Squander a Shilling
"How many of us have such a strong sense that we belong to Another that we dare not squander a shilling of our money, or an hour of our time, or any of our mental or physical powers?" -Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life, p43
This sentence has been reverberating in my head the past couple days. I can conclusively say I am not one who feels this sense of belonging to the LORD that I don't squander anything. The next paragraph after this tells of a man who was asked to play a game of cards but refused because his hands were not his own. Maybe that's taking things a little too far, but I'm nowhere near that point. Are my bike rides squandering time? Is my time spent reading pointless blogs squandering my time? How about the money and time spent renting and watching movies? At some point I need to find a balance--because we know we need to "squander time" for sleeping, but not too much...
"It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep." -Psalm 127:2
1 comment:
No, your bike rides aren't squandering your time. Neither are the other non-spiritual things you do with your life. I think there are three major things to consider. 1)Is the activity immoral? If the answer to that is yes, you are obviously wrong to indulge in it, (not that the knowledge of this will keep you from plodding ahead, being a human and all) 2)Am I relying on this activity to give meaning and fulfillment to my life? In other words, is the activity taking the place of God and becoming the object that you are worshipping? 3) How do I handle the interruptions or curveballs that come my way during this activity? I firmly believe this is the most important test of our indulgence in amoral pasttimes. If your bike riding is such a priority that you won't give it up for an afternoon when you are obviously called to do something else, it's probably becoming an idol. If you will ride your bike past an injured jogger, well you can read the parable and figure it out for yourself.
I think God is less concerned with how we choose to occupy our free time than how we handle the situations and people that he sends into our paths along the way.
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