and mighty in God’s kingdom.  But God has called each of us who are followers to be light to a world in need of Jesus Christ.  A person without knowledge will believe they can be fire, but it is God who is a consuming fire.  When we are in fellowship with Jesus He puts a fire in our hearts to do His will, as found in Luke 24:32.

I’ve come to look for simple applications in applying the teachings of Christ to what I’m encountering in everyday life.  I believe this is addressed in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 in a worldly way, Joe Whitehouse worked for the same company as I and is one of the most successful salespersons I’ve met.  When investigating his success, it became apparent Joe knew the electrical business, not just the product he was selling and Joe wants the best for 3M and his customer, he is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and training his customers in what is the best practice.  Now that is of great value to 3M and the customer but it has no eternal value, but when Joe let the light of Christ shine through his life that has eternal value.  We find this about zeal in Proverbs 19:2, “Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.”

As follower of Christ we must be ready to give an account, to be that light on the hill, and to put the Bible into our heart and mind, so that our minds can be renewed.  As stated above in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”  Be watchful and ready as the faithful and wise manager Jesus is talking about.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice