7月23日 选择敬虔的仆人
7月23日 选择敬虔的仆人
然而，敬虔的仆人却是一项极大的福分。他不仅能辛勤劳作，还会祈求神亲自作工，使你得益处。
当你雇用一名员工时，不仅要为你自己挑选，也要为神挑选。如果他不能顺应神的旨意，又怎能配合你的计划呢？你当然期盼他的工作能取得成功；然而，如果那双为你效劳的手，在做工时仍执意沉溺于罪中，你又有什么根据来维系这种期盼呢？“眼高心傲，恶人发达，这乃是罪”（箴21:4）。
然而，敬虔的仆人却是一项极大的福分。他不仅能辛勤劳作，还会祈求神亲自作工，使你得益处。亚伯拉罕的仆人曾祷告说：“耶和华我主人亚伯拉罕的神啊，求你施恩给我主人亚伯拉罕，使我今日遇见好机会”（创24:12）。毫无疑问，这番祷告给亚伯拉罕带来的帮助，绝不亚于这位仆人明智的判断力。
如果你要栽种一座果园，你必定会寻找最优质的果树，而不会将成片的土地浪费在培植荆棘上。在你的雇员中，一个没有蒙恩之人所造成的损失，远远超过果园里一棵不结果子的树。例如，大卫在扫罗宫廷的日子里，就亲眼目睹了任用不敬虔仆人的弊端。毫无疑问，正是因为他看清了一个失去秩序的家庭中潜藏的邪恶，才使他暗下决心：当神使他成为那王室之首时，他必须设立最高的标准：“行诡诈的，必不得住在我家里；说谎话的，必不得立在我眼前”（诗101:7）。
同样，你也应当选择一位敬虔的配偶。基督徒（甚至包括圣经中所记载的信徒）最常暴露自身软弱的领域，莫过于选择了不敬虔的丈夫或妻子。“神的儿子们看见人的女子美貌”（创6:2）。你也许认为，神的儿子们理应看重人心中的恩典，而非脸庞的美貌；然而，即使是他们，在没有首先审视对方内在灵命的情况下，也极易被美丽的外表引入歧途。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：士6章，徒10章，
个人灵修：耶18章，可5章
JULY 23, THURSDAY
SELECT SPIRITUAL SERVANTS
A godly servant, however, is a great blessing. He can work hard and then seek God to work for your good also.
When you hire an employee, choose for God as well as for yourself. How can he fit in with your plans if he does not fit in with God’s? Of course you want his work to be successful. But on what ground can you anchor that hope if the hand that does your labor insists on sinning as he performs it? “A high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin” (Proverbs 21:4).
A godly servant, however, is a great blessing. He can work hard and then seek God to work for your good also: “O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master” (Genesis 24:12). Surely this prayer helped Abraham as much as the servant’s good judgment did.
If you were to plant an orchard you would find the best-quality fruit trees instead of wasting your acres cultivating thistles. There is far more loss in a graceless person in your employ than a fruitless tree in the orchard. While David was at Saul’s court, for example, he saw the disadvantage of having ungodly servants. No doubt his recognition of evil in a disordered house made him determine to have the highest standards when God would make him head of that royal family: “He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight” (Psalm 101:7).
Select a godly mate. There is no one area wherein Christians, even those recorded in Scripture, have betrayed their weakness more often than in choosing ungodly husbands or wives. “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair” (Genesis 6:2). You would think the sons of God would have looked for grace in the heart rather than for beauty in the face; but even they are quite capable of being turned aside by a pretty outward appearance without first looking into the person’s spirit.