Ignorant Historian

Another week, another challenge. I need more challenging…this has been very good for me.

“That you be totally committed to ministry, whatever your specific role, that you not fritter your time away on soaps or ladies magazines or aimless hobbies, any more than men should fritter theirs away on excessive sports or aimless diddling in the garage. That you redeem the time for Christ and his Kingdom.”

John Piper’s language in this one kills me. It really makes me want to use the word “fritter” in daily language more often.

But beyond the language, he definitely has a point. While neither soaps or ladies’ magazines have any draw for me (though I have been sucked into a reality show or two…guess those are  just soap operas for another generation), I do struggle with wasting time on insignificant things. Just last night I was talking to a friend about how to encourage her kids not to waste their summer days on television, video games, and the computer, when I had to admit that this was a struggle for me.

Personally, I find the less I watch TV, the less I want to watch it. That is, in part, why I’m choosing not to have internet at my new place. I’ll have cable though (included in my rent…I would have prefer just to have bunny ears!), but that’s not as much as a draw for me as I can’t choose to watch things on my own schedule like I’ve grown accustomed to online.

But I think that’s part of growing in wisdom…knowing when to remove things from your life to avoid temptation. For me, Internet is not a “need”…I work in front of a computer 40 hours a week and have a phone with Internet access.

Where else am I tempted to fritter time away? This is something I’ll definitely have to continue to reevaluate. I definitely spend time on the blog, but I’ve reduced that significantly over the last 6 months or so. Sure, my blog isn’t as popular as it once was (though it certainly was never “popular!”), I’m totally okay with that.  I feel like the balance I have with blogging now is what it should be.

So what should I be using my time for instead?

Ministry.

I’ve tried to realign my priorities to this end. It’s still a work in progress, but I do believe I’ve been improving. Since quitting AWANA in January to pursue more training in biblical counseling (they were at the same time, so I had to choose), I’ve been looking for another ministry opportunity. That opportunity fell into my lap last week: our church started a food pantry. You’re looking at the Saturday morning regular (you know, if you were looking at me!).

Between that and Sunday school, I feel like I have an appropriate amount of regular formal ministry. But informal ministry is important to, and something that is hard for me. I don’t like my schedule messed with, but this is an area I’m growing in. I’m single, so my schedule is rather flexible, even when I’m not. So I’m trying to be more proactive in seeking opportunities to serve others. Thanks to some growing relationships in my small group at church, those opportunities are definitely coming.

I think this is something that I will need to continue to work on for the rest of my life, and regularly reevaluate.

Photo by tsand

On my near-hour commutes to and from the office, I like to listen to talk radio. I don’t feel compelled to agree with the talk show hosts (usually locals Brad and Britt in the morning and Sean Hannity in the evenings), but enjoy hearing opinions that may or may not mesh with my own. The latest hot topic has been immigration. This is a topic that I struggle to come to an actual opinion on, because there are two competing desires within me.

The problem I have with the majority of anti-immigration advocates is that there are often strong nationalist, xenophobic, and ethnocentric underpinnings to this stance. Yes, there are legitimate concerns with national security and law enforcement that come in to play, but all too often I hear people complaining about the increasing cultural diversity as if America has always been static and English is the only language that should be spoken in a civilized country.

As a Christian, I worship a God that is calling all peoples to Himself. America is not the new Israel, a nation chosen by God in some special way. Yes, God has blessed America, and I am incredibly thankful to have been born here. However, my citizenship is ultimately in heaven and that is where my true allegiance lies. This influences how I view American foreign policy.

I’m excited to live in a place where the nations are coming to us. The American church has the blessing of being able to reach out to individuals who come from places where they would never have heard the Gospel. I never want to be a part of a local church that does not welcome “outsiders” whether openly or by simply by ignoring them.

I generally agree with the ideas I’ve heard about the latest immigration bill, but I’m not willing to support it outright without knowing the details. While I don’t like the fact that there is a huge number of immigrants who have entered our country by breaking the laws, I’m not going to push them out. They are no more or less important than anyone else.

The issue of immigration is where my love of rule-following and my love of all people come at odds with each other, but I’m okay with that. I know which one will come out on top.