In the days that we are in, talk is really cheap. How many people follow up with promises that they make? How many even remember the promise they made? From wedding vows to politics, how many really follow the due processes in their organizations? Jesus bewailed this trend in Matthew 15:8, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”  In other words, they do not want to pay the price of intimacy with me, they are not ready to “buy” their own oil of communion with me.

The story of the ten virgins (five wise and five foolish) in Matthew 25 explains this further. The wise girls took their lamps but had extra oil in their vessels. They knew the importance of the Bridegroom’s visit, so they prepared in case the oil in their lamps ran out. But the foolish ones were presumptuous and unprepared. The wise girls told the foolish ones in verse 9, MSG), “They answered, there might not be enough to go around; go buy your own” we all know how the story went. When the foolish girls ran out to look for where to buy oil, the Bridegroom arrived and left them out of the party.

The times of study is not a waste. The times of personal development is not a waste. Even the times of physical grooming is not a waste. Training yourself in right attitudes, maintaining your character and moral standards are not a waste. Being financially savvy and restraining from buying that item that you don’t really need, or giving towards that just cause, or volunteering your time and resources to help someone else are not a waste. Do you know what you are doing? You are buying your oil.

Nobody really knows everything about tomorrow; men can forecast and predict, but God knows everything about the future, and He reveals it to us sometimes in His mercy so we can be prepared or avoid some pitfalls.

Your time of spiritual discipline is not a waste, your time of accountability on your job is not a waste. Your virtue of not stealing office materials is not a waste. There is a bigger ‘boss’, your Heavenly Father, whose eyes are everywhere. He sees, He rewards, He restores, He never forgets kindness, duty, love, service that is offered in His name.

Child of God, always do your due diligence wherever you are. God is still a God of time and chance. He owns both time and opportunities and can crisscross it in His sovereignty just for you.

Buy your oil, pay that price, grow your inner and mental ability to handle pressure, beat it down and keep standing on your feet.   

Reject procrastination and laziness. Pull yourself up and be a picture of faith for others to look at and be inspired by.

 You are blessed!