As we enter into the fall feasts, we are given a wonderful opportunity to evaluate ourselves. We need to look in the dark corners of our closets, peek under the cupboards, organize that high shelf.
So it is at this time that I ask the question:
Yahshua said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luk 9:62)
We have chosen to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We have studied Torah to learn His ways. But is there something lacking? Did we, in our haste, leave off that 2%? Have we rationalized and made excuses to protect that 2%? Does the 2% even matter?
I think the 2% does matter to YHVH.
- Achan only took a coat, some silver, and gold. What was that among all the treasures of Jericho? Probably less than 2%, yet it cost the lives of 36 men, and Achan and his family were stoned.
- Lot’s wife only looked back at Sodom for a moment, surely not a long time, but as a result she turned into a pillar of salt.
- Saul only offered one sacrifice when he shouldn’t have. That’s not a big deal. But it cost him the kingdom.
- David only had one moment of passion, surely less than 2% of his life, but it cost him a child.
My fellow believers, the 2% matters! We must always be seeking to shed that last 2% and follow with our whole hearts. We cannot continue to say, “Look at all I’m doing right” while we hide the disobedience under the rug.
Do we eat kosher 98% of the time? But the other 2% is ingredients on the soup can that we choose to ignore.
Do we dress appropriately 98% of the time, except when it’s inconvenient or when no one will see us?
Do we keep the Feasts and Shabbat, but delay dealing with trickier commands like the niddah laws?