Cold Turkey

"'Everything is permissible'--but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'--but not everything is constructive." -- 1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV)

Have you ever had to quit doing something because God told you to?  Did you quit "cold turkey", or did you ease yourself out of it? Did you fight with God and say, "I don't want to give that up, or I don't want to stop doing such and such... Why God why???"  

A couple days ago my family decided to stop watching all of the crime shows on TV that we have been watching for multiple seasons...  This list, for me, was 8-10 shows long... 

What would be the hardest thing for you to give up right now? Facebook, sweets, You Tube, dating, smoking, drinking, watching sports, video games, __(you fill in the blank)__...  That's what it's like to give up these shows I have been watching.  I have had time to fall in love with the characters, I want to know how their stories are going to end, what am I going to do now that I don't have all this TV to watch, I've always used the evening's TV time as a way to relax and just forget about what is going on around me...  But God showed me last night in a dream that I was to stop...  Yesterday, when my family approached me with the idea, I was trying to decide how I was going to go about watching the shows I like with out them; now I am probably more on board than they are.

The verse at the top of the post has been one I have quoted to myself quite a few times the last few months... Aside from TV, I have also given up a few other things that I had been doing for many years... Every time I am tempted to do them this verse pops into my head, 1 Corinthians 10:23: "You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you. You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is beneficial." (NLT)  "“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up."(ESV)  "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." (NAS)

It can be hard to keep popular things from becoming idols or front runners in our lives.  Being willing to lay some of your favorite things down, when God asks you to, is a great way to tell if you are making an idol out of them or not.

Click Here to visit my post on Idols.

What can we do to make better use of our time?  Have you given up something and found a ton of extra time that you didn't use to have?  What did you do with that extra time?  Let's try to use our extra time the way God wants us to. 

Blessings!

~ S*
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Idols... Can you really have idols in today's day and age?

The answer is YES. How, you may ask?... Well, what consumes your time? What do you think about day and night? What do you plan your schedule around? Are you consumed by the internet? Can you not survive the week if you don't get to see your favorite show on TV? Do constant thoughts about your future (spouse, job, finances, schooling, etc...) consume your mind?

If you answered yes to any of those, it is possible that you might need to make some changes... And I am not just talking to my readers. I am also talking to myself. I recently gave up the Facebook game FarmVille for this very reason. When I am worried that my crops will die instead of how I am treating others, or how my outwardly example is showing God's love, I think I have a problem... We don't need the things of this world. The Bible says "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2) How are we supposed to know what God's perfect will is, if we have consumed our mind with "which crop should I plant, how am I going to get enough items to build my turkey roost, I really need to create another Facebook account so that I can help myself with my barn raising and give myself that pig to finish my pig pen"... What could you be doing with your time instead of "wasting" it on things that will not help you in the future? I personally have decided to turn my past FarmVille time into a more productive use of my time. This includes helping others with things around the house, updating the church's web site, making consistent blog entries for you, and writing letters of encouragement to others.

Now, I am not saying that FarmVille is bad, or that you are making an idol out of any of those things I mentioned above. What I am saying is you might want to examine your life and what is consuming your time. Maybe refocus yourself on things that God has desired that you focus on. Maybe he has been trying to tell you to start a Bible study with some friends of yours, or volunteer at church with the kids, be on the worship team, or run power point and/or the sound system. God has given you talents and gifts. What are some of your gifts and talents? Are you using them to bring honor and glory to God? If not, how can you change that?

Make a decision to not squander your time here on earth. As people like to say "We only live once". I don't want to look back and see that I spent 1000 hours playing a useless computer game that I now have nothing to show for...

Let me know what changes you want to make in your life or have made and how they are making a difference for you! As always I am very interested in your feedback!!

Blessings! ~S*