Article by C.S. Depew

The other day I was waiting in line to use the drive-through at the bank.  The car in front of me had a magnetic advertising sign on the back.  It was a realtor’s sign with the company name, agent’s name and phone number.  The thing that caught my attention was the slogan:  “Anything worth doing is worth doing rite.”  I pondered on that sign a good part of the day.  The word “rite” had nothing to do with the company’s name, or the agent’s.  The last four digits of the phone number did not even spell r-i-t-e.  I began to wonder if the sign had just not been worth making.
It seems like everywhere we look, we have turned into a world where “doing things right” has become “doing things that are close enough.”  We buy a game system that used to come with two controllers and a game, but now has only one controller and the game is optional.  When our parents bought a new car for $15,000.00, there was a full tank of gas.  Now we spend $30,000.00 on the same car and there is just enough gas to get us to the station.  Instead of walking through a store and shopping for a gift, we go straight to the register and get a gift card.  We give these little more than a passing thought because it’s “close enough.”
The Bible tells us, For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:11,12.  That means every thought, every word, and every action.  When we measure ourselves as men, and Christians; do we use the world’s yard stick or God’s.  You see, there is no place on God’s yard stick for “close enough.”  He takes us as we are, so He can make us better.  He wants us to bring all of our baggage, problems, and struggles; so we can leave them with Him.  Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30.  “Well sure, Cary, that sounds great.  But how exactly am I supposed to just dump everything on God and leave it when it won’t leave me?  I’ll still have the same job, same traffic, same friends, same family, and the same life.”  The short answer; Ephesians 6:10-20.  Every day we need to work at being in constant prayer.  We need to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.  We need to put on the whole armor of God.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness in this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Have our loins girt about the truth, and having the breastplate of righteousness.  Have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.  Get the shield of faith at the foot of the bed.  Grab the helmet of salvation on the table, and as we head out the door pick up the sword of the Spirit.
If we leave, or forget one piece of our armor, we leave ourselves a weak spot that Satan can and will exploit.  That is why we need the whole armor of God every day, He left nothing out.  When it comes to our protection and salvation, He will never settle for “close enough!”  God thought is was worth doing to make us men.  Let’s make sure we do it RIGHT!