2011-10-04 - My Arm-Breaking Bible

Recently at church, I was carrying an overflowing tote bag as usual, with supplies for a meeting and then Bible study. I left home with a full bag, and then I acquired more items at the church. By the time I left, I could barely carry the bag; it felt like it was going to break my arm. The bag weighed about 20 pounds, and I already have a little bit of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in one arm. So I thought perhaps I should take something out of the bag in the future, to make it easier to carry. As the heaviest item in the bag, my big old hard-backed Bible seemed the obvious choice. So I started to remove it. Then I thought to myself, "What on Earth am I doing!" I'm going to Bible study, and the first thing I try to leave behind is the Bible? Where are my priorities?! So I decided to "cut corners," weight-wise, at other places. A little here, a little there, and my bag "shrank" back down to 15 pounds, a more manageable weight for toting it from one place to another.

Sometimes our lives are that way too, cluttered with good but non-essential activities and occupations, that can gradually crowd out the more important ones. Perhaps we spend a little too much time, energy or mony on shopping (did I hear some "ouches" out there?) or weight loss or anything else that is not inherently evil, but can be overdone (and if there is anything America is obsessing about and worshipping right now, it is weight!). As the Apostle Paul said, most things are just fine "in moderation," but that's a vital qualifier. We can overdo anything. And though the Bible teaches that we should all be involved in a local church, even that can be taken too far (please see the movie "The Preacher's Wife" for a marvelous example of that).

We would do well to remember what the Apostle Paul taught us in Ephesians 5:15-16 Act like people with good sense and not like fools. 16 These are evil times, so make every minute count. (Contemporary English Version)

What is the arm-breaker or spirit-breaker in your life, where you need to cut back - or even delete it - from your life? I would love to hear from you, as you think this through. I always enjoy hearing from you guys.

Jan
http://www.cfdevotionals.org