Readiness

TITLE: Readiness.
DATE:  August 25, 2019
TEXT: Matthew 24: 43-44 – ESV - But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
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Going back to school can be a traumatic experience.

That is true for the students, most certainly....but it’s also a reality for some of the instructors. Take for example the case of Lorie Ann Hill who was a new hire in the special education department of Oklahoma’s Wagoner Public School system.

No the day started well enough and Lorie is to be commended for doing many things right. For example, when the 9:00 bell rang, she was in her classroom.  Fellow teachers who saw her there said she seemed to be a little bit disconcerted, but that isn’t all that unusual for someone who is beginning  her first day as a teacher.   

Everything would have been fine if Lorie had just started to get her room ready for the arrival of students who were coming in a few days. That would have been ideal, but that’s not the way things went down.

At least that’s what the Administration felt when they called the police.

You see, somewhere along the line Lorie decided she was warm, or she felt too constricted, or she was afraid of getting dirty. Whatever her reason, she decided to take off her pants... which did not fit the School District’s dress code for teachers.

By the time the police arrived Lorie was wearing some gym shorts and confessing to have polished off more than a modicum of vodka. Sure enough, the officers found a cup in her car, but since nobody saw her drinking, or driving, or drinking and driving those charges could not be filed against her.
Which means Lorie spent the night in the hoosegow for public intoxication rather than getting her room ready for the arrival of her young students.

Now I might judge Lorie a bit more harshly than I have, if I had not, on numerous occasions, walked in her shoes. It’s true. I can’t recall all the times I was supposed to be working on “Project A” and I got distracted by “Project B.”

That distraction, of course, meant that I did not accomplish that which was more important, that is “Project A.”

When the Savior talked to His people about “Project A” , He always told them to stay prepared for the unknown hour when He is going to return. In teaching, in parable, the Lord told His redeemed children to be ready.

And how should we be ready?

Simple, don’t get distracted by things of lesser importance; don’t let the world trip you up;  don’t let Satan seduce you. The Savior paid a tremendous price for our forgiveness. Don’t lose that blood-bought redemption.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant that I may stay on task and not have my interest and attention turned to the trivial. This I ask I Jesus’ Name. Amen.

The devotion for today was inspired by various recent news articles. For further reading you may wish to go to this address: https://www.newser.com/story/192116/teacher-shows-up-drunk-on-first-day-without-pants.html and the article written by Kate Seamons .
The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html