I was recently visiting with a pastor friend who told me one of his core commitments in ministry is to “have absolutely nothing new to say.” 

You might be thinking, “well, that sounds pretty boring, never having anything new to say!” But the truth is far deeper. While we certainly don’t try to bore anyone, we work hard to stay completely faithful to God’s word. In fact, it reminded me of Paul’s words in 2 Thessalonians 2:15. There, Paul writes, “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.” The more I thought about my friend’s statement, the more I realized how much I agreed with his statement. 

His statement made me think about the vows every United Methodist Elder takes at their ordination (in our tradition, fully ordained clergy are called Elders, no matter their age). The bishop, prior to laying hands on us for ordination, asks us a series of questions. Here are a few of those questions followed by the response of each Elder being ordained:

“Do you trust that you are called by God to the life and work of an elder?” 

“I do so trust.” 

“Do you believe in the Triune God, and confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?”

“I do so believe and confess.”

“Are you persuaded that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain all things necessary for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and are the unique and authoritative standard for the Church’s faith and life?”

“I am so persuaded, by God’s grace.”

“Will you be faithful in prayer, in the reading and study of the Holy Scriptures, and with the help of the Holy Spirit continually rekindle the gift of God that is in you?” 

“I will, with the help of God.”

At my ordination, I promised that, “the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain all things necessary for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and are the unique and authoritative standard for the Church’s faith and life.” Anytime I deviate from the message of truth and grace contained in Scripture, even unintentionally, I distract from the power of God’s word.

Looking back at these vows, i realized I share the same commitment as my friend. Although I hope to present the message of scripture in creative ways, I am committed to adding “nothing new” to the message of God’s word.

In Jeremiah 6:16, the prophet writes, “This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” I pray that we continue to seek the ancient paths of God’s word and find rest for our souls, no matter what comes our way.

Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to do a Q&A with The Loft, the student ministry of our congregation. I really enjoyed hearing their questions and offering them my best understanding of how to answer those questions using scripture. While several questions stand out in my mind, one reminded me of a question I’ve often heard asked. To put it simply, I was asked, “why does it sometimes seem like those who have faith sometimes suffer while those without faith have so much in this world?”

When my mom was a little girl, she didn’t have much from a material point of view. One day, after seeing how affluent one of her classmates was she asked her mom, “why do they have so much when they don’t even go to church?” In her young mind, it was as though God was blessing them for a lack of faith.

This is a question as old as Scripture. In Psalm 49:5-7, 16-20 (CEB) shows us,

“Why should I fear in times of trouble?
The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.
They trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches.
Yet these cannot redeem a person
or pay his ransom to God…

Do not be afraid when a person gets rich,
when the wealth of his house increases.
For when he dies, he will take nothing at all;
his wealth will not follow him down.
Though he blesses himself during his lifetime —
and you are acclaimed when you do well for yourself —
he will go to the generation of his fathers;
they will never see the light.
Mankind, with his assets,
but without understanding,
is like the animals that perish.”

My grandmother Pauline drew on this Biblical wisdom when she answered my mom. She said, “honey, without God, this world is all they have…” The truth is, no matter how much wealth or prosperity we experience in this world, if we don’t have a deep relationship with God (what the Psalmist here calls understanding), we are missing out on the one thing that matters most.

Faith in God through Christ transcends this life and leads to eternal blessing and infinite happiness and joy. We must always remember, no matter how much we may prosper in this life, knowledge of God is infinitely greater value than money or success.

With that in mind, how should we prioritize our lives? I believe we should make our relationship with God an absolute priority. Every second we invest in learning about God through his Word, every second we spend deepening our relationship with God through prayer, and every moment we spend in worship are never a waste. Instead, they are eternal investments that shape not only our experience of this world, but that lead to the everlasting blessing that awaits us in the world to come!