Misplaced Passions

So, I've been learning a lot lately about time and using it wisely. The question to myself is: AM I using it wisely? And am I serving God more than serving myself?

I've heard many people say, "I just don't have time to do everything that I need to get done in a day." So, if you had just one more hour everyday, would you then do what NEEDED to be done or would you really just continue on the path you are on and fill that hour with one more fleeting thing. I often feel as if I am filling my day with mundane activities that, in the big scheme of things, don't really matter anyway. I am so focused on going here and doing this until at the end of the day it has been filled full of this and that and none of it furthered the kingdom of God.

It is amazing the things that we MAKE time for! We get up at 6:30 a.m. in the morning EVERYDAY to get ready and be at work by 8:00a.m. yet we can't get to Sunday School at all. Some will even wake up to be at the gym by 5:30a.m. three days a week but we can't get motivated enough to attend church by 10:30 or 11:00a.m one day a week. We fill our days with ample T.V. watching and computer playing yet we don't pick up our Bible to read the HOLY WORD OF GOD for more than 15 minutes or at all!!! (As if a mindless few hours of entertainment can compare!)

The issue that lies here is not with unbelievers either. I am referring to believers who have misplaced passions. We are passionate about football in the fall, about a particular movie coming out in the summer, or about getting fit and healthy but when do we get passionate about serving, worshiping, or learning about God? When do we stop making lame excuses for our actions and realize that we are making a huge choice? What we are basically choosing to say is that our time is too important to spend doing something for God's kingdom but instead it is better spent by furthering our own kingdom. OUCH! Reality bites!

What do you choose? Do you choose to continue doing what you've always done because that seems to be working out great so far (sense the sarcasm?) Or do you ask God to give you a passion for Him, a desire to read His Word and give more time to Him daily? Those who seek Him with all their hearts will surely find Him. It doesn't seem like a hard decision to make yet it is a hard one to commit to....if you are for real! God never said that when you became a Christian you would be able to do what you wanted...He said to glorify Him and die to yourself daily. I'm pretty sure living for myself isn't included in that!

So I challenge you to give up something that doesn't mean anything and replace it with something that glorifies God. It won't be easy but it will be well worth the sacrifice.

You can't be a blurry reflection

It is interesting to me that my last post was about "the world." I say it is interesting because our Youth summer camp this week has been about imitating God and defining "the world." As I studied to try to instill biblical principles into the hearts of middle school girls, I reflected on what it really means to imitate.

Imitate: to follow as an example; to model. It is sad really how we flipantly go about our Christian walk. We try our best to not stand out or to fit in as to not bring attention to ourselves. We learn early in life that it is a goal to look like everyone else, to act like everyone else, and to follow everyone else. Now that isn't exactly completely true. Parents teach their children to be their own person and make sound decisions but what do our lives really model? We don't see much of what we believe in our daily walk.

 We talk a lot about how we should act and that we shouldn't conform to the world but many don't really even know what the world looks like because we haven't taken the time to analyze it. For instance, we have become so desensitized to "the world" that we no longer cringe when it is around. If we are constantly around someone who has a foul mouth, we may not ever say those words ourselves but eventually we become numb to them and don't mind hearing them.

I wanted to watch a movie today at home while I was resting so I picked one out of the many in our collection. My choice was not made because I really wanted to watch it but it was made because it was one I had not seen in a while. I wanted a chick flick of course since I was viewing it alone so I picked up "Love Happens" with Jennifer Aniston. It is rated PG13 for some language and off color humor. I am never one to remember certain "bad" things about a movie so I started watching it. It didn't take five minutes into the movie before the Lord's name was taken in vain. At that point, the rubber met the road. Do I ignore it, desensitize myself, and continue watching proclaiming that I am not affected by it because it wasn't influencing me? OR Do I glorify God by turning it off and watching something else? Making that decision today didn't affect anyone else around me. It didn't affect my husband who was not here. It didn't affect my friends or other family members because they would never even be able to tell that I watched such a movie. So what did it matter? These are the very words that "the world" says to us...that Satan says to us.

It DOES matter and if I have to justify why it is "okay" then it obviously isn't glorifying God. We as Christians must always be on guard for ways that Satan will attack. How is me watching a movie that takes the Lord's name in vain any different from actually doing it myself? Neither glorify His name so what is the point? The point of being created was for His glory...that should be our goal in everything we do.

The world says that popularity is what we should strive for because it is there where we are accepted. Jesus never said He wanted us to be accepted by the world. God says to not conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed. How are you at transforming?

So, my goal is to not be desensitized to the world but recognize how it is affecting my life in my music (are the lyrics glorifying?), movies (are there things I shouldn't be seeing/hearing), and in the websites I visit (are the friends that I keep up with on Facebook pointing me to Christ?). I have to remember that I am a model and a reflection of Almighty God. If I proclaim to be a Christian then I should reflect Christ not something else. How am I any different if I am blending in with the world?

In case you were wondering, I shut the movie off immediately and removed it from our collection. It will not only NOT be viewed by us again but it will no longer be in our house. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. ~Joshua 24:15