SHREWD

MAtthew 10:16-23

"Behold I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.  But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, you will be led before governors and kings and for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans..."

To things that come to mind as I ponder this passage.

Jesus gives us an invitation to be SHREWD.

Lets look at the definition quickly before we move on.

 1.Characterized by keen awareness, sharp intelligence, and often a sense of the practical.

2. Disposed to artful and cunning practices; tricky.

3. Sharp; penetrating:

shrewdly adv.

Synonyms: shrewd, sagacious, astute, perspicacious
 Having or showing keen awareness, sound judgment, and often resourcefulness, especially in practical matters. Shrewd suggests a sharp intelligence, hardheadness, and often an intuitive grasp of practical considerations:
Sagacious connotes prudence, discernment, and farsightedness:
Astute suggests shrewdness, especially with regard to one's own interests: A
Perspicacious implies penetration and clear-sightedness: 

Now I want you to ponder these definitions and ask yourself if you have been this way in your life in regards to your faithfulness. 

Are we hard headed or soft minded when it comes to our faith?

Do we see the practical and daily impact of our faithfulness in our life and follow through on it?

Are we resourceful when it comes to both guarding our faith and spreading our faith?

Shrewdness is necessary for a flourishing faithfulness.  We can't ket it get watered down.

Secondly Jesus tells us to beware of men. 

We often see those signs, "Beware of Dog."

We instantly know what that means, "Something is present that may bring harm to our person" thus we need to be attentive and alert, constant;y aware of our surroundings and the people we deal with continuously. 

There are often hidden agendas more than just our own.

We have to be prepared for the H element, the human element, the fallen condition of man that remains in need of redemption. 

People will betray us, turn us, deny us, cheat on us, forsake us, disappoint us and the list goes on.   We can not put our trust in them, but only in God who will provide for us what we need at each moment, "YOu will be given at that moment what to say."

We must not be fooled.  We must never lose sight of the effects of the fall.  We must always be careful to entrust our hearts to God not men and let the spirit move us forward. 

This is not to say we should not build relationships and circles of trust and network.  We hsould but we must make sure our faith is rooted in Jesus as we do so. 

Where our heart is there our treasure will be.

Shrewd and Beware and go forth as a witness.