Wowzers. I was kind of hoping that Achan and his family would have been pardoned since he told the truth about the loot he stole and where he hid it. Sadly, though, we have to read yet another example of how God did not tolerate greed and lust for wealth, particularly when it came to disobeying His commands to obtain them. And as we can see from Achan’s story, our selfish actions can gravely affect those around us. Not only did Achan’s actions destroy his entire family, but it put the whole Israelite camp at risk. They lost their first battle – and to a small army at that. Consequences. Ugh. We know they are inevitable, but still, sometimes we cop that “Enjoy now. Pay later.” attitude, don’t we? Like yesterday, I ate two cheeseburgers, one for lunch and one for dinner. The problem really wasn’t the cheeseburgers, but it was the French fries and tator tots I ate along with them. I usually pass on those, but yesterday, I just wanted them. They sounded good. And even as I was drowning them with ketchup, joyfully and thankfully stuffing them into my face, I had that little voice in the back of my head saying, “You are going to regret this tomorrow.” And now it’s tomorrow. Regret has arrived. From my grief, however, I am a bit more inspired to exercise more today – and not eat any more fries or tator tots. I’m guessing that Achan didn’t love his treasure as much as he did after he got caught as he did when he was burying it. The Israelites, however, learned that God’s love and protection is greater than any precious metal or priceless garment on earth.
Writing prompt: buried treasure
Do you have a buried treasure? What I mean is, do you do something or have something that takes away from your time with God? I have lots of stuff, but of course one of my biggest distractions is my phone. I noticed a few years back that I was getting on my phone immediately in the mornings and putting off quiet times for Bible reading and praying. I made it a point from then on to put God first. I installed a Bible app, and instead of looking at email and social media first, I opened the Bible app first, and I’d read the daily Scripture. Then, I’d have some quiet time, do yoga for 30 minutes and start getting ready for work. I was quite disciplined for several years. (Thanks for letting me pat myself on the back.) Today, I still make it a point to open my Bible app and read the daily Scripture first thing, but quiet time sometimes gets put off until after a cup (or two) of coffee, and yoga, well, is still happening but sporadically. Write about your “buried treasures,” or things that steal from your alone time with God, and try to make improvements to your schedule/choices.
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