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You can become useless with disuse

Are you a belt person? What I mean is that you always need to be wearing a belt. I suppose it has become a necessary accessory for men due to the way pants are designed with belt loops. Your attire looks incomplete when you are missing a belt. It is sometimes a fashion statement with a uniquely designed buckle. This accessory in various forms and material existed in ancient times as well.

Jeremiah 13:3-5
And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “Take the sash that you acquired, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

God continues to hammer home the fact that the Jews have become useless.  This time using an object lesson of a linen sash that becomes useless in performing its function in making a person's clothing presentable.  The interesting thing is that Jeremiah is already in Babylon as he was asked to go to the Euphrates to bury the sash as part of the object lesson.  It only tells me that the Jews in captivity persisted in their old ways and had not repented.  Kind of reminds me of the old saying "old habits die hard".  What is going on?  Have they not learnt?  Have they not seen their hugely dire situation? I will probably need to read more to understand how these people got sucked into this position and seem to have a hard time getting out.

But isn't this situation with us as well all too frequently?  We find ourselves in a corner that we cannot get out of because one thing leads to the next and we find ourselves giving a weak excuse for not doing, or continuing to do something.  One example is sharing the gospel.  Are we in a rut that we cannot get out of the mindset that it is ok to share something good, in this case the good news?  We all need to make those bold decisions break the old habits.

Father, help me do good by sharing the good news of your blessings of salvation for my life. Let me speak with a sense of urgency with those around me about their need to reconcile with a wonderful loving God.
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