Keys have power

I have a tendency toward what my husband calls “giving away the store”.  I don’t know if it’s just a social insecurity in me to be thought of as “Really Nice” (whatever that is), or an honestly enthusiastic approach to people and projects, or just too much caffeine.  But it gets me into trouble.

Evidently, I’m in good company.  Not that it makes my personality flaw any easier, but perhaps I can hold the mirror to my face for a closer inspection:

Backstory—King Hezekiah had experienced a divinely miraculous delivery from a formidable enemy nation, after which God had also spared his life from a mortal illness.  Breathing a huge sigh of relief, he sorta let down his guard…

“Soon after this, [the] king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift. He had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick and that he had recovered.  Hezekiah was delighted with the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses— the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.  Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, ‘What did those men want? Where were they from?’ Hezekiah replied, ‘They came from the distant land of Babylon.’  ‘What did they see in your palace?’ asked Isaiah. ‘They saw everything,’ Hezekiah replied. ‘I showed them everything I own— all my royal treasuries.’”

Oops…

Needless to say, the outcome of Hezekiah’s enthusiasm was less the favorable.

1. My overabundance of social positivism has gotten me into hot water also. A “can-do” attitude is a great thing, but there must be prayerful consideration of how others may be affected by my commitment of time and resources.  (The Jewish nation as a whole was eventually sorely put out by Hezekiah’s indiscretion.)
2. Babylon did not make a good bed-fellow for God’s people. As it is written, light and dark don’t mix.  So who am I teaming up with?
3. The Jewish king’s comment at the end is most telling—he called them “MY royal treasuries”. Okay, that one hurts.  It’s not my time, my money, my talent, my ________.   If Jesus is my Lord, it’s all His. 

So who am I letting peer into God’s storehouse of treasures that He has deposited in and entrusted to me?  And how much?  I am held accountable for it, and it does most definitely affect others in my life.

The door needs to stay locked, but I hold the key.

 

Isaiah 39: 1-4  Tyndale House Publishers Inc (2008-06-01). The One Year Bible NLT (One Year Bible: Nlt Book 2) (Kindle Locations 31151-31158). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.