What I Did Not Do

A New Start – Day 24

I did a service call yesterday that was a recall on someone else.  The other tech had done a good job of repairing the machine but the repair had wiped out the settings in the machine so they could not print or scan.  He did everything right, but overlooked that one last step of reentering the settings (which I have done in the past as well).

Today I started reading the rules that God gave Moses to tell the Israelites, including the Ten Commandments.  Most of you know that when Jesus commented on the commandments, He made sure His followers knew that they were matters of the heart.  In other words, if you lust after someone, you are guilty of adultery.  If you are cruel to someone, you are guilty of murder, and so on.  I think it is safe to say (as Paul did in Romans 3:23) that we have all sinned. 

Something I noticed today is that you can do nothing and think nothing and still sin.  In Exodus 21, Moses was told that if someone’s animal is known to be dangerous and the owner does nothing about it, the owner is liable if someone gets hurt.  That makes sense.  Consider that concept as a matter of the heart.  If there is something or someone you are ignoring, will your inaction cause hurt or harm?  That is a tough question that will take some examination.

I point this out not to make anyone feel guilty.  Frankly, without the sacrifice of Christ, we are all guilty.  It is very easy to overlook that one last important step in something.  I point this out to myself that I may live a life that helps rather than hurts those around me.  I invite you to ask yourself this question with me, “Is there anything or anyone that I am ignoring today that I need to do something about?  Do I need to call someone or see someone and repair a relationship?  Do I need to do a task that I have been putting off?”  Let’s live full, helpful, generous, and loving lives that don’t ignore little important things.