Felix’s convenient season

Felix’s convenient season refers to the right time in the future that will never come to pass. When he was the Roman governor and had kept Paul in custody pending judgment, Felix liked to hear Paul preach to him but he continually postponed the making of a decision to accept Christ and to do the revealed  will of God.
Felix and his wife were not humble seekers of the gospel truth but had itching ears that sought to hear what pleased them and made them comfortable.
When Paul talked about faith in Christ Jesus they were tolerant and receptive. But the moment Paul began to speak on justice, self-control and future judgment they were convicted. Felix was so alarmed that he said to Paul, “Go away for the present; and when I have an opportunity I will summon you” (RSV). 
Two years elapsed and Felix lost the opportunity to be saved as he was succeeded in office by Porcius Festus. He left Paul in prison; a clear sign that the word of God had not changed him a bit because he constantly shoved the decision making time to a later convenient season.
Felix’s attitude is not without imitators and followers today.
Most people in high offices of this world are like Felix, the Roman governor.
They like to hear what preachers say about the goodness of Christ. An antinomian gospel which says that God is merciful, He understands and He loves us all and He does not demand that we adhere to fixed moral laws is very much welcome to them.
But when weightier matters of the gospel like the need to execute social justice, to exercise self-control and to prepare for future judgment of sin, are emphasised they become disoriented and unreceptive.
These things which are urgent and important, they find hard to bear because they are not prepared to have an iota of change. Yet the word of God only comes to a man to effect some change: a change from a sinner to a saint, a change from being governed by lusts of the flesh to self-control, a change from being unjust to being just and a change from taking the judgment of sin lightly to taking divine judgment of sin seriously and ordering our heart and life accordingly.
Even in church, Felix’s convenient season attitude is a cancer that is spreading at an alarming rate. And many are its victims.
Believers are ready to listen to long sermons on prosperity. Most are now ready to act when the subject of giving and tithing is emphasised. Time for praise and dancing to choruses is received with much joy and excitement. But when the weightier matters of Kingdom living like practicing social justice in our homes and workplaces are stressed upon, excuses to leave or miss church services increase.
When self-control and holiness are emphasised, preachers are threatened with the withholding of groceries and gifts.
The congregants long for a convenient season when the gospel of prosperity will come back when pastors zero in on the truth that sin will by no means go unpunished.
Some church members even have the audacity to ask preachers if righteousness is the only subject to preach about in the Bible.
Readiness was Christ’s final word to us when He left the earth. And the same injunction runs through all the epistles of Paul like a thread. Now is the acceptable to get saved. Now is the time to decide to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. If you are not prepared today, you will be less tomorrow.
The history of most our failures is commonly the history of unreadiness.  We are apt to delay making important decisions until we have a convenient time but the opportunity to do so is normally lost.
Opportunities have a tendency of slipping by while we dream of an opportune time to take advantage of them. Some brothers and sisters now blame themselves for late marriage all because of dilly-dallying when the moment of decision came.
No wonder why the Psalmist prayed to God to teach us how to number our days, to allocate time to our decisions and activities.
Let us not push every important decision to a later time lest we become the late before we make the decision.

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