I think the most under-appreciated Christian virtue is...being sensible.
The New Testament tells us to be sensible. Christ said it will be the sensible servants of God who gain the greatest rewards (Matthew 24:45). Christian wives and young men are told to be sensible people (Titus 2:5-6). Church elders are required to be moderate and self-controlled in their conduct (1 Timothy 3:2), which are a way of saying "be sensible."
What does it mean to be sensible? A sensible person can stay calm, and keep his wits about him. He doesn't easily lose his temper. A sensible person isn't gullible. He or she doesn't believe everything they read or hear. When Moses told the Israelites to test prophets (Deut. 18), he was telling them to be sensible. When the apostles Paul and John in the same way told the early Church to test the spirits of the prophets who came into their churches, they were telling the Christians to be sensible.
The New Testament uses the word "sensible" in a way very similar to the word "wise" in the book of Proverbs. God's wisdom makes us sensible. He helps us keep our heads, when all others are losing theirs.
The fact that being sensible is part of Christian sanctification tells us that this is more than ordinary common sense. Even our dogs have some common-sense. But being sensible is a Christ-like quality the Holy Spirit wants to build in us. So we should pray to become more sensible, and learn wisdom principles from God's Word.
Jesus Christ never spoke or acted recklessly. He never "popped off." Christ didn't blindly believe people, either. He knew the score (check out John 2:23-25, where Christ did not entrust Himself to certain people). He could look deep into whatever was going on, and He knew how the real world worked. I bet Jesus' earthly father Joseph was a very sensible man.
I think we've been watching a tremendous lack of "sensibleness" among U.S. Christians in recent years. You know that certain preachers have not been sensible about guarding themselves against lust, greed, and power temptations. There are ministries that foolishly mishandled their finances, and lost it all to scams. Congregants unquestioningly followed false "experts", believed false prophetesses, or blindly accepted unproved or disproved claims about all sorts of things. Christians have gotten involved in hare-brained money-making schemes, and lost their shirts.
See? It's a little boring to be sensible! But I would rather be boring, and still have my checking account, my reputation, and my wits on solid ground. A little salt of sensibleness will bring a lot of blessing.
The New Testament tells us to be sensible. Christ said it will be the sensible servants of God who gain the greatest rewards (Matthew 24:45). Christian wives and young men are told to be sensible people (Titus 2:5-6). Church elders are required to be moderate and self-controlled in their conduct (1 Timothy 3:2), which are a way of saying "be sensible."
What does it mean to be sensible? A sensible person can stay calm, and keep his wits about him. He doesn't easily lose his temper. A sensible person isn't gullible. He or she doesn't believe everything they read or hear. When Moses told the Israelites to test prophets (Deut. 18), he was telling them to be sensible. When the apostles Paul and John in the same way told the early Church to test the spirits of the prophets who came into their churches, they were telling the Christians to be sensible.
The New Testament uses the word "sensible" in a way very similar to the word "wise" in the book of Proverbs. God's wisdom makes us sensible. He helps us keep our heads, when all others are losing theirs.
The fact that being sensible is part of Christian sanctification tells us that this is more than ordinary common sense. Even our dogs have some common-sense. But being sensible is a Christ-like quality the Holy Spirit wants to build in us. So we should pray to become more sensible, and learn wisdom principles from God's Word.
Jesus Christ never spoke or acted recklessly. He never "popped off." Christ didn't blindly believe people, either. He knew the score (check out John 2:23-25, where Christ did not entrust Himself to certain people). He could look deep into whatever was going on, and He knew how the real world worked. I bet Jesus' earthly father Joseph was a very sensible man.
I think we've been watching a tremendous lack of "sensibleness" among U.S. Christians in recent years. You know that certain preachers have not been sensible about guarding themselves against lust, greed, and power temptations. There are ministries that foolishly mishandled their finances, and lost it all to scams. Congregants unquestioningly followed false "experts", believed false prophetesses, or blindly accepted unproved or disproved claims about all sorts of things. Christians have gotten involved in hare-brained money-making schemes, and lost their shirts.
See? It's a little boring to be sensible! But I would rather be boring, and still have my checking account, my reputation, and my wits on solid ground. A little salt of sensibleness will bring a lot of blessing.
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