I don't want to tidy up my toys

Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them. - Exodus 39v43

'Finish the job, finish the job, get things done. Finish the job, finish the job then have fun. If you have a job to do stick with it till you are through.'

These words ran through my head this morning when I read this passage. I also thought about how small children handle tasks. With Michelle being ill we have had the opportunity to mind the girls a bit more. Yesterday Maddie, as three year olds are apt to do, made quite a mess with her toys. I set her to the task of tidying up. Of course she got started, but when she saw the other toys in the storage place she got distracted.

When I reminded her of her job she honestly said 'I don't want to tidy up my toys.' Nothing unusual in that. She is three and some other toy caught her eye and kept her from her job.

While a little bold that is kind of cute coming from a three year old. I set her back to work and things were fine.

However this kind of attitude is not at all cute when it comes from grown men and women. The people of Israel reflect the proper attitude here. God gave them a job to do – build the tabernacle. They simply set out and stayed at the task until it was done. What if they had said, like Maddie, ‘We don’t want to build the tabernacle?’

Sadly, I know from my own life that there are times when I am more like Maddie than Israel. I set about to do something that really needs done and some new toys grabs my attention and I leave the needed work undone.

What a challenge to stay at the job until it is finished. I love my Maddie, but she is not a real good role model when it comes to finishing a task.

May it be said of me ‘…and indeed Roger did it.’