Evaluation Maxim 6
Don't waste it and you won't have to repair it!
Many of the major problems people face are because of waste: wasted time, wasted energy, wasted money, wasted talent, and eventually a wasted life!
Once you have wasted it, it is gone!
I am not a modern day environmentalist. I don’t believe federal regulations are the solutions. In my short lifetime, I have seen the federal government waste things so badly, that they are the reason for a lot of problems that mankind is facing. Waste is the cause of most problems. Sadly, many of the government’s cures just miss the mark and waste more! Many of their solutions create more and greater problems!
Many of the problems facing mankind today are the result of men as a group making bad decisions. Many of the problems are man-made. However, many of the problems are God-caused. God allows the result of sin to bring judgement. He brings judgment so that people will look up to Him and get the correct solution from Him!
Take pollution for example. The word pollution appears in the Bible 11 times. The following things can be polluted. Notice the cause is given:
Holy things.
Numbers 18:32
“And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.”
Notice that it is deadly to do this! This whole chapter of Numbers is devoted to how the Levites where supposed to receive the offerings of the whole nation and much of it was given to them to use. They were to take it seriously and not waste it. Eli's sons did not and God had them killed in battle, along with thier father, that didn't take it seriously! He just spoke to them and didn't discipline them. You can read about it in 1 Samuel 2:12-36
The Land.
Numbers 35:33
“So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.”
It is enlightening to learn from this verse the cause of pollution is the absence of capital punishment for murder! The land is polluted because the murderer is not punished by the death penalty. If you add abortion into the equation, the pollution rate in this country is very high and increasing!
God’s Temple.
Jeremiah 7:30
“For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.”
The Land of Israel.
Ezekiel 7:2 and 21
“Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land.
And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.”
God’s secret place.
(This is the Most Holy Place in God’s house. In the New Testament God’s house is your body and the secret place is your heart!)
Ezekiel 7:22
“My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.”
God’s reputation or teaching about Him.
I have to be very careful about how I present God to people! People need a correct view of Him!
Ezekiel 13:19
“And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?”
Yourselves.
Ezekiel 20:31
“For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.”
God’s holy name.
Ezekiel 20:39 and 39:7
“As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.”
“So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.”
God’s Sanctuary.
(In the Old Testament it was the Temple. In the New Testament it is the local church.)
Ezekiel 44:7and Daniel 11:31
“In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.”
“And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.”
These 9 pollutions are man-made, but many times God sends the problems: When God’s people turn away from Him. He sends problems or allows the results of people’s sins to catch up to them. We need God and cannot survive without Him!
2 Chronicles 7:12-14
“And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.”
2 Chronicles 7:21, 22
“And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?
And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.”
Notice who takes the credit for shutting up heaven that there be no rain! Notice who sends the locust to devour the land! Especially notice who sends the pestilence among God’s people! It is God Himself!
God not only sends the problems, He provides the cure! The cure is simple. It is the same cure that solves all problems. Get right with God. How do you do that?
2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
The Cure
1. Humble yourself.
2. Pray. Confess, Repent, Seek God’s forgiveness.
3. Seek God’s face, not turn you back to Him!
4. Turn from your wicked ways. Turn around and face God.
5. Get to reading the Bible.
6. Apply Bible Solutions.
The Results
The resulting solution is five-fold:
1. He will hear from heaven.
2. He will forgive your sin.
3. He will heal your land.
4. His eyes will be opened.
5. He will answer your prayer!
The Bible Cure for Environmental Problems
I do believe that the earth was given to mankind, and we are responsible for it! The cure to the environmental problems facing this planet is given in the Bible in
Genesis 1:28.
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
Unless you believe the Bible, you will have trouble believing this, but the commandment of God and the solution to the environmental mess that is man-made is to obey God!
Notice that mankind is told to
“…replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion…”
Before God gives mankind the three ways to control the earth, He gives him the prerequisites to the solutions:
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply…”
Now let’s go back and put these simple solution prerequisites in order:
1. "And God blessed them…”
It is essential that mankind has the Blessings of God! If God doesn’t bless you, your life is wasted. The whole purpose to life is to bring God glory! If you can make God smile, He will make you smile!
How does one obtain the blessings of God?
Psalms 1 is the key!
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
2. “…and God said unto them…” It is essential that men and women hear from God!
God speaks to people in the following ways:
---Through His Word – the Bible
Psalm 119:18
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
---Through Parents and other authorities
God gave you parents to learn from. Follow the good things they do and learn from the mistakes that they make!
