Mom’s Minute
Indulged or Challenged?
I have a little secret. It’s actually a little secret place. I have a few secret little places; all for different purposes. Some of them are noble, like the secret place where I can get alone with God and really connect with him. I can tell you where that place is even though it’s a secret, because YOU are not banging the door down to get in, but I’ll have to tell you in the form of a riddle. The secret place where I get alone with God is in the mostly tiled room in the house where everyone, including those being potty trained, are usually always productive.
Another secret place I have is where I go to take out my frustrations (besides the afore-mentioned place). I actually have two places where I can go for that: either my exercise machine or my cluttered garage. This is where I start throwing out things like battered holiday wreaths, my husband’s heirlooms or my children’s orphaned toys, shoes, or anything else that goes to the land of the forgotten. That always provides some relief.
But the best secret place of all is the place where I go to get instant gratification. Even thinking about it makes me feel a little guilty. Especially because I despise those two words. You probably just re-read that last sentence to try to figure out which two words I said that were so bad. Are they “little guilty”? “Even thinking”? (some days!) The two words that I have fought against for most of my life are “instant gratification”. They’re not just words. They grow into a lifestyle, a mentality and a death sentence. Spiritual death, I mean.
Anytime we indulge ourselves in something we’re seeking pleasure from, we deny God the opportunity to use us for something other than ourselves. I’m not saying we can’t enjoy any pleasure in this life. But we have to have the proper perspective. If we give ourselves constant opportunities to indulge, we don’t have any time, energy, or resources left to give to God. If our stomachs are never empty, are taste-buds never denied, our obsessions always practiced and our calendar always full, how can God speak to us about the needs of others? There are lonely women in our neighborhoods without Jesus and distant sisters-in-the-Lord that are being martyred for the faith. They need us to clear our heads, stomachs and calendars to let God tell us ways we can minister to them. It doesn’t happen any other way. God needs a quiet mind, heart and soul that comes to Him longing to be satisfied with Himself and the things of Him. Are we going everywhere else? Our time, money, and talents being squandered on the “stuff of earth” that fades away, while God and His kingdom are being neglected?
It’s not God who is missing out. It’s you. If you believe that God has ordained all your days, don’t you think that He has ordained each of your days to spend time with Him? If you opt out, you miss out. God is still there, but He can’t speak to you if your mind, appetite, and money are going in the opposite direction.
There are a few little questions that I ask myself to make sure that I have the proper perspective:
1.Am I spending too little/too much time:
-cleaning my house
-exercising
-eating right
2.Am I indulging myself and my family in:
-too much sugar
-too much media
-too much worldly pleasure
3.What am I doing as a daughter of the King to build His kingdom
4.Do I make time for God and His people, or do I make excuses?
5.Have I given myself over as a tool in God’s hands to mold my children into the image of Christ, or have I allowed the “tools” of the world to mold my children into its image?
6.Do I give the best of myself to something that is temporary, or to Someone Who is eternal?
These are just a few, little questions that go through my mind frequently. If I ask these questions in the presence of the Lord, He always gives me the means to do His will. If I ask these questions to seek approval from others, I always feel condemnation. If we live for Him, our deepest needs will be satisfied. If we live for ourselves, we’ll always be looking for that next pleasure that will satisfy a temporary desire.
I don’t have to tell you where that last secret place is because you already know it. You’re a Mom. It’s wherever you have your chocolate stashed!!
Prayer for Moms: Heavenly Father, please help me to live as a daughter of the King and not squander your treasures on the fruitless pleasures of the world. Help me to build up the treasures you’ve given me in my husband and children to pursue Your Kingdom and Your righteousness. Thank you for your love and your grace that makes me lie down in green pastures and not live under condemnation. In your precious, holy name, Amen!
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