Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

CHASING STREETCARS There is an old and foolish adage, "You don't chase a streetcar after you have caught it." Husbands sometimes use this cliché to excuse their two-day-old beard, obnoxious behavior, and laziness. Women use it to excuse their out-of-shape bodies and spirits. God's Word clearly tells us that slothfulness is a foe to our marriages. It takes work to make a marriage, and there are no holidays from that work. Solomon noted that our "house" will fall unless kept in good repair: Because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of hands the house leaks. The law of our earth is decay, not evolution. Everything wears away, even relationships, unless they are brightened with interest and deepened with devotion. In any marriage, periods of boredom will come, but we need not succumb to them. Another principle from God's Word applies here: He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer (Proverbs 18:9). We waste the beauty of relationships and the hours we could deepen our relationships when we do not give diligent attention to our marriage. Wise ones work on relationships to keep them fresh and meaningful. This is exactly why we have daily times with God. Neglect of relationships creates distance between us.