It's Time Schleprock!

 

From the Urban Dictionary: Schleprock - To carry heavy burdens. One who is said to be unlucky or extremely unfortunate. A total loser who will never amount to anything.

Eeyore is a character in the "Winnie the Pooh" books. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey, who is a friend of the title character, Winnie the Pooh.

Last Sunday morning at the Bible Study Class, Donovan Rowe taught about the importance of unity and the different attitudes and actions that can attack and destroy unity in a church. While he was teaching, he mentioned a type of person who is always unlucky, has dark clouds around him, and brings others down in spirit if anyone happens to have contact with him. He called this type of person an "Eeyore" from the Winnie the Pooh cartoon. However, it immediately brought to my mind a different television character from the early 70's. This character was on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and his name was Schleprock! Schleprock was famous in the cartoon series for always being negative and unlucky. He constantly walked under a dark cloud, and no matter what he did, it always ended in disaster! If it weren't for the quick thinking of his close friends, his many adventures and debacles would have led to greater danger and harm for everyone involved with him. Over the course of time, his name became used as a derogatory put down and indicated someone unlucky - a downer to be around and a hindrance to any idea put out by others.

I mention Schleprock as an example of many Christians in the church today who refuse to believe that God could use them for anything good or that the church can really impact the culture around them. They walk through their lives with a sense of dread and defeat and contaminate the body of Christ with depressing, defeatist attitudes, hindering the advancement of the Gospel. Instead of walking by faith and trusting that God will work with and through them, they retreat and cloister themselves from the world or the activities of mankind.

Jesus himself taught about this "Schleprock Spirit" that could and would impact the Great Commission and warned his followers not to submit to its caustic and deadly influence. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the parable about three men who receive "talents" of different proportions to be used for their master. Two of the men go out and invest their talents, earning more in the process. The man given one talent goes out and "buries" his talent out of the fear of using or losing the talent entrusted to him. When the master returns and demands an account of the talents, the two men are commended for their wise use while the other man is condemned for his lack of faith and refusal to invest his talent for possible increase. The man who refuses to use his talent has operated under a "Schleprock Spirit," fearing possible loss and failure instead of walking in faith and confidence in God.  

Each day we have been afforded allows us another chance to invest our talents for the increase of the Kingdom of God. Failure to use our talents in faith and confidence will certainly bring about our condemnation for neglecting the talent entrusted to us and reveal us as nothing more than a "Schleprock Spirit" individual. May we understand the important time we live in, put our talents to work for our Lord and King, and strive with all our might to advance His kingdom in our allotted time. May God give us the "Spirit of David" who faced down the giant and brought victory and honor to the people of God. It's time, church - time to make that change -- we are the people who must do it!

Well it's time to make that change,
people of the world today are fading;
all of us have our ups and downs,
you better think about it or you won't be around.

What we need is a little bit of love,
sent by One from heaven up above,
take it from "T.", it's simple and plain,
this ain't no game, you know what I'm saying?

It's time, time to make a change,
we are the people who can do it.

It's time, time to make a change,
we are His people, we can do it.

What is the world coming to,
seems like everyone is running from the truth;
we must stand up and fight,
walk into the light,
we're the people, we can do it, if we try.

I know we can do it,
somebody asked me why
do we have to go through it?

It's just a test of our faith,
what we're living day to day,
we don't know where, we don't know when,
but He's coming back again.

Jesus is spreading mighty fast,
earthquakes are moving through the land;
it ain't nothing but a sign,
gotta make up my mind,
we're the people, we can do it, if we try.

Stay Holy, My Friends!

 

Pastor Don