Chapter 15. The Lord's Pig. The devil will rob us of this hour if we do not steadfastly fight for it. Samuel Logan Brengle. Once having begun the habit, never give it up. J.C. Ryle. Many years ago, Deborah and I were looking into starting a microloan ministry in Jamaica. We knew of the great poverty that persisted throughout the island, and we wanted to enable the poor to break free from their endless cycle. We had written the Jamaican government and told them what we had in mind.
So when we arrived in Jamaica, a government official met with us, and we spent the next several days visiting various villages in Jamaica's interior with the government official as our driver. As we got to know the official, we discovered that he was a committed Christian, so we enjoyed good spiritual conversation during our time with him. Our most interesting conversation was about something that happened in his church. The story concerned a poor Jamaican, Joe Williams, and his wife, Natalie, not their real names.
Joe and Natalie were so poor that the only asset to their names was a sow. They planned on having the sow bred and then raising and selling her litter to earn some much-needed money. However, before they were able to follow through with their plans, the sow became very ill. Sadly, Joe and Natalie had no money to hire a veterinarian. The sow's condition became steadily worse, so the next Sunday, Joe and Natalie asked their congregation to pray about the matter. Joe stood up and made a pledge before the congregation.
He promised that if God answered their prayers favorably and their sow recovered, they would donate one of the sow's offspring to the Lord. This pig would be the Lord's Pig. Joe and Natalie would raise it, and then when it was old enough, they would give it to the church. The church could sell it or do whatever it wanted with it. The congregation prayed fervently on behalf of the young couple, and the Lord answered their prayers. The sow recovered, and eventually Joe and Natalie had her bred.
After about three and a half months, Joe started going out early each morning to see if the litter had been born yet. He checked day after day, but no litter. Until one morning when he went out, he saw the sow lying on her side with a litter of piglets, happily nursing. Joe was so happy he could hardly contain his excitement. He just stood there and watched in delight. As his eyes scanned the pigpen, he noticed one small piglet lying by itself off to the side, not moving. Apparently, it had been stillborn.
Joe studied the scene for a few moments. He then shouted to his wife, "Natalie! Natalie! Come quick! Something terrible has happened!" Natalie came running out of the house, drying her hands on her apron. "What's happened? Did the sow die?" "No, it's much worse than that!" Joe exclaimed. "Worse than that? What is it then?" Natalie inquired. With enormous emotion in his voice and tears welling in his eyes, Joe cried out, "The Lord's Pig died!" Am I Joe Williams?
When our friend finished the story, Deborah and I shook our heads in disbelief. "What a hypocrite," we both thought. For years afterward, I thought about Joe Williams and the story of the Lord's Pig. In fact, I frequently told the story to others. However, I couldn't imagine this narrative ever having any application in my life. Surely I would never make a commitment to God and then renege on it.
However, about ten years after I first heard the story, something happened that made me see the incident in an entirely different light. Over the years, our family had established a tradition of having a devotional time each evening before bedtime. We tried to read all the way through the one-year Bible annually. So part of our devotional time each evening was set aside for that day's allotted Bible reading. After reading, we would all take turns praying.
The entire devotional period usually lasted twenty to thirty minutes. One evening, our youngest son and I were working on a puzzle together. It was a large puzzle, and it was taking us much longer than I had anticipated. But since we were so close to finishing, I didn't want to stop. At long last, we completed it. But when I looked at the clock, I realized it was way past bedtime. "Oh, that's too bad," I told the family.
"We're not going to be able to have our Bible reading tonight, nor is there time for each of us to pray. It's much too late. I'll just say a prayer for all of us, and then let's all head to bed." I didn't think much about canceling our devotional time, as this sort of thing had happened before. However, as I lay in bed that night, the Holy Spirit convicted me. I suddenly realized that I was no different than Joe Williams. Our devotional time every evening was supposed to be the Lord's time.
I had been presented with a choice that evening. When I saw that we weren't going to be able to finish the puzzle in time, I could have let my pig die. I could have said, "Oh, too bad, but we're not going to be able to finish the puzzle tonight." But no, I was just like Joe Williams. "Oh, how terrible! The Lord's Pig died! We simply are unable to have our devotional time tonight." The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had been guilty of that kind of thing repeatedly.
Unexpected things came up many evenings. The result? Somehow, it was always the Lord's Pig that died. "Oops, no time for Bible reading tonight." It was never one of my pigs. So for the family devotional time to work, I saw I needed to make a firm commitment that when unexpected things happened, it would be our pig that would die. It wouldn't be the Lord's Pig. Otherwise, we would find that time after time we would end up neglecting our devotional time.
Like Joe Williams, we would end up saying, "Oh, no, the Lord's Pig died!" The Personal Devotional Hour In this chapter, I've been talking about our family devotional time. But the same principle is true with regard to someone's personal devotional time. Rest assured, Satan will do what he can to throw a monkey wrench into your devotional hour so that it won't become a fixed habit. People will call you or come by to see you. Issues will arise at work or in the family.
If you don't make a firm resolve to keep your devotional hour and contend for it, it will soon become little more than an ideal of what you would like to do but rarely have time to do. Twentieth-century spiritual writer Anthony Bloom shares this insight on faithfully maintaining your devotional hour. Ask yourself this question: Does the salvation of the world truly depend on the letter you are writing, the copper you are cleaning, or the words full of wisdom that you are in the midst of pronouncing?
Did the world not exist for many years before you said, "Or did this, or that"? Will it not still live many years without your continuing to be a useful presence? So give it a chance now to enjoy your absence. Settle peacefully and say, "Whatever happens, I will not budge." Say to all who come to disturb you, whether visible persons or invisible thoughts, "I am very sorry.
I am here, but not for you." Despite the fact that the devotional hour is of such vital importance, there is another secret of the Kingdom life that will perhaps have an even greater effect on your spiritual walk: continual communion with God.