Confessions of a Church: A Leaky Roof

 The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.  

Ecclesiastes 10:11-20  If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer. Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness. Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him? The toil of a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city. Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness. Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks. Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything. Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.

This is the Word of the Lord.

One of the things I do for a living is go into people's homes and give them estimates on how much a particular home improvement project may cost.

This is challenging, because to estimate a job incorrectly can lead to the company not getting the work, or as happens sometimes, we lose income because I underestimated the scope, labor, and materials involved.

One thing that multiplies the degree of difficulty when giving an estimate is whether or not the homeowner has maintained their home. Has the home fallen into disrepair?

For instance: if a homeowner requests that we put new flooring in their bathroom, but doesn't realize that the subfloor and floor joists in the bathroom are rotten from years of a leaky toilet, any new flooring we lay will be an exercise in futility unless proper repairs are made.

If someone wishes that we replace, finish, and paint a sheet of drywall which has water damage from a leaky roof, but they do not address the leaky roof, again, another vain attempt to build where rot and decay exist.

Oftentimes what would normally be a simple fix, or quick facelift to a home, becomes an expensive nightmare due to the neglect of the home by the homeowner. They knew the roof was leaking, for months or years and chose to turn a blind eye to it. They found themselves cleaning water up off the floor in their bathroom, daily, along with an increase in their water bill over the course of years, yet took no steps to address the root of the problem, the leaky toilet.

Whether it was ignorance, laziness, or indifference matters not, there was a problem which was neglected and the result was serious damage to the structure. We see this quite often.

Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks.

This nugget of wisdom buried in our passage today almost seems like it belongs on the "duh" channel, yet it happens a lot. Everyone knows that sluggishness and inactivity in regards to the maintenance and upkeep of anything, will result in that thing, whether it is a house, this Church, or  your home, springing a leak leading to rot and a collapsed roof.

Let's talk about our homes, specifically a father's job to train up his children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6).

Scripture in the broadest sense commands us that all our interactions with others, including our children, ought to be for their building up, their edification (1 Thessalonians 5:11, Ephesians 4:16). This is hard, tedious, repetitive work. Many times, it seems like pointless, futile work.

However, it is work which must be done without indolence and slackness. To shirk the  responsibility you have toward your children, to bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4), is to invite the slow drip of a leaky roof into your home, which will inevitably lead to rot in your rafters.

What happens to a roof with rotten rafters? It collapses on your head.

As an example: I do not know the inside scoop on how John Piper manages his home or raised his children. However, if his atheist, angry, shameful, very public son is any indication, it would seem that somewhere along the way a leak was sprung which did not get properly patched.

To be sure, it is quite possible for Christian parents to faithfully raise their children, and for those same catechized, loved, disciplined children to leave their father's home and show themselves to be reprobates, however, the general principle we find in Scripture is that God honors the faithfulness of His people.

This should give us hope in dealing with that difficult, challenging, frequently hard to love child.

So, what might a leaky roof look like in relation to your covenant child? Here are a few indicators, which I will gladly dive into deeper with you should you have questions later:

1)   A disregard for first time obedience.

2)   Huffing, puffing, and eye rolling when given an instruction.

3)   A lack of respect for authority (for instance, little Johnny walks up to the Pastor or Elders and addresses them as "hey dude").

4)   An inability to consider the needs of others before their own wants.

5)   An indifferent approach to God's word, the singing of songs, prayer, and other means of grace afforded us, coupled with an insatiable desire for the things of this world.

6)   A lack of self control; put another way, always driven by their appetites, desires, wants, and emotions.

7)   Your children seeking to divide and conquer by pitting one parent against the other.

The temptation for fathers is that once we recognize the problem, we get angry that we were blind to it, then we get mad that we had shirked our responsibilities for so long, then we turn our anger towards the children, in what some may call a "daddy reign of terror".

May I submit to you that before any repair work can be done, whether on a leaky roof or the heart of your child, an evaluation of how things got to the point where they currently are must be made, an examination of your own culpability must be performed (which as an aside, as the man, you are responsible), and a path of repentance, for both you and your children must be laid out as you move forward. It isn't enough to get mad, storm around, make a ton of changes, and in a flurry of activity give the appearance that you are doing something, if repentance, very public repentance which all your family can see, is not at the forefront of your efforts.

So, at this time if you are able, please kneel as we confess how we frequently neglect the discipline of our children.

Heavenly Father,

We are so thankful that You discipline the children whom You love.

We are thankful for Your Son Jesus who as the perfect example of obedience paid the penalty for our sins which we deserve.

We are thankful for the children You have blessed us with, and those whom You will bless us with.

Father, please forgive us where we have failed to lovingly discipline our children.

Forgive us where we have been lazy, indifferent, or too comfortable, sitting idly by as leaks spring up in our roofs.

Father, please show grace to our children, grant them hearts to receive it, help them to respond in obedience to their parents, and ultimately Your word.

Please help us to do all these things with faith in Your Son Jesus, knowing that apart from His work all our labor is in vain.

In Jesus's name we pray, amen.

Please stand and listen to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to his church: 

Galatians 5:1&13-14 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery…For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!