embrace or stand apart?
interesting that a few different dicussions have collided in the past few days regarding being busy. one lamenting that the rush of summer, sports, and family activities impacts sunday attendance; another regarding how we choose to make ourselves busy and then complain about not having much time to relax...so i'm wondering about a few things today.
1) is being busy a bad thing? some folks live by the planner. by necessity, in many cases, as they have lots of things going on and have to keep them written down in order to know when and where the next event is. being active and involved in our community is a good thing, right? so is it a bad thing to have lots going on?
2) what determines priority? one conversation focused on this idea -- when do we say we'll be involved in said activity, and when do we say that we've got something else (church, etc.) that is more important, and as a family that is what we choose? this is a hard one sometimes...a battle that we fight consistently in working w/ youth! church stuff is super important, but doesn't enable a kid to get a scholarship or build a resume that the world seems to demand if you are interested in getting into a good college and such...
3) how can we use our schedules to make a difference in the lives of others? this is my big thing, honestly. seems that the church is forced to play by the rules of the world around us. i am wondering how we can teach our members and our kids to, rather than complain that we have to miss church or whatever due to schedules, engage those around them and use what might normally be church time to be a positive influence in the lives of others? can we somehow take what we believe and live that in a way that will point others to our great God -- take church out of the walls and make faith living and real everywhere we go?
which is better -- embrace the thing and use it for Jesus' sake? or stand against it and make your statement by not running, rushing, etc?
what do you think?
1 comment:
I think that you can do both. I don't think it has to be an all or nothing thing. Boundaries are naturally set as we determine what our priorities are going to be. Worshiping our Lord should be happening on a daily basis. It doesn't just happen within the walls of the church on Sunday only. We would consider it to be a problem for our family if we were involved in so many things that we could not attend church every Sunday. Fortunately, we have set boundaries as to how much we allow ourselves to partake in so that we don't miss Sunday worship on a regular basis. However, we don't freak out about it if it happens because we know that other events (i.e. small group, bible study, discussions, etc.) are occuring throughout the week that allow us to continue to learn about and connect with God and each other. It's all about living it out for His purpose and for His glory twenty-four seven where ever we may be.
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