by John Grant
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.”- James 1:22-25 NIV
It was a new term to me, but it caught my attention when I heard a CPA talking about “Idle Assets.” He explained that idle assets are assets that are lying unused or that are not earning any income. Any asset that is unused or not appreciating in value can be considered an idle asset.
For example when you place cash in your vault, it can be considered an idle asset. It is not being used for anything and nor is it increasing in value. If we had invested it somewhere or at least deposited it in a bank, it would be earning interest and hence we could not term it idle. Now since it is just lying there in the vault it can be considered idle.
Whoa! What idle assets do I have? What things and gadgets have I acquired that are not bearing economic fruit or not being used in a productive way? But it is more than an economic term, as there is a spiritual parallel here.
As a saved person, I have been given the sacred gift, given only by God to those who connect with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. Do I lock the Word and my spiritual gifts in a vault? Do they then become “idle spiritual assets?”
James says that if we listen to the Word and not do what it says, we are like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and, after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. We are implored to not forget what we have heard, but to do it.
To quote Charles Spurgeon: “Preachers must preach as for eternity and look for fruit—and hearers must carry out what they hear, or otherwise the sacred ordinance of preaching will cease to be the channel of blessing and will rather be an insult to God and a mockery to the souls of men!”
It is bad stewardship and bad economics when monetary and economic assets become idle, but it is far worse for our spiritual assets to become idle. Use what God has uniquely given to you in body, mind and soul and never ever have to explain to God why you have let them become idle.”
(a thought on life from John Grant )
You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2012/02/17/jg_idle-assets/
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney