Preventative Measure

So this past Sunday I spent some time talking about the issue of lust - specifically gluttony and sexual immorality.  I spent a bunch of time talking about how we should run away.  How when we are presented with a temptation to sin our first inclination should be to run as fast as we can from the very thing that is tempting us.  We shouldn't delay.  We shouldn't doddle.  We should run.  Run fast.  Run far.

Although I believe that this is great advice (advice that I give myself often) I realize that it is incomplete.  There are times where we are in it too deep - addicted to something that feel we can't get out of.  We feel hopeless and lost.  Is there steps we can take, measures that we can put in place to help us deal with our feelings of lust and become the people that God desires for us to be?  I believe the answer is a resounding "YES!"

There are some of you that are being mastered by a form of gluttony or lust.  The best things for you to do is quit cold turkey!  You know that if you don't do this you will continually be mastered by it.  Alcohol is a good example.  There are people who can drink with moderation, but there are those who cannot.  Those who cannot drink with moderation need to quit cold turkey. Those who are dealing with sin and you know it  need to quit cold turkey.  You need to run away from it and never look back!  But how do we not look back?  How do we exercise the will-power God gives us to make sure we don't go back down this road again?

#1- You need to avoid putting yourself in surroundings that will tempt you to sin.
If you have issues with alcohol you need to stay away from bars, restaurants with bars, grocery stores that sell alcohol, etc.  If you struggle with internet pornography you need to stop using the computer.  If you still need to use a computer then you need to set up parameters so that you are unable to look at porn such as only being on the computer when someone else is with you or moving your computer to a public place in your house. If your temptation is food then you refrain from going to buffets and allow other people to order for you.

#2 - You need to get people around you who will hold you accountable.
Alcoholics need support groups.  They go to AA meetings and have sponsors.  The same should be true for all of us.  We need to get a group of people around us that will call us on the carpet and look out for us.  We need a spiritual mentor, someone who has been through what we are going through, who can impart wisdom on how they have handled their particular situation.  We also need a group of people who we can walk through life with.  A support group of sorts who can loving correct, encourage, and rebuke where needed.

#3 - You need to replace your sin with something righteous.
It is very important to replace your sin with something else - something righteous!  You cannot quit cold turkey without replacing it with something.  Let me say this - you need to make sure you do not replace your sin with another "lesser" sin.  That does nothing for your relationship with God.  You need to replace it with prayer, God's Word, service - something that God suggest we do.

#4 - Pray.
I cannot say this enough.  When you are replacing sin that has a hold onto your life you not only will need will-power, you will need, at times, supernatural power!  There will be times where the temptation feels to strong or where you will find yourself in the wrong situation.  If you can't run - pray!  If you can run, run fast while praying hard!

These are only a few steps to take, but they have worked for me.  I know from experience that if you can run away and put these habits/disciplines in your life you will have success!  Will you be perfect?  Well, we all fail, but don't use that as an excuse.  Pick yourself up, place yourself in the hands of God, find forgiveness, and start again!

Disposable Time: Today's Hot Commodity!

    I remember the good ole days when disposable income was something that most of us longed for.  The ability to have the money to do what we wanted to.  Oh, to travel to far, exotic places.  To buy a truck to replace the old beater that had far outlived its usefulness.  To get the new outfit that we saw in the department store window.  Those were the days!  When everything seemed to be slower.  Where a good conversation was as sweet as any dessert and where sundown brought a reprieve from the work of the day! Man, am I waxing nostalgic!
     The reality, to most, is that those days are long gone!  The hot commodity of the day is no longer disposable income, but disposable time!  With global transportation, government subsidized credit offers, and the presence of faster, easier technology we have entered to time of speed and constant change.  Good conversation are not spoken but texted and sundown is not a reprieve but an invitation to start the second part of our day!  We are able to do far more with far less time and, thus, invited to fill up every ounce of our time with the "stuff" of life!
     Some of you who are reading this have no problem with the last paragraph I just shared, but many of you are probably waxing nostalgic just like me.  You long for the slower pace of life where your options never outweighed your time and where you could have just as much fun laughing with your friends underneath the tree in your front yard then playing X-Box against some unknown player a half a world away! Can this ever happen again?  Is it possible to live in a slower society where we can claim our lives back from the hectic pace this world is constantly trying to spoon feed us?
     I believe the answer is "Yes!"  But before I get to that I need to say a few more things.  First, do I believe that it is possible to reclaim the slowness of the "Walton's" type of lifestyle?  No - not really!  I guess you can move to a very small community or to another sparsely populated country (something I find myself longing to do periodically!), but with technology and the speed this world is changing it is pretty close to impossible to get back to those times.  Second, I don't dislike technology.  I am using it even as you read this.  I have a laptop, an iPad, an iPod, a Wii, and a TV with HD.  I do put my foot down on a smartphone, though.  I have a basic flip phone and that is good enough for me!
      With this in mind, I do believe we can regain the commodity of time back into our lives!  The reason I believe thisis because I do not believe technology or the pace of our culture forces us to live unbalanced, fast-paced lifestyles - I believe it is our inability to say, "No" to the myriad of opportunities that surround us. It is our inability to choose what is important and our ability to hold true to those choices.
      I believe there are a number of ways we can reclaim disposable time back into our lives:

