"Beast of Burden"

"So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee." (Psalms 73:22) This is pretty serious stuff we are dealing with; it requires that we pay attention and be on our guard, because the enemies ploy is to make us distracted and comfortable. The "beast" used in the verse is that of a tool, which means that it is one that pretty much stands around waiting to be put to work, like a mule or ox. In other words, it really has no real motivation to do anything on its own, and it pretty much just does whatever its told to do. The problem with this type of an animal, is not that it does not listen, even though they typically don't, it's that they are so easily moved with the right kind of persuasion; like a carrot on a stick, if you get the meaning. You may be familiar with the illustration of sheep verses cattle, and how cattle are driven and sheep are led. Well, when it comes to following the Lord, we must like sheep, being led by the Shepherd. The thing that makes the biggest difference between the way you are led and the way you are driven, is that of waiting. It is almost impossible to get us to wait for anything; we don't have any problems usually with going, as when God says, "Go," but when God says, "Stay," we tend to try and find some other voice other than God's to get moving again. It might not be our intention to do such a foolish thing, but when we are dying to get moving again or we are tired of waiting on God, we are easily moved by whatever fits our desires. If you wonder how this might look in Scripture, you really just need to look no further than Abraham, the man of faith. Oh, yes he had faith; Abraham had faith in God like it was nobody's business; but being led verses driven, there is where he had some issues. You see, the people that are led, they are the ones that wait upon the Lord to move; while those who are driven, they sometimes can get ahead of the Lord, which means they are stepping out on their own, in their own strength, and in their own direction. This is typically referred to as, "walking in the flesh." The Spirit always leads us, we are never 'driven by the Spirit' because the Spirit always shows us the way. In other words, we don't keep looking back as if to see if the Spirit is still with us, as if we are making sure we are on the right path; we are always keeping our eyes on the Lord, looking back is never an option...
"Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all that he owns. But what if the servant is evil and thinks, 'My master won't be back for a while,' and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 24:43-51) NLT