SOME THINGS BEAR ADDRESSING--EVEN WHEN I KNOW BETTER

Perhaps our most valuable resource is time.  I cringe to think how much time I have flittered away running in circles, seeking my personal agenda (this is a deep well I will not dive in to), sleeping (I do love a good nap), obsessing over the unanswerables, and on and on.  If I were to create a pie chart, for the way I have spent the time I have been given---it would be embarrassing at a minimum.  A real eye opener as to what I value---or what I allow to steal the limited resource of time.

 While listening to a commencement speech by comedian Tim Minchin at Western Australia University on a reel yesterday, I was hit with the inspiration for this post.  The full (20 minutes) speech is on YouTube and well worth the listen.  It is full of not only laughter, but some great wisdom.  One of his charges for the graduates was not allowing things they hate to take up their valuable resource of time.  WHOA----stop and think about that for a moment.  Let's take politics (I KNOW BETTER--but it is a great example).  How much time do you spend thinking of or discussing the ignorance of those who dare to disagree with you---blowing off steam over their failure to understand Your Truth?  Could your time not be better spent banging your head against the brick wall of refusal to listen by those you abhor?  Why not spend the same amount of time in doing something constructive to further your cause?  Why not work for those you support and agree with instead of countless hours expounding on the error of the other's way? 

One human trait which afflicts many of us is our impatience with those who dare to disagree with us.  We take it as a personal affront and immediately go on the attack.  Perhaps one of the earliest life lessons I learned was from my brother who loved to argue.  Arguing, in almost all cases, never changes anyone's mind.  NOW---not to say that I have not walked away from an argument and with time and thought had my opinion altered at least to some degree, but in the heat of the moment---my back is stiff.  Not only am I not listening to what is being said, but more than likely I am thinking about my next retort.  

Another example--and NOT as divisive is someone staring at their cell phone while you thought you were having a conversation.  Cell phones---have helped society in many ways--but cell phones may well become the downfall of polite society.  In many cases, there are two choices---spend some time ranting and raving at the rude person who is paying more attention to their phone than you OR walk away and find a better way to spend your time.

Finally---and I am well aware I have hit a nerve or two with this blog--there is church.  The way we are "churching" has undergone I HUGE shift in my lifetime.  The discussion about what we do not like (hate is a strong word) about how church is happening is at an all time high.  It will likely continue until those of us who grew up with a different worship culture are gone.  There is no right or wrong---look in The Word---it does not give you a description of the order of worship, level of lighting, musical instruments to use, or level of amplification.  The one directive is the time is to be spent worshipping The Father.  There seems to be a church on every corner, especially in the Bible Belt.  Rather than finding a church with a form of worship we are comfortable with, we spend our time in strong disagreement (could not stand to use hate) over what we do not agree with.  In my youth, the big argument was over minor points of theology--instrumentation or not--focus on evangelism or works--but I do not remember insisting everyone worship like my church or spewing venom over those who dare to think different.  Would my time not be better spent upholding the faith through service, with which I am gifted, than being unhappy to the point of distraction (and then ineffectiveness) over how we "do church". 

WELL---Minchin certainly struck a chord with me----AND THE BANG continues.

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones,

holy and beloved,

compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

bearing with one another and,

if one has a complaint against another,

forgiving each other,

as the Lord has forgiven you,

so you also must forgive."

Colossians 3:12-13