---Through Preaching
Notice what God says about this:
Proverbs 6:23
“For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:”
---Through circumstances
Life’s challenges.
---Through prayer and God speaking to you in your mind and in your heart.
3. “…Be fruitful…” Be fruitful. Don’t just sit around wasting time. Tell others about God. Do something productive. It is important to produce good fruit:
Matthew 7:17-20
“Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
4. “…and multiply…” We need more people, not less. We don’t just need more people, we need people that have God’s blessing and listen to Him! Large families that are in a good local church will produce more dedicated Christians that God can bless and talk to! God has the solutions if people will just listen to Him! More dedicated people will produce more farmers who can grow the food that is needed. More people will produce people that will come up with the solutions to the problems facing society. Not only that, one of the lessons about having brothers and sisters is that it is not always about you. Members of large families learn how to share things and make sacrifices for others!
5. "...and replenish the earth..." The solution to making the earth a better place is to not waste what you have but dedicate it to God and replenish and repair it!
6. "...and subdue it..."
7. "...and have dominion..."
It is up to me personally not to waste what God has given me. It is kind of funny here at the University, they do surveys and the respondents say that they want us to conserve energy. When they get here they complain that there is not enough light or that the showers aren’t robust enough. Like many of the modern environmentalists the idea of saving energy is for you not them.
They also have contests between the schools of the SEC. They call it "Recyclemania". What they do is see which residence hall can produce the most recycled stuff! The idea is to recycle instead of throwing it away. What it does is produce more waste. Think about it! The Resident Hall that produces the most waist wins the award! I remember reading that back in the dark ages when they found that the bubonic plague was spread by rats, they put a bounty on rats. Enterprising individuals started breading rats to get the bounty! The same thing happens during recyclemania! We have water fountains here that have a counter on them. As you fill your water bottle, it says that you have saved this many plastic bottles from entering the land fill! I fill my bottle up, empty it out, and fill it again. It counts two! What I have actually done is wasted more water.
When the University remodels one of our buildings, which is often, I go through it first and remove and store things that we can use later to fix things. Because I do this, many of my co-workers consider me a pack rat! They make fun of me, but I notice the same people come to me when they need a part for something they are trying to fix. I hate seeing all of the waste. There is no way to calculate how much money this practice has saved the University!
Our grandparents that lived through the depression learned the lesson of not wasting what you have and you will not need to replace it. We need to learn these lessons of wasting things.
Things that can be Wasted
The Bible gives many examples of things that can be and are wasted.
Parents.
Proverbs 19:26
“He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.”
The answer to the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” is very easily answered, "The chicken did.” God puts children in families! The reason for the parents is to train and protect the children so that they can grow up and live productive lives. The majority of social problems in the world today are the result of non-Biblical families!
Honor thy father and mother!
According to Ephesians 6:2
“Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)”
The promise is a long life according to Exodus 20:12.
My teenage years were the worst years of my life. I was lost and confused. My dad had passed away and I treated my mother horribly. After I got saved I understood the promise of honoring your parents. Since then I try to do whatever I can to bring her honor.
If God has given you good parents, don't waste them! Get as much wisdom and knowledge as you can from them, honor them and you will learn how to be a good parent! You only have one mother and father, so take advantage of the time God has given them to you!
Church.
Galatians 1:13
“For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:”
Being a member of and faithfully attending a local church is a very important part of life. If there is a good local Bible believing church in your area, you should be active in it. If there is not one, you should start one or move to an area that has one! I realize that church attendance is not mandatory to enter heaven. The only way to heaven is by trusting Jesus Christ as your personal savior. However, to live a Christian life, the church is an important part of it. It is where you can find real friendship and teaching about things that you will get nowhere else. When I was raising my family, I learned a valuable lesson about church membership. I could count on the pastor and the childrens’s Sunday school teacher to reinforce the things that I taught at home. Many times I was busy trying to provide for the family and had to depend on church activities to influence my children. It worked and my children have grown up great. The church shouldn’t be wasted but utilized. Today I try to do whatever I can to strengthen and promote the church. It is that important! Another important thing to learn about church is that it is not what you get out of church that determines your importance. It is what you put into it!
Substance.
Luke 15:13
“And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.”
God has promised to take care of the Christian. At the same time He expects us to “live within our means”. Since God will provide for you, don't waste what He has provided, but use it to bring Him glory! The prosperity gospel (the idea that God wants to bless you financially) is a hoax. God is not that interested in giving you gold. He wants to make gold out of you!
