In this day and age, it seems we are busier and busier each and every year. Many times it involves activities with the children/teens: piano lessons, violin, dance, ski team, track meets, swim meets, practices, recitals, and on and on and on. The more children, the more activities. Then add church activities into the mix. Every one of them sounds so good; every one of them when viewed solely in the context of the event itself probably is good! But you add all this up and you end up with a daytimer that has no room left on which to write (or I suppose a PDA that has used up all its memory!).
So what's the problem? The problem is that we are focused on so many activities that we have lost sight of what is truly important.
God asks that we "be still and know that I am God." When can we do that? Pencil in 5-10 minutes between the morning workout and the morning shower? How is one supposed to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength if there is little or no time for Him?
A second issue is that the second most important commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves, cannot be accomplished in-between events. How are we ever to serve our neighbor (the acting out of the love we profess) if we don't even have time to know our neighbor? How are we to help a neighbor when we have a ballgame to attend? What exactly is our witness when we are run ragged by our schedule and have no time for the relationships that matter?
So should we withdraw our children from all activities and sit around the house waiting for that special moment to arrive where we can help or serve our neighbor? Of course not. But we absolutely should prioritize our activities. If we don't have time to even know our neighbors, then we need to back off something so we can get to know them. Once we know them, we need to have a priority within our home to watch for needs...and when we see them, we as a family should be ready to help meet those needs, even if it means canceling one of our activities! A family that ministers together not only grows together, but makes a huge statement about the Gospel without ever saying a word!
Could we seriously consider Jesus' commandment to love our neighbor? Could we actually reprioritize our life to get to know them and to serve them? Could we do that as a family?
And could we watch God bless our neighbors...and maybe bring revival to our neighborhood?!!! Now, THAT would be more exciting than any activity we could imagine!!
So what's the problem? The problem is that we are focused on so many activities that we have lost sight of what is truly important.
God asks that we "be still and know that I am God." When can we do that? Pencil in 5-10 minutes between the morning workout and the morning shower? How is one supposed to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength if there is little or no time for Him?
A second issue is that the second most important commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves, cannot be accomplished in-between events. How are we ever to serve our neighbor (the acting out of the love we profess) if we don't even have time to know our neighbor? How are we to help a neighbor when we have a ballgame to attend? What exactly is our witness when we are run ragged by our schedule and have no time for the relationships that matter?
So should we withdraw our children from all activities and sit around the house waiting for that special moment to arrive where we can help or serve our neighbor? Of course not. But we absolutely should prioritize our activities. If we don't have time to even know our neighbors, then we need to back off something so we can get to know them. Once we know them, we need to have a priority within our home to watch for needs...and when we see them, we as a family should be ready to help meet those needs, even if it means canceling one of our activities! A family that ministers together not only grows together, but makes a huge statement about the Gospel without ever saying a word!
Could we seriously consider Jesus' commandment to love our neighbor? Could we actually reprioritize our life to get to know them and to serve them? Could we do that as a family?
And could we watch God bless our neighbors...and maybe bring revival to our neighborhood?!!! Now, THAT would be more exciting than any activity we could imagine!!
No comments:
Post a Comment