This is a guilt post.
When I have nothing to say I often feel as though I have not been doing enough thinking. Or perhaps better said, I have not been doing enough intentional thinking. I will often post articles or editorials that inevitably force me to question and reflect, but will rarely add any opinion of my own other than some form of surface level agreement or disagreement.
Lazy? Maybe.
It seems to me that my brain is in a state of constant thought, or so it feels. However the line of thinking is scattered and in a state of flux. I will begin down one road only to come to the intersect and choose to turn left or right. Once a few steps down that lane I am once again faced with the fleeting decision to carry on or to detour. Inevitably I choose the latter. For me to carry on down one path for any significant distance, or amount of time, takes a force of will on my part. Often I will detour for hours or days only to return to the same road on which I had started and will eventually make my way farther along than before. It’s a process.
Writing helps.
When I was in college I had a prof who would call us students “Sesame Street Kids” when we failed to pay attention to his lectures. Part of me resented that label. I have good memories of waking up early to watch Sesame Street, often accompanied by my father who’s job it was to take care of the early risers (there are 4 of us boys). The other half of me saw the truth in that even from an early age we are bombarded with constantly changing stimuli. We are trained to quickly move from item to item, idea to idea, without really spending time struggling with the intricacies of each.
There goes my unadulterated view of children’s programming from the 80′s and early 90′s.
It seems as though we intentionally surround ourselves with a lot of distractions. I can understand that. I know what it feels like to come home from work or school and just want to sit in front of the TV and think about absolutely nothing…to not worry about dinner, or what assignment needs to be finished, or about relationships, family, life, God…
The pace of life at which we choose to operate seems, at times, contradictory to what God would actually have us do. Isn’t it funny that the vast majority of Christians struggle to find time for God? Should that even be a question?…do we have time for God?
Our compartmentalized view of life and faith certainly doesn’t help.
Isn’t God supposed to be in and around all that we do? Even our very existence is dependant on him, and yet we live our lives as if he were not really a part of it. That is of course except for the 30min we scheduled for him at the end of the day.
Should not our every action, decision, and thought be infused with prayer, a sense of his presence, consideration of his will, and recognition of his sovereignty?
What can we do to make this more of a reality in our lives?