1 Peter 1:7
“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
Job 23:10
“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
Where God guides, He provides. Where he leads, he feeds. You can count on God taking care of you. What we need to learn is not to waste what He has given us, but to use it for His glory.
Other’s Goods.
Luke 16:1
“And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.”
This is a lot like the last point but is concerned with taking care of others property. When I was learning the electrical trade, God put me under an electrician that taught me a lot of things. His name was Don Nelson. I wouldn’t try to follow his life, but some of the things he said I remember and have gleaned some of life’s lessons from them. I call them "Nelsonisms". One day I was working for him and as I was installing electrical components I dropped a wire nut. He told me to pick it up. He said, “That’s 3 cents.” I said, “It’s just 3 cents.” He said, “Yea, but it is my 3 cents! It eats into my profit. Some day you will have your own business and you will understand.” I learned a great lesson from that about wasting. Over the years I have worked for some big companies and many of my coworkers are great wasters. I had one guy who wasted a lot because he was too lazy to conserve, say to me, “Material is cheap, and labor is expensive.” I have found ways to expend energy and save labor costs. I work for the University of Arkansas. They have a big budget and spend a lot of money. When I have suggested something and told them the cost, my boss said one time, “It’s not my money!” Well, technically it is. It is a state agency and some of the money we spend is taxpayer’s money. If you are a taxpayer, it is your money. When I was training my replacement, at the end of every day we would pick up and load up all our material so that it would not get stolen or thrown away. He hated it but we always had plenty. I am sometimes called a packrat because I throw hardly anything away. I store it for future use. I have noticed that the ones that call me a packrat are always coming to me to see if I have anything to fix what they are working on. I realize this can be taken to the extreme. I remember sometimes when working on something it was easier to go to the hardware store and buy a new one than to go through all of my junk to find the right part! There is no way to calculate how much money I have saved the University by salvaging parts left over or removed during construction. I have learned that when you waste your employer’s goods, there is a good chance that they will run out of money and you will be let go because they can no longer afford you. I have also learned that when you are organized and leave good records, they sometimes make the mistake of getting rid of you because they have your reference material. That is their mistake and God has always given me a job. It is always better to train those that come behind you and let God take care of you. It is the right thing to do.
The Field.
Proverbs 24:30-34
“I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.”
This verse has more than just an agricultural aspect. There are spiritual lessons to be learned. The old man that taught me the Bible, Dr. Peter Ruckman said to us once, “The test of an evangelist is not how much fruit he picks, but the condition of the vineyard when he is done.” According to Jesus, the field is the world (Matthew 13:38). In this proverb the condition of the field is based upon the work of the slothful and man void of understanding. We should understand what our job here is and get busy doing it! God may have you just plowing the ground for the next laborer. Plow straight deep rows!
Also notice the poverty of the waster. It is described as the plight of the traveler. The traveler must buy everything he needs, usually at exorbitant prices! Notice also the want of the armed man. He must steal to get what he wants. The waster is like this!
Time.
Ephesians 5:15, 16
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Do you know that you can’t kill time? Time can’t be stopped, killed or done away with. It can’t be lengthened or shortened. You are going to live forever, either in heaven or hell. You can shorten your life here, but you can’t lengthen it. What you do with your time is what matters. Time can be wasted but not killed. Time should be redeemed. Please review the section on Time Management for the Maintenance Tech.
Giving what you have to Jesus is not wasting it.
Mark 14:3-9
“And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.”
To many, serving the Lord Jesus and being a Christian is a wasted life, God looks at it another way. Whatever we do for Him, He notices and remembers it. It is not a waste.
The lesson to be learned is not to waste what God has given you but to use it for His glory and use your life for Him. Many times, things have to be repaired because they are wasted. Here is another saying we use often: “There is never enough time or money to do it right, but there is always time and money to do it over.” I remember watching them build a Pizza Hut one time in three weeks! They set up lights and worked round the clock to complete it. At the time, I was doing maintenance for Pizza Hut. We spent a considerable amount of time rebuilding that Pizza Hut. It was a mess. I learned to not waste and to do it right the first time. I also quit eating Pizza Hut pizza! If you do it right and don't waste what you have, there is less to rebuild, repair, and do over!
The cure and solution to the world’s “climate crises” and “pollution problems” are the same as the cure to your personal problems: Personally get right with God! First individually, then help others find the truth.