HOW DO WE DIVIDE OUR TIME?

READ: Ephesians 5: 15-21

“Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

and your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

and delight yourself in abundance.” Isaiah 55:2 (NASB)

A local wag asserted that supermarkets have become libraries for the masses. I didn’t fully understand his allusion until I spent some time observing shoppers at one of our local food marts. I discovered that a good percentage of the shoppers do carefully examine the labels and replace merchandise back on the shelf that does not meet their standards. One shopper confided in me that she avoids any foods whose ingredients she could not pronounce.

Although I applaud their efforts to select healthy food, I wondered if the same care was exercised in choosing their “spiritual” food. What are the ingredients of the materials feasted upon? The type of music – is it uplifting? Does it cause hearts and spirits to soar or is it just noise? What about the movies or TV Programs watched or the books so avidly read? Are they instrumental in enhancing spiritual growth? Is our Lord given “equal time”?

These are important questions and their answers are contingent on the degree of our desire to more closely model our behavior after His. Do we carefully consider what