The Weekly Epistle 12/7/22

Hi Church,
Seen on a church sign, “We care about you, Sundays 10 AM” (only at 10 AM we care?).
Another sign said, “Don’t let worries kill you. Let the church help.” Or “We love hurting people.”
Mixed messages not only show up on signs. The frown on our face and the song we sing about joy in our hearts. The values we embrace and the time we give to live those values out, don’t always line up. God continues to remind me of the importance of closing the gap between what I say is important and what is actually lived out in practice during the week.
Someone might say, “I value time with my family” but then there is very little time in the schedule for meals with the family, or sharing in the kids’ bedtime routine, or attending a child’s recital, sports activity, or achievement award night. A person might say, “fellowship with other believers is important”, yet pass on community groups, or inviting others to their home or take the time at church to connect with others. A person might say, “I want the benefits of a disciplined life, but with minimum effort.”
What if someone observed you during the week. What would they conclude about your values by watching you? A person can observe a lot about what you value by following you around during the week.
My intention is not to lay on guilt, but for each of us (that means me) to evaluate any disconnect between what we say we value and our activities during the week. How have you seen the need to live out your values more consistently? What changes need to be made to the use of our time? “Many people don’t want to make good decisions; they want to make painless ones” (Haddon Robinson). Isn’t that often the case? We know we should make some changes, but we just don’t want it to hurt.
In an earlier epistle I spoke to the stewardship of our money and the manner and attitude in which we are to give. Did you know we are to be good stewards of our time? We are to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:15-17). Scripture speaks often of using our time wisely.
As humans we love to “smorgasbord.” We want to do it all! We live on the notion that more is better. It has led to more stress, indecisiveness, lack of motivation, and in worse case scenarios, burn-out, depression, serious physical health problems, and depletion of energy.
Has God called us to over-extend ourselves? Has God given us more to do than we are able to do? Your pastor (me) continues to wrestle with this on a personal level. As the saying goes, “If you think I have a finger pointing at you, there are three fingers pointing back at myself.”
This is an exciting journey we are on together to make the most of the time we have, in the season of life we are in, in order to finish well!
Blessings to you, Pastor Brian