April 2006 Rec Connection [Tuning Out]
Tuning Out - Part 1
"Be still, and know that I am God."
For the past several weeks I've had this idea nagging at me and it just won't go away. I've tried to dismiss it as just another one of my half baked fixations, but this one has some real stick to it. After much pondering I've decided that this problem might not apply just to me, so I've decided to share it with you.
I like to consider myself a pretty well-rounded and active person.
Not the likes of a Renaissance Man, more like a man of many talents and interests. I could fill up the rest of this article with nothing but my interests and hobbies. Flag football to cooking, fly fishing to hot-rod building, and
almost everything in between. You name it, I've done it. And if not, it sounds like fun and would love to try it some time! But therein lies the problem. I have too many interests. I spread my attention across so many activities that I never really excelled at any of them. I dabble, and that's it. It really boils down to...do I want to be average at a lot of things? Or really good at a few?
What about your own life? On a typical Saturday how many
directions are you going in and where is your attention? If you're like me you're always on the move and nothing really ever has your full attention. Why is that? Do we really NEED to be going so fast, or is this just the result of the choices we have made?
We live in world that is over stimulated, over scheduled, and over committed. Our culture is one that is always on the move, always connected, and always looking for the next activity. To take it a bit deeper, not only are we always going, but we are expected to be always going! Expected by our friends, family, and even ourselves. Don't believe me? How often does some variation of "you staying busy?" or "just staying busy" enter your vocabulary? In our common social interactions we often discuss "how busy we have been." This brings about 2 questions. Do you respond approvingly? And what if we said, "You know, I really haven't been doing anything." Would we be seen as a failure? Would you think someone was lazy because they spent a Saturday at home, doing nothing?
What does God think about us always being on the move? Well, if I knew exactly what God thought I'd have a much larger readership than the Rec-Connection! I can't speak for God, but I do know that if I read a book and watch TV at the same time I'm not going to get much out of either of them. How can we expect to hear the voice of God if our lives are always "on?"
Next month I'm going to talk about Tuning Out. I'll cover how to unplug from our busy lives and learn to listen for God. Let me say this upfront - we will have some tough choices to make. There are only so many hours in the day, and something has to give.
Chris Jones
Director of Recreational Ministries