“This is the day the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
It is good when we are encouraged to keep our thoughts on the matter; what time of day it is or what we are going through. In thinking about this, I don’t know about you, but there are times my mind begins to wander or drift. This word drift is interesting and implies far more than what one may think.
Check this out: Therapist drift refers to the tendency for psychologists to move away from the delivery of the evidence-based practices in which they are trained, even when resourced to implement them. In the Cambridge Dictionary drifter is someone who does not have a permanent home, or job, moves from one place to another, or from one job to another.
There are many synonyms for what a drifter may be called: vagrant, vagabond, tramp, floater, wanderer, homeless, itinerant or a roamer. I think you will agree with me that we have now reached an exceedingly high number of drifters in America and many other nations. In writing this article I found an article by Jim Sereney. Jim was a big fan of Napoleon Hill who died in 1970 and his wife died in 1984. In this article he listed 24-character traits of Drifters:
He will be conspicuous by his lack of self-confidence
He will never accomplish anything requiring thought and effort.
He spends all he earns, and more, if he can get credit.
He will be sick or ailing from some real or imaginary cause, and calling to high heaven if he suffers the least physical pain.
He will have little or no imagination.
He will lack enthusiasm and initiative to begin anything he is not forced to undertake, and he will plainly express his weakness by taking the line of least resistance whenever he can do so.
He will be ill tempered and lacking in control of his emotions.
His personality will be without magnetism, and it will not attract other people.
He will have opinions on everything, but accurate knowledge of nothing.
He may be a jack of all trades but good at none.
He will neglect to cooperate with those around him, even those on whom he must depend for food and shelter.
He will make the same mistake repeatedly, never profiting by failure.
He will be narrow-minded and intolerant on all subjects; ready to crucify those who may disagree with him.
He will expect everything of others but be willing to give little or nothing in return.
He may begin many things, but he will complete nothing.
He will be loud in his condemnation of his government, but he will never tell you how it can be improved.
He will never reach decisions on anything if he can avoid it, and if he is forced to decide he will reverse himself at the first opportunity.
He will eat too much and exercise too little.
He will take a drink of liquor if someone else will pay for it.
He will gamble if he can do it “on the cuff.”
He will criticize others who are succeeding in their chosen calling.
- In brief, the drifter will work harder to get out of thinking than most others work in earning a good living.
He will tell a lie rather than admit his ignorance on any subject.
If he works for others, he will criticize them to their backs and flatter them to their faces.
I have met people in ministry who seem to be dead set on winning the world to Christ but in essence they are drifters. There is a real danger in being a drifter. The Hebrew Letter gives some real insight in what I mean by this. I am reading today in the JB Phillips Translation of the New Testament, Hebrews 2:1-4:
“We ought, therefore, to pay the greatest attention to the truth that we have heard and not allow ourselves TO DRIFT AWAY FROM IT. For if the message given through angels proved authentic, so that defiance of it and disobedience to it received appropriate retribution, how shall we escape if we refuse to pay proper attention to the salvation that is offered us today? For this salvation came first through the words of the Lord himself: it was confirmed for our hearing by men who had heard him speak, and God moreover has plainly endorsed their witness by signs and miracles, by all kinds of spiritual power, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, all working to the divine plan.”
Do you know that this word only appears once in the New Testament? The Bible is written in nautical language. Do you think that a sailor would understand the danger of drifting? Did you notice in the scripture from Hebrews the word, therefore? Go back and read it again; a second and a third time if necessary. Grasp what is being said here. This is the only way I can do this; to show you what the therefore is therefore. This is a good read… Hebrews 1:8-14 (PHILLIPS):
“But when he speaks of the Son, he says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions’. He also says: ‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak you will fold them up, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will not fail’. But does he ever say this of any of the angels: ‘Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool?’ Surely the angels are no more than spirits in the service of God, commissioned to serve the heirs of God’s salvation.”
We cannot drift away from the knowledge of who Jesus is and what He has provided for us. How can a person recognize they are drifting spiritually? Keep your eye on that which is a fixed landmark. I have spent time with a great fisherman named Bud Clendenen. He was a wonderful brother. On occasion we went fishing out in the middle of a lake. When we got to his hallowed spot, we only then realized that he left his anchor at his house. We continued to fish but kept having to go back to his chosen spot because we kept drifting. In times like these we need an anchor, and we need a landmark to keep our eye on. I recommend that we (like the Hebrew Letter suggests) keep looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
Thank you for your faithfulness to the things God has called us to do together. Without you we could not be who we are, and with you we can accomplish all God has called us to do together.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Cleddie Keith
