Really I just have one question for myself and for you.
Is "it" a tool or a chain?
This "it" can be many things.
It can be your house, your car, your job, your credit card.
It can be Facebook, your blog, games etc.
I just want to consider each thing in my life. Is it burdening me, is it keeping me from doing God's will, is it taking time I need to be spending somewhere else?
Or is it benefiting my family and relationships, it it drawing me closer to God and doing His will.
I truly believe things like Facebook can be used as a tool. It can help us share God's love, we can rekindle relationships and connect with many people, but it can be a chain, it can take up our time, it can open us up to things we don't need to waste our time on. It can be used to hurt others. Lets commit before Christ to only let it be used as a tool.
Another area that is heavy on my heart. Our home. I feel like I walk a tightrope between our home being a chain vs a tool. I so want it to be a tool. I want to use our home to minister to others. I want our home to be a blessing to my family and allow us to be efficient with our time, but it does seem that homes can be such a chain. When my heart begins to just long for a nice house. I get so excited to decorate a real home, but then I quickly go from being excited to being discontent in my present circumstances. Then I feel all wrapped up in my chains again. Needing again to be freed and to keep my eyes on Jesus.
I don't mean to say we can't enjoy anything or that we can't just do something for fun.
We need time of refreshment and these fun things can be tools used to build relationships and to bless our family, we just need to evaluate if it is tying us up or setting us free. Is it adding value to our life and pointing ourselves and others to Christ or is it adding stress to our lives or using up time we need to put toward other things?
Good post. It is a battle for sure, and not always clear where the line is, or even where God's will is. I see "debt free" and helping others as where Terah and I should be, but I am also confident that God has put us in this place, it would be hard to deny it. Many chains I have inflicted on myself without God's help in the meantime. I guess I can only ask myself, where is my treasure?
ReplyDeleteI know that your home has already become the home of orphans who needed loved, so I hope you find comfort in that you have provided and sacrificed and you are on the right track - a great example to all of us! Assuming this is Stacy, I think that you girls are going to come back from your trip with a new vision for us all!
Blessings,
Great post. Thanks for this Stacy. Just for the record, you use your blog as a "tool". ;) I have been thinking along the same lines lately... it really can be a fine line at times. You know, cause sometimes we may think we're doing something out of pure enjoyment, then bam, it all changes and something amazing came out of something so simple or "fun". Great reminder for us all. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with this constantly and I can't decide. I've pretty much decided that it isn't the things that are a burden. It's me. I'm a burden. I'm even a burden to myself. If I'm in it it's a burden. The best thing anyone could do for themselves is cut me out of their life. I'm an unstable, emotional bag of confusing burden.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts. You put into words how I have been feeling about my computer! But on a grander scale!
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