Do I have too much stuff and too little time?
I was reading an article this past week about a Christian lady who was concerned that she simply had too much stuff and decided to make her life simpler. So she started a process whereby she would examine everything she owned to see if she really needed it. If she found stuff she hadn't used or worn in a long time, she simply gave it away.
For example, she had 50 pairs of shoes, so she gave away all but about a dozen. (Of course, for guys, this isn't appropriate - we only have a couple of pairs anyway.) She did this with clothes, books, jewelry, and even things in her kitchen.
My point here is not to encourage us all to give away stuff we don't need - even though that isn't a bad idea - but to transfer this idea of too much stuff to too little time.
If this woman had too much stuff she wasn't using, do you and I have the same problem with time. Are our "time-closets" filled to overflowing with too much to do? Do we, as one young couple I know, have something scheduled for every evening of the week including weekends? Is our life a series of commitments to soccer, band, gym, ball games, etc? Is there too much stuff like this in our life? WHY?
What is it about American culture which leads us - particularly those with children - to do everything we possibly can, not only for ourselves but for our children? Do your kids belong to several activity groups all at the same time? Do your own activities fill in the remaining time? And the big question, how much time does God get in your schedule?
WHY? Why do we feel the need to fill our time with stuff? "Well, I like to do a lot of things and so I do a lot of things?" OK, but do those things include God? And I know that we can also become so committed to church activities that we still have no time for God. So the question really is, how much balance is there in your life? The balance I am speaking about is (1) between your hobbies (maybe even your work) and your Christian service and activity, and (2) between your Christian activity and your personal and family time. (I do not consider going to some one's sporting event a family activity.) I mean where the emphasis is on being TOGETHER, doing things to enjoy one another.
Does your life need to be simplified? Not by removing stuff, but by removing activities? Do your kids do too much? Do you do too much? Do you have adequate spiritual time?
What do you think?
Charlie
I was reading an article this past week about a Christian lady who was concerned that she simply had too much stuff and decided to make her life simpler. So she started a process whereby she would examine everything she owned to see if she really needed it. If she found stuff she hadn't used or worn in a long time, she simply gave it away.
For example, she had 50 pairs of shoes, so she gave away all but about a dozen. (Of course, for guys, this isn't appropriate - we only have a couple of pairs anyway.) She did this with clothes, books, jewelry, and even things in her kitchen.
My point here is not to encourage us all to give away stuff we don't need - even though that isn't a bad idea - but to transfer this idea of too much stuff to too little time.
If this woman had too much stuff she wasn't using, do you and I have the same problem with time. Are our "time-closets" filled to overflowing with too much to do? Do we, as one young couple I know, have something scheduled for every evening of the week including weekends? Is our life a series of commitments to soccer, band, gym, ball games, etc? Is there too much stuff like this in our life? WHY?
What is it about American culture which leads us - particularly those with children - to do everything we possibly can, not only for ourselves but for our children? Do your kids belong to several activity groups all at the same time? Do your own activities fill in the remaining time? And the big question, how much time does God get in your schedule?
WHY? Why do we feel the need to fill our time with stuff? "Well, I like to do a lot of things and so I do a lot of things?" OK, but do those things include God? And I know that we can also become so committed to church activities that we still have no time for God. So the question really is, how much balance is there in your life? The balance I am speaking about is (1) between your hobbies (maybe even your work) and your Christian service and activity, and (2) between your Christian activity and your personal and family time. (I do not consider going to some one's sporting event a family activity.) I mean where the emphasis is on being TOGETHER, doing things to enjoy one another.
Does your life need to be simplified? Not by removing stuff, but by removing activities? Do your kids do too much? Do you do too much? Do you have adequate spiritual time?
What do you think?
Charlie
Labels: Too Much Stuff-Too Little Time
posted by Charlie | 9:08 AM
1 Comments:
Yes, I think we have too much stuff. Due to a recent move, I found this out. As for time, we can say we don't have the time to do something, but it really comes down to what we consider a priority. We make time for what we want. What number is worship and prayer on our lists?
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