I am up entirely too late first off... But, oddly enough, late at night is when I do my best thinking.
I was just thinking about how people are odd. Now, many people are odd for a plethora of reasons, but what I was specifically thinking on was how we tend to think on or dwell on things that honestly don't matter. Then, on the flip side, we will ignore and push off those things we would name as being more important to us.
Let me give an example of what I mean:
I love my wife Amy very much. Very very much. I also love my son Ariston. Both of these people are huge parts of my life. Also, I would name God as being the most important thing and the driving force of my life. So, it would stand to reason that these 3 things would be huge parts of my daily thought life and a driving motivation in my daily grind. But, as much as I hate to admit it, this is not often the case.
Often the driving force would be highlighted by those little tasks that need to be done by the end of the day. The thoughts in my head are not highlighted by God or my family. Instead it is made up of things such as random tidbits of news I read on Google news and Reddit. Or what book I am currently reading when I get home from work or what game I could play? Just horribly surface level thoughts and so often I miss deeper things because I am so inundated with pointlessness.
So... what is one to do? What are we to do as a society that has been programmed to be as broad as the ocean yet as deep as a puddle? What do we do when we have been conditioned to not be a part of and enjoy a particular moment or event, but instead snap pictures or tweet about it so as to improve our digital personas? What about the constant stream of drivel we are saturated with via the internet and other mediums? What happens when the little things become the big things and the big things become the little?
When I take a long hard look at my outward life and thought life I am forced to a hard conclusion. One of those conclusions is that I often abandon or neglect the great and important, in an exchange for the small and menial. I have sold my true gold and jewels in exchange for gilded bars and gems of glass.
So, what are we to do? How are we to rid ourselves of our fools gold and tarnish? How can we rewrite all of this false programming and maintain it?
The Bible addresses this very issue directly. This is by no means a new problem. People have always misplaced affection in earthly things instead of God. Jesus warns us regarding storing up earthly treasures. (Matthew 6 - Laying up treasures on earth/ Luke 12 - Parable of the Rich Fool) Now, these passages are addressing physical things but the Bible also has a whole lot to say regarding the mind. Our thoughts should be on things of meaning and purpose and not eaten up by these hollow things of earth. Just as Jesus mentions in Matthew 6:21 - For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
So... we just have to fix our hearts and minds. Simple enough right?
Well, as anyone has ever tried, the harder one tries not to think on something the more you think on it. For a good example think about this little tid-bit from inception. If someone says "Don't think about Elephants" well, we can't help but instantly think 'Elephants!" It frustrating, but its just how we work. The same goes for our passions and hearts. The more we try to force down the flame the more it hungers and flames up.
So, essentially, we can't do it. Horrible right? Really encouraging. We have this big problem and we can't fix it. Perfect, that's a real pick-me-upper.
Well... in all honestly, it actually can be encouraging. It can actually be quite liberating to be honest. Seeing as I can't fix me, that means something else has to. It is no longer on just me to fix... well me!
Now, don't get me wrong, we are certainly a part of the process of fixing this issue. But It is much more a work of God than what I do.
See, at the end of the day, it boils down to allowing Christ to sanctify us through Christ. This can be the encouraging and frustrating thing about the process... it isn't something we can do by just "trying harder". It has to be a work of God on our hearts. Christ is the only thing that can fix our broken hearts and mend our troubled minds. He allows the lens of our heart to focus on meaningful things and not remain unfocused.
Through Christ alone can we hope to remain focused and not misplace our affections, attentions, and passions.
I was just thinking about how people are odd. Now, many people are odd for a plethora of reasons, but what I was specifically thinking on was how we tend to think on or dwell on things that honestly don't matter. Then, on the flip side, we will ignore and push off those things we would name as being more important to us.
Let me give an example of what I mean:
I love my wife Amy very much. Very very much. I also love my son Ariston. Both of these people are huge parts of my life. Also, I would name God as being the most important thing and the driving force of my life. So, it would stand to reason that these 3 things would be huge parts of my daily thought life and a driving motivation in my daily grind. But, as much as I hate to admit it, this is not often the case.
Often the driving force would be highlighted by those little tasks that need to be done by the end of the day. The thoughts in my head are not highlighted by God or my family. Instead it is made up of things such as random tidbits of news I read on Google news and Reddit. Or what book I am currently reading when I get home from work or what game I could play? Just horribly surface level thoughts and so often I miss deeper things because I am so inundated with pointlessness.
So... what is one to do? What are we to do as a society that has been programmed to be as broad as the ocean yet as deep as a puddle? What do we do when we have been conditioned to not be a part of and enjoy a particular moment or event, but instead snap pictures or tweet about it so as to improve our digital personas? What about the constant stream of drivel we are saturated with via the internet and other mediums? What happens when the little things become the big things and the big things become the little?
When I take a long hard look at my outward life and thought life I am forced to a hard conclusion. One of those conclusions is that I often abandon or neglect the great and important, in an exchange for the small and menial. I have sold my true gold and jewels in exchange for gilded bars and gems of glass.
So, what are we to do? How are we to rid ourselves of our fools gold and tarnish? How can we rewrite all of this false programming and maintain it?
The Bible addresses this very issue directly. This is by no means a new problem. People have always misplaced affection in earthly things instead of God. Jesus warns us regarding storing up earthly treasures. (Matthew 6 - Laying up treasures on earth/ Luke 12 - Parable of the Rich Fool) Now, these passages are addressing physical things but the Bible also has a whole lot to say regarding the mind. Our thoughts should be on things of meaning and purpose and not eaten up by these hollow things of earth. Just as Jesus mentions in Matthew 6:21 - For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
So... we just have to fix our hearts and minds. Simple enough right?
Well, as anyone has ever tried, the harder one tries not to think on something the more you think on it. For a good example think about this little tid-bit from inception. If someone says "Don't think about Elephants" well, we can't help but instantly think 'Elephants!" It frustrating, but its just how we work. The same goes for our passions and hearts. The more we try to force down the flame the more it hungers and flames up.
So, essentially, we can't do it. Horrible right? Really encouraging. We have this big problem and we can't fix it. Perfect, that's a real pick-me-upper.
Well... in all honestly, it actually can be encouraging. It can actually be quite liberating to be honest. Seeing as I can't fix me, that means something else has to. It is no longer on just me to fix... well me!
Now, don't get me wrong, we are certainly a part of the process of fixing this issue. But It is much more a work of God than what I do.
See, at the end of the day, it boils down to allowing Christ to sanctify us through Christ. This can be the encouraging and frustrating thing about the process... it isn't something we can do by just "trying harder". It has to be a work of God on our hearts. Christ is the only thing that can fix our broken hearts and mend our troubled minds. He allows the lens of our heart to focus on meaningful things and not remain unfocused.
Through Christ alone can we hope to remain focused and not misplace our affections, attentions, and passions.
