Swept Away

I live a busy and demanding life. If its not a client demanding immediate attention then it’s a child who wants you to take them somewhere. If its not the constant need to finish the renovations on the house then its the need to keep it clean or the lawns mowed. No matter where I go our where I look there is something that demands my attention. I shouldn’t complain for I’m sure its the same for many like myself and after all its my own fault. But it gets me to thinking about whether or not the things I do matter.

I think I have a tendency to allow my situation to control and determine what I do. So its the urgent things that get my attention, not necessarily the important ones. I get caught up and swept away in the busyness of my life. I don’t decide to do this - I would rather have some leisure to do pleasant things - rather it seems all the little decisions I make add up and suddenly I have no time.

The upshot is that the less urgent but more important things get left behind. I have no time to go for a walk and exercise like I should. I have no time to take my child down to the oval to kick the ball around. I have no time to simply stop and see the things around me. Ultimately I have no time to spend with God.

The other day I heard a great term to describe this. Its called Practical Atheism. I might profess to be Christian and love God but my life is so busy that I am practically ignoring him.

The answer? Stop!

Nothing is so important than my relationship with God and if my life is getting in the way of it then I must change the way I live - do the non-urgent important things rather than the urgent unimportant things.

Your Comments:

I believe that God knows whats in your heart. I don’t think he will turn you away because you have a busy life style, God knows what you believe and his love is unconditional. I think thats a big thing that alot of christians forget- there are no conditions. God is such a massive huge being that we will never understand and I don’t believe our relationship with him is as simple as human to human relationships. He can read us like books… He will know.

nic on 09/09/2008

While I agree with you Nic that God’s love is unconditional and the enormity of His being is incomprehensible, I am being convicted at this time that we cannot presume upon God. Yes he is trustworthy, and yes we are saved by grace and not by works- yet how much of a light are we really for the gospel in the West when our lives are indistinguishable from those around us? We proclaim with our lips that Christ is Lord, and(as a generalisation)we pray and meet with other believers regularly, but at the end of the day, how are the majority of western christians any different to those around them? We are concerned, and to a certain degree devoted, to the same things- home ownership, careers, appearances- that our non-christian neighbours are! Are we truly dying to self for the sake of the gospel, or are we doing the bare minimum because only ‘radicals’ give up everything for God? Brother Yun, a Chinese christian who, along with countless others, has been heavily persecuted for the sake of the gospel, made the observation that we here in the West live ‘as though (we) were already in heaven’. And I believe there is a hard truth in that statement. I am not discounting myself from this- I find the whole concept challenging and a little disconcerting. I know that the body of Christ has many parts, and we cannot all be missionaries to overseas countries. I also know that we have a different type of persecution here- people think we are simple minded and we are constantly bombarded with materialism and egocentricity. But is deepening our relationship with God truly the greatest desire of our hearts? Or are we being lamps hidden under bowls instead of on stands shining for all to see the wonder of Christ?

Skye on 09/04/2009

Many people weigh the guilt they will feel against the pleasure of the forbidden action they want to take.
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spanish thanksgiving on 09/12/2009

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