Soldiers and officers aligned properly in their formation, the uniforms clean, their buttons shining with the rays of the midday sun, their gloves an immaculate white, their weapons polished and bright …

All the details had been properly maintained, with an exemplary perfection, and even the stature and physique of those men of war was very similar.

They had been chosen to give honor to their country’s flag and to the names of the fallen soldiers in combat.

Two of them left the formation carrying a large tray, in which the flag was on, neatly folded, to the millimeter, and ready to be hoisted and flown, receiving honors from the king and of all the senior officers representing the army.

When the officer in charge unrolled the flag and began to hoist it to the sound of the national anthem, it really caught my attention and made me think … I could see in those men the solemnity, zeal and dedication, an utmost respect and care in carrying out their work, in the coordination when saluting the flag, how the rise of the rifles whose various fired shots in honor of those soldiers killed in combat attended the unique voice of its master.

After observing these images, I thought about the zeal and discipline that was kept by the ancient priests who served in the Tabernacle, and later on, in the Temple of the Living God, “Lord of the armies of Israel.”

The passage of Ezra 5.8 describes to us how the workers proceeded during the rebuilding of Solomon’s Temple:

“Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the temple of the great God, which is being built with heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work goes on DILIGENTLY and prospers in their hands.”

This is the meaning of the word DILIGENCE: care, readiness, caution, zeal with which you want to do something.

This is how our service to God should be so that it can be approved, because if we value so much the discipline, care and diligence to honor a flag—it should be so much more to honor our God!

It is sad to see this lack of zeal for the things of God, in reality, this is a symptom of spiritual decline and lack of fear of some people who are among God’s elect.

Think of this assistant…do you have the same care with your uniform? Feel honored like those soldiers when wearing it, to serve your king (Jesus) and his country (the Kingdom of God)?

How many times have you already read this verse, which refers to the last days … right?

“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. “ Mateus 24.11-12

You can think of this “love (that) will grow cold of many” as referring to unbelievers, but for something to cool down, first it has to be hot, doesn’t? The servant of God, that is cold and accommodated, fails to appreciate the Holiness of His Work. The sacred objects for him are just mere objects, treating them any which way, and no longer feels honored to wear their assistant’s uniform.

Those tasks, that they do at church, which in the past were a privilege for them, now have become a nuisance. The love that this servant had for the work of God has cooled, because he/she did not give maintenance to their spirituality and began to perform the Work of God as if it were just any job.

How sad it is … I think we should meditate on this, because we are responsible for ensuring the Work of God, to see that everything is done as it should be, never covering up what is wrong, on the contrary, be demanding with the quality of what is offered to God!

He does not accept ‘anything’ … and if someone who does not have His Spirit gives his best for this world, what can you say about us, that have the Holy Spirit?

We must ALWAYS give our best to God and never become accommodated by doing things in a mediocre way!

“Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully, And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.” Jeremiah 48.10 NKJV