Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
Ecclesiastes 10:18 Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.
We sometimes think we have autonomy from the commands of the Lord because we have walked with the Lord for a long time. We rationalize that some of the commands and directions in the word of God do not apply to us anymore because we think we have earned some kind of carte blanche that exempts us from the common man’s rules so to speak. We begin to leak in our soul by thinking we have graduated to some level of autonomy beyond the reach of God’s word. After all, “I am He who worships thee!”
Believing we have freedom from external control or influence can lead to a leaky soul. We are the house of the Lord and we have to ask ourselves if we are leaking. Is your soul leaking? Do the rafters of your character sag? Is this why we sometimes have an unfulfilled hunger in our soul?
Unlike the world system when someone gets perks or a promotion and a title beside their name, they sometimes tend to take more liberties and advantages because they are now upper management. It does not work that way in the kingdom of God. The more senior you get, so to speak, the more diligence and forthrightness is expected of you.
We have seen this type of unfortunate scene take place over the years. A mighty man of God grows and becomes known world-wide and the ministry he is expanding is doing great things in the kingdom of God. Then he or she gets sidelined with a scandal of adultery or embezzlement and sometimes something worse. Is there forgiveness for these misled ministers who are now dealing with a leaky soul? Absolutely! 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There is complete forgiveness if they ask for it by faith and repent of their sin, but the damage to the ministry is often irreparable.
Peter forgot Jesus was there because of God’s vision for the world. Even working with Jesus it is possible to start leaking in one’s soul and miss the mark as Peter did. Matt. 16:23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
1 Cor 9:27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.