Using the Right Tool

          I think it was during my time with A. T. and T. that I heard the phrase, “Use the right tool for the job.” Every now and then I would come upon a butter knife that had been used as a screwdriver and the end would be slightly bent. Other tools might be marked up in one way or another after being used for some purpose other than that which the were designed for. I worked at a public school during my stay in Gloucester County Virginia and I had one tool that I carried around with me. It was the Swiss Army Knife with its assortment of screwdrivers, can openers, magnifying glass, tooth pick tweezers, two cutting blades, wire stripper and such. It took care of most anything that I would come up against during the day. It was more comfortable on my belt than carrying around the tool kit that was in my custodial office. There are those cases when you come up with a tool that has been designed for one purpose. Such was the case with a pair of pliers looking device that was designed to take out the springs when when you did a brake job on your car. Problems in the world today also need to be addressed with the right tool in order for things to get “fixed.” Romans 3:10-12 says, “ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

          Everyone seems to have a plan on how to fix the world, the country and the lives of the people around you. Things are not going to get “fixed” until the root cause is addressed and in most cases, this always comes back to one thing and that is the sinful nature of man. The Psalmist wrote about it in Psalm 14:1-3 and Paul quoted it in Romans 3:10-12 with a conclusion in Romans 3:23 where it states that everyone is guilty of this one thing and that one thing is sin. Sin is prevalent in the lives of every person and until it is addressed, things are probably not going to change that much in the future. Problems in our nation are not going to be resolved until the sin issue is addressed. Problems in our schools are not going to be resolved until the sin issue is addressed in each and every situation. Problems in the entertainment industry and the sports arena are not going to be rectified until the sin issue is addressed. Even sin in the church needs to be addressed according to naming what it is that is causing it and that goes back to the one thing again and again. It is sin. Satan has been using the same three avenues for sin from the beginning, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. The answer according to God's Word is the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:19 says, “ For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Christ, indeed, is the answer People will keep on doing what they are doing until they have been changed and that change is only going to come by the good news of the Gospel and as John 1:12 says, by the receiving of the the Lord Jesus Christ. Seminars on how to be good, or classes on ethics won't do that which needs to be done. What needs to be done is simply “Scripture and Prayer to conform us to the image of Christ.” Praise God today that He has the plan for the problems of each and every one of us and  the world also.