1. Take stock.  Many of us go through life making decision after decision without ever asking if the decision is the right one to be made.  When you want to get control of your money what is the first thing experts tell you to do?  They tell you that for the next 30 days keep a journal of how you spend your money. Then, at the end of the month, categorize your expenses - mortgage and housing, food, debt, entertainment, etc.  I believe we should do the same thing with our time.  If you are feeling stressed and over-committed take some time (yes, you may need to make time) and take stock in what you are doing.  Then after you do this categorize it - family, work, children, spouse, church, God, leisure, etc.  Hopefully this will give you an overall picture of what you have said "Yes" to in your life - good or bad!
2. Scrutinize your schedule.  This is where complete honesty comes into play.  You need to stop rationalizing your decisions and be very blunt about what you are deciding to do and not do.  There are categories that I have found in my life that help me in this exercise:
• "Should Not Do's".  There are things you do that you know beyond a shadow of doubt you should not be doing.  They are not good for you to do, not good for your family, and not good for the kingdom of God.
• "Don't Need to Do's".  These are things that I do because I like doing them but are not necessary for me to do to fulfill what God has put me on this earth to accomplish.  This is the hardest one to come to grips with because, many times, we like doing them.  But you can really identify these when they start affecting the really important areas of your life.
• "I Need to Do's".  These are things that you may not like to do but line up with where you are at in the stage God has put you in your life so you need to do them.
• "I Have to Do's".  These are non-negotiable's.  A perfect example is work.  Hopefully you love your job as much as I do but there are days where you go to work because you have to not because you want to.  I also pray that if you believe in Jesus you have things like church, daily scripture and prayer, etc. as have to's as well.
3. Be strategic with your schedule.  This is like setting a budget.  When you set a budget you allocate certain funds toward certain categories.  Once those monies have been spent in those areas you don't spend any more.  There is also room in budget where you set aside money to save for particular things - vacation, new car, etc.  All this to say you should budget your schedule.  You only have 24 hours in a day and we should budget our schedule accordingly.  A big majority of your schedule is for work.  Then you will need to budget some for family, spouse, children, solitude, fun, etc.  Make sure you do this diligently and stick to it.

     I want to conclude with two more thoughts.  When you are creating a schedule make sure it lines up with the Bible and what God says should be a part of your schedule.  Scripture talks about work and family as well as time for enjoyment and rest.  So make sure you are being obedient to what God desires of you.  It is important to understand that there is nothing Godly about being too busy and over-committed.  As a matter of fact, they fly contrary to what God's word says!

     Lastly, I believe our society needs to learn to say "No!"  Some of us look at this word as being evil or selfish.  On the contrary.  When you say "No" strategically in your life it is the most freeing word that you will ever say!  If you want to get back disposable time you need to learn how to say "No".  It will be uncomfortable at first and some people may not understand, but endure.  God will bless you for it!

     My wife and I are raising 6 children!  Is it insane at times?  You better believe it!  But we have found the blessings of disposable income in our lives as we spend time together as a family and with our church!  My prayer is that you will experience these same blessings in your life as well!