PICKING BONES
in the Valley of Dry Bones
Part ii
Sitting for more than 15 minutes is very hard to do.
If you haven’t guessed yet, Picking Bones in the Valley of Dry Bones are articles based on annoying and bothersome dry bones stuck to the bottom of my shoes. I rarely get a chance to challenge things that are annoying. Therefore, allow me to pick away.
Part i deals with fifteen-minute sermonettes that can never run over beyond thirty minutes. Many times, this time requirement was not of the preachers doing since the philosophy of “Whatever a preacher has to say he can say it in fifteen minutes, or at the most thirty minutes“ has become the standard of acceptable preaching. If this is of the preachers own making then I say, that is a good thing, because he most probably did not have anything to say anyway. If this time requirement was from the oversight of the church (elders, deacons, etc.) then it was also of the preacher’s own making because when men are chosen by other men who have not the Spirit of God, then the preacher has willingly accepted others to take control not only over his time, but also over the message.
Part ii deals with the listener sitting in a pew where sitting for more than fifteen minutes can become a physical trial. (Now taking into consideration people who have physical ailments that will not allow them to sit for more than fifteen minutes, I say that you are off the hook here.) Nevertheless, this cannot be said of the majority of pew sitters, even though many try to use physical discomfort as an excuse that sitting for more than 15 minutes is very hard to do.
A dedicated teacher approaching retirement told me that her principal had informed the staff that a child cannot take in more mentally than their butts can endure. I say, so now, we are butt teaching instead of mind teaching. We are more concerned with comforting butts instead of challenging minds. (This can also be spiritually applied to pew sitters.) What a gold standard for instruction! This standard can also be applied to those who say that sitting for more than 15 minutes is very hard to do. Now do not get me wrong sitting for more than 15 minutes can be very hard to do, and when sitting for fifteen minutes (or not more than thirty minutes), but this can be a GOOD THING. How can this be a good thing? Think . . . . sitting down to eat for only fifteen minutes is a healthy thing! Sitting down in front of a television set for only fifteen minutes is a healthy thing! Sitting down to play a video game for only fifteen minutes is a healthy thing! And the healthiest thing of all, you no longer have to travel on long plane flights more than fifteen minutes, (or no longer than thirty minutes)! Think of all the positive things that you can do in fifteen minutes not to exceed thirty minutes. (At least, that is what I have been told.) Could this be why most churches that I am acquainted with have pews cushioned with expensive fabric and foam? Yes, sitting for more than 15 minutes can be very hard to do. According to this new time standard of sitting and listening, there are a few things that can be very unhealthy. Sitting down for over an hour listening to a Christmas program, or a ‘Christian’ comedian perform, or a gospel singsong for over an hour is neither considered unhealthy nor hard to do; yet, listening to the word of God, well, you know that sitting for more than 15 minutes can be very hard to do. As the world hypocritically sets up different standards to live by, so also, the church hypocritically does the same.
However, I have left out a very important criterion from all of my ranting, and that is the Spirit of God. A preacher with the leading of the Spirit of God does not have a time commitment. The preacher cannot dictate to God what he preaches, or where he preaches, or to whom he preaches, or how long he preaches. This is God’s realm. But when men (without the Spirit of Christ within) rule over the things of God by determining what is preached, and how long God’s message should last, then you have a church that is wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. (Revelation 3:17)
Now to build a guilt trip into your head, think of this: Since sitting for more than 15 minutes is very hard to do, how hard to do think it was for those who STOOD in fields to listen to Whitefield who spoke for hours. I could list hundreds of preachers who preached while listeners STOOD. And I could also list hundreds of preachers who preached for hours — and no one left the room! Why wasn’t it hard for those who listened? Now, this is where it is going to get HARD for you . . . . THEY WANTED TO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD! They thirsted to HEAR THE WORD OF GOD! Now I intend to build a deeper guilt trip into your head . . . . could it be, just maybe could it be that you DON’T WANT TO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD because although you have been accepted into the church ‘fellowship’ and attend the ‘important meetings and services,’ YOU MAY NOT BE BORN AGAIN, you may not be a child of God! When either listening to or reading the word of God becomes uncomfortable to you, it may not be your butt that is uncomfortable, but maybe it is your heart that is uncomfortable! If this small editorial piece has made you uncomfortable . . . GOOD!
Since it is definitely hard to sit for more than15 minutes in a church pew, or to sit reading about the word of God for more than fifteen minutes there can only be two reasons for this: first, what is being said or written is not adding to your growth in the knowledge of the holy, or the second reason could be that you don’t want to grow in the knowledge of the holy.
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1st Peter 2:2)
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33)
Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak [this] to your shame. (1st Corinthians 15:34)
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2nd Corinthians 4:6)
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: (Ephesians 1:17)
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Colossians 1:10)
But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen. (2nd Peter 3:18) 1:10)
A good point about the internet is that you can either click off, or print the information, or save the information, or even listen to the audio program that is in most computers; therefore, many of our articles are long. Do you know why they are long? Because the reader does not have to sit for more than thirty minutes, since this is a hard thing to do. You can save our articles to read later, or you can add our articles to your favorite file to read later.
© Copyright 2022, Mary Haigh
This article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJB)