Have you ever been asked to list the top three things that you spend the majority of your time on, in an attempt to show you that God really isn't #1 in your life? Most people would answer something like this:
1. Job
2. Family
3. Etc.
And then you realize, "Oh no! I'm not spending enough time with God. I guess I have to change things around a lot." Which is a reasonable conclusion to draw from the evidence, but the problem is that you can't really subtract time from your job if you're working full-time. So you try to juggle things around with your family time, but you really can't subtract a whole lot of time from them either. So you work around the nebulous third category, where you look at just what it is you do with the rest of your time. Some people have hobbies, some people have home improvement projects, and so on. Some of those things are necessary and can't be put on the side, but some of them can be. I'm not going to tell you the specifics because you know what they are in your life. I'm talking in generalities here. My point is that for most people, I suspect, God doesn't take up as much time as their job or their family.
The problem with that is that well-meaning Christians, including ourselves, think that that's a huge problem. And for some people, it really is. Workaholics and spouses/parents who neglect their families need to get that crap taken care of, pronto. But for the rest of us, we think that maybe there's something wrong with all that. "If God's really important to me, shouldn't I spend the most of my time with Him as I can?" Well, yes, but the underlying assumption behind your question is that your priorities are measured solely by the amount of time you spend on them. People working 40-50 hours a week typically don't have a lot of time to spend at home, so when they are home, they ideally devote as much time as they can to their families (obviously, my underlying assumption is that most people have families, including a spouse and/or kids. Do with that what you will). And so on and so forth. You know what this life looks like better than I do--I speak as an unemployed recently-wed video game nerd, avid reader, and movie junkie.
So what's the point of all of this? You can't measure your priorities solely based on how much time you spend doing them. Most Christians, I wager, would fail the time criterion of prioritization simply because of the realities of their lives--jobs, families, what have you. So don't get all flustered because you don't spend 40+ hours a week praying or reading the Word. It's just not going to happen. What you can do is do more with the time that you have, without using your busyness as an excuse to neglect God entirely. I am not saying that you should. All I am saying is that quality of time with God is more important than quantity of time, when it comes down to it. A guy can spend three hours a day solely focused on providing his wife attention and still have a miserable relationship with her. In the same way, you can spend three hours a day praying and reading, and not have a whole lot to show for it because you're too concerned with giving God x amount of time. Instead, concern yourself with the time that you have, and give Him as much as you are able. Judging time spent is the most seemingly obvious way for you, and others, to appraise your priorities. But this isn't about the externals. It's about your soul.
I write about faith, politics, and culture; and assume that others are interested in what I have to say.
19 July 2011
Priorities.
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