Compartmentalized!
Sunday’s Monday
It’s already started, I’m hearing it everywhere and seeing it all over social media and the Christian community is behind it. It being, retailers starting the Christmas hoopla in July and Thanksgiving being overshadowed by the media. During my quiet time, I discussed my feelings on the subject with God and this thought came to my mind. Compartmentalized! I’m sure for anyone who watches Hallmark Christmas shows you’ve seen the calendar with the little doors that flip and remind you to do something each day for the 25 days before Christmas. This is the norm for our industrialized world. We now live by calendars, both hard copy and virtual we’re never far from our next task and it’s become a necessary evil. However, many today live a boxed life, there’s a compartment for God, a door for family, and one for friends, everything has a space. They have a Christmas box, a Thanksgiving box, along with an Easter box, that is sadly ignored until the season pops up.
This is why many get so upset and outspoken when a holiday overshadows another, especially Christians! Could it be that we fear, our days of easing guilt may be lessening. We have developed an agenda of our own and honestly abide by it much more than seeking God’s agenda. We prefer our agenda over God’s because He allows too much wiggle room, for kindness, caring, and helping. That is why people sleep with stress, they’ve compartmentalized everything, overloaded their little boxes, and now cannot empty a box without starting another box. Think about this to find how deep you are in the “my agenda trap”, try it for one week. Record the first thing that enters your mind when God opens your eyes each morning. Are you thankful to Him for the day or stressed with the events that you assume will take place? Whose agenda do you take to bed? Apostle Paul left us 1 Thessalonians 2:4 (MSG), Be assured that when we speak to you, we're not after crowd approval, only God approval. Since we've been put through that battery of tests, you're guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas.
Living within the confines of our little Compartmentalize world, we gain the feeling that we’re in control and that is a very dangerous place to live. Think seriously on this, how much of life can you factually control each day, and what is its actual value at the end of the day? If you came up with a bah humbug feeling over your answer, you’re too compartmentalized with your life. God created each of us to see His wonders at work and He performs them every day however only those with His agenda will see them as they are open to His blessings. As I pointed out our compartments only allow for the task at hand with little to no deviation. For example, late for an appointment and a little old lady has car trouble what happens when God nudges us to help? Whose agenda takes priority. This is why I believe the outcry over holidays, removing God from government buildings, taking prayer out of schools, to name a few is so touchy with many Christians. We were and are expecting the government, the teachers, and our leaders to do for us what God intended us to do! Our lives have become more about physical provision rather than spiritually serving Jesus!
God never meant for Thanksgiving to be one day or one month, I don’t believe He ever said celebrate the birth of Jesus one day or month and He certainly did not imply we celebrate His resurrection over death one day. You see how screwed up we’ve gotten with our compartments to rationalize our lax. All these things we claim to hold near and dear are for everyday use, not occasional guilt relief. We all should thank God first thing for opening our eyes, for what He has done for us, for the love He abundantly pours over us even at our worst. God is, and desires to be our daily refuge, our escape from those little boxes which encase our agendas! Test it, over the next several days lift your daytimer, calendar, smart device up to Him and ask Him to take charge of your little boxes. Then record your outcome! Things may happen to improve your time crunch and people may be a little more receptive in your comings and goings.
The situation at hand has little to do with the world and everything to do with individual hearts. Questions, Are you living a daily life of thanksgiving? Do you practice communion outside of religious surroundings? What are we teaching our children? Satan seems to be winning because the religious are failing to live righteous lives. If your every day is Thanksgiving from the love God gave at Christmas, flowing the forgiveness Jesus gave at Easter, what has the world left to take? Think about it, the last thing this world wants is more God!
My prayer is from 1 Timothy 2:8 (MSG), Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray, not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. Lord help us to see we’re part of the problem and to look only to you for the solution. We love you, Lord. Amen
HAVE A BLESSED WEEK BY BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS!
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