ast Christmas day I was sitting at home enjoying the comfort of my parent’s home, surrounded by my family and the spirit that is exclusive to the most important holiday of the year. I remember looking around my living room, the carpet covered with the remains of wrapping paper, people listening and laughing, sipping coffee and talking. I remember thinking to myself, “What must be it like for God to observe a holiday set aside for Himself?” A holiday (originally) intended to reminisce about God’s selflessness in sending His own son to face the enemy we should have faced. I thought about how busy our schedules become far before Christmas day even comes along and how easily our plans change to accommodate the ‘most wonderful time of the year.’
Later on that night I was out to eat with a few friends. Though it was nothing new to me, something that night bothered me about the way everyone at my table had their phone in hand. I was amazed that my friends would rather occupy themselves by texting others rather then talk with those seated with them. Seconds later it hit me, sitting in the Chilis lounge staring down at my baby back ribs and mashed potatoes; where was God in all of this? Here you have a holiday intended to honor the gift that only God could give. The ultimate gift of life everlasting, life with a purpose, life given to lives that would rather stay busy then stop for a mere second and spend time talking to true life and love Himself.
It’s not uncommon to hear the remark, “I’m bored!” I was raised in a home where saying such things could potentially get you in trouble though I never questioned why. It wasn’t until recently that I realized why this common phrase is more so an evil concept. You see, it’s human nature to take pride in staying busy, to preoccupy ourselves so we don’t have to actually stop and be silent. Society has convinced us that when (and certainly WHEN) one source of entertainment no longer entertains us, to throw it away and occupy ourselves with something new, a consumerist generation. The problem with this mentality, aside from being an endless, vicious cycle, is that it distorts our way of thinking; it skews our approach to living the selfless life God called us to live. Instead of living a life in worship to God, we pursue (and ultimately worship) our selfish demands, “How can you benefit me, what can you offer me? What can I do that will keep me from having to be still and acknowledge the silence?”
I can’t help but think God feels much the same way I felt at dinner that Christmas evening, my friends keeping busy with their respective SMS recipients rather then spending time with each other (in person). Though I make this comparison, oh how much more detrimental it is that we spend time exclusively with God. How ridiculous is that we’d rather surf Facebook fiften minutes longer because we aren’t tired and certainly don’t want to lay in bed staring at the ceiling? How silly is it that we’ll stay up until 3am playing some video game and compromise spending time with other Christians the next day because we’re so exhausted from the previous day’s ‘endeavors?” It’s ridiculous, absolutely absurd, and we should feel like fools making excuses for our poor use of time.
Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and know that I am God.” I know if you’re anything like me you’re rationalizing YOUR situation because it’s absolutely different from everyone else’s. You might be saying things like, “I talk to God when I’m driving to work,” when you are honestly preoccupied with the phone in your hand or the news on the radio. Or, “I try to set aside time reading my bible everyday but my workload this semester allows no time to do so,” when you make it a point to get your morning coffee fix even though it’s 10 minutes out of your way en route to school. Bottom line: we all have aspects of our daily schedules that could be cut out in order to make time for God. It’s a matter of priority, that which we decide can’t be cut out of our schedules may be the god of our lives.
Unfortunately it’s human nature to pat ourselves on the back when we DO things in the name of Jesus Christ. Let me paint this picture for you. I used to skateboard all the time. It got to the point that it’s all I ever wanted to do and any free time in my somewhat liberal school schedule was devoted to skateboarding. One Sunday morning my pastor was talking about things in our life that we spent more time doing or thinking about then God was an idol in our lives. I couldn’t stare anyone square in the eyes say I spent more time with God then I did my skateboard. Even at 16 it occurred to me that God had to be the most important ‘thing’ in my life. In order for that to happen either the skateboard had to go or I just had to spend more time at church. It goes without saying any teenager would pick more time with God then less time with his favorite hobby. Suffice it to say I tried to justify my time skateboarding by my time spent at church. I would tell myself that I spent half of MY Sunday at church, MY Wednesday night at youth group, and most notably MY Friday night at home group. Note the use of the possessive word ‘my’ in the context of this example. Somehow I had this twisted perception that life was mine for the taking, that I could choose exactly where and when and how I was going to spend my time. If I spent my Saturday afternoon with homeless people in the city I was surely on the ‘great philanthropists of the 21st century’ charts. Meanwhile I was missing the whole point. It was never about me spending an extra hour per week at church then on my skateboard. What was important in my case was that I was setting time aside every day to sit in the silence of my room and wait on God.
Though this example is very cut and dry I hope it gets through to the very heart of things. It’s absolutely fundamental that we make time to be quiet and acknowledge God in our lives, even if that means cutting out ‘important’ parts of our everyday schedules. In Matthew 7:7, Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” James 4:8 states, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Successful relationships are only as such if both parties are contributing to the affair. God is only really able to speak to us when we decide we want to listen. It’s our obligation as followers of Christ to silence ourselves; to turn off our mind, emotions, aspirations, and to be still and know that God is God in our lives. Ask God today to show you areas of your life that might be more important to you then what they should be. Be still, let love in, God is life abundant.
