Scripture
Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD.
~I Samuel 2:12, NASB
Quote
Worthless people live only to eat and drink: people of worth eat and drink to live.
~Socrates
Eli sons were worthless, bĕliya`al, which is same word used of Nabal. The word means worthless, good for nothing, unprofitable, base fellows full of ruin and destruction. It is actually a compound word “without profit”. Worthless men are good for nothing other than causing trouble and destruction. It is the same word that Abigail used to describe her husband Nabal. Moses had some worthless fellows in his entourage {Deut.13:13}. Some of the men who rode with David were described as worthless men {I Sam. 30:22}. Sheba, the trouble maker and rebel was described as worthless. The two false witnesses against Naboth were described as worthless men. Even more interesting is what Solomon has to say about worthless men. In Proverbs 6, Solomon said, A worthless person, a wicked man, is the one who walks with a perverse mouth, who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, who points with his fingers; who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil, who spreads strife.” Again in Proverbs 16 Solomon says, A worthless man digs up evil, while his words are like scorching fire. A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends. The word perverse means to distort or twist. Worthless men have a gift of twisting and distorting words.
No human being is worthless in the sense that Christ died for them but when it comes to contributions, many are worthless. A fitting synonym would be ‘good for nothing.’ Worthless men make no contributions. Eli sons took but they never gave unless you count orders or advice. Worthless men bring nothing to the table. What are you going to do with them? How do you plug them in? You don’t because they are good for nothing. They lack the humility and the meekness to be of service. They will do more harm than good. There are good at devises evil and spreading strife but when it comes to ministry and missions, they are good for nothing. They cannot edify or encourage. It takes a lot of effort, time and skill to be constructive and very little to be destructive. Any Jack Ass can kick a barn down but it takes a skilled carpenter time and effort to build one. Worthless people refuse to put in the time and the effort. You cannot depend on them and God forbid that we trust them. The best thing to do is ignore them. Remember the story in Matthew 15…Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” If you follow them, you will end up in the ditch, so ignore them. They have nothing to contribute.
- I had a conversation this weekend with a person going into the ministry and certain people were discouraging him. I had a talk with him about learning what to listen to and what to ignore. It got me to thinking and thus the blog. What kind of person tries to discourage a young man entering the ministry?
- GRACE POINT has entered an 8 man team in Lori’s golf tournament because none of us are physically able to play 18 holes. Yes, even with carts. We couldn’t play 3 holes without carts or maybe one hole.
- It is hot, too hot to fish. John and Keith are going to carry me fishing one of these days but they said last night: “It is too hot.” It is like an oven outside but I am not discouraged because fall is just around the corner. Can I get a hallelujah from all the fat people who have trouble breathing in this weather?
- Can you believe anyone who is saved would stay home and watch the NFL when they could hear me preach on women submitting to their husbands. I am shocked.
- After the service last night, several of the men congregated in the back and made a list of women who needed to hear the sermon on submission. I will run the list in tomorrows blog. Guys, if the sermon took, at some point this week, your wife will refer to you as master.