Proverbs 14:4 where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
We have a responsibility in taking care of our salvation. We all grew up with animals; many of us have pets. That takes responsibility. If we don’t take good care of them, it shows…and smells.
When I was a young boy I worked for a widow woman. I stayed with her every night and helped take care of her. She had a cat that aggravated me to death. He even wanted to sleep with me. We would have cereal and toast for breakfast. I thought that was something. We never had light bread at my house, just biscuits. At the end of the week, I’d come to breakfast. She would have fixed gravy and flat bread. She had a way of making it just right. My pay for the week would be under the plate—my $1. I was through for the week except for one final thing. I had to empty the litter box. That’s a nasty job. I hated it, yet it had to be done. I’d have to take it up the hill and put it on her garden. I couldn’t imagine why. Animals can take care of themselves as far as animals can go; human sanitation demands more. I had the responsibility to take care of that cat’s litter box. Then it was clean and orderly.
Is the crib clean? If so, then no oxen are there. There is evidence if one has been there. All we have to see is a pet’s dish and we know one lives in a house. A crib requires maintenance too. It gets messy. The ox needs to be groomed.
The same is true with the Lord. If He is in our life there will be evidence of it. An animal’s care may be an unpleasant thing; it may be a hardship, but to keep one you have to make the effort to take care of it. There is a reward. That dog will run to you and love you. It’s worth the work. Salvation is the same way. Many want the benefits of being saved without taking care of the relationship. Sometimes it is hard. There are some unpleasant things now and then. There is a cost and responsibility. God takes care of his end. His grace and goodness are always there. Yet look how we treat Him.
Look at your crib. How does it look? Are you taking care of it and keeping it clean OR is it clean because nothing is there? There is no good in having a pet dish, or a chicken coop, or a barn if you have no animal. Take a look at your crib and see where God is in your life. Where there are no oxen the crib is clean. If God is not there what is there to clean?
How changed are you from what we used to be? How much do you pray? How often? Is it just every now and then? Then there is no ox in the stall. How much do you have to do with church? It is just every now and then? Is it just a Sunday morning thing? I’d wonder about my crib. How committed are you? Are you full of God every day? What kind of standards do you have? How much of God is in your life? Do you let Him near on Sunday and live a godless life through the week? The ox is not in the stall! The crib is empty. An empty crib is scary. And it won't stay empty for long. Undesirable critters will surely move in: spiders, rats, and snakes..and the Devil.
A farmer needs the strength of the ox to get his fields planted. He can’t do it himself. His increase is in the strength of his oxen. We’ll never get to heaven by ourselves. We need Jesus as Savior and Lord. Our increase will be through and by Him. The farmer has a responsibility and so do we. An ox is an ox. We can’t be the ox. We can’t be Jesus. We can’t be ok without Him. We need Jesus and we need to take better care of Him.
How clean is your crib today? Why is it clean? Is it because you take care of it OR because nothing is there? Sometimes people take more care of their pet that they do the Lord. Some people love their pets more than they love the Lord. Some people spend more time with their pets than they do the Lord.
Is the ox in the crib? Are you planning to keep it? How clean is your crib?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 