Just as a silversmith cannot craft a masterpiece simply by amassing more and more impure silver, so I cannot accomplish what God has called me to do if I never take the time to filter out the things which cannot ultimately be part of that final masterpiece.
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Scripture
Proverbs 25:4-5
4 Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; 5 take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.
Observation
A silversmith doesn’t craft a beautiful masterpiece by merely stockpiling more and more impure silver: He can only complete his work by instead removing the impurities and contamination from the silver that he has. In the same way, a leader doesn’t build something lasting and of worth by merely increasing the size and scale of that which is corrupt and impure at it’s core. The “king’s throne” is only established in righteousness, by removing any trace of wickedness.
Application
It’s easy to let the busyness of life trap me in the cycle of ‘more’. More projects. More meetings. More commitments. More work. More long hours. More exhaustion. More…more…more…more…and it never stops. This passage challenges me to spend a little ‘more’ time, doing ‘less’.
What are the things that I need to remove from my life? What are the events on my calendar which really should be canceled? What are the paradigms and assumptions by which I live, which are based on contaminated and wrong thinking? What are the projects taking up my time and mental bandwidth, which aren’t truly moving the needle in my life? Just as a silversmith cannot craft a masterpiece by amassing more and more low-grade impure silver, so I cannot accomplish what God has called me to do if I never take the time to filter out the things which cannot ultimately be part of that final masterpiece.
This week, I choose to invest some time in removing the dross.
Prayer
God, help me to remove the dross from my life. Give me wisdom to know what is the pure silver worth keeping, and what are the contamination and impurities that have no place in the masterpiece that you are crafting in my life. Whether it be time commitments, projects, thought patterns, habits, boxes in my garage, or even relationships–help me to understand what is worth hanging on to, and what I must choose to let go of. I want my life to be a reflection of your glory, not a monument to the dross that I’ve accumulated along the way!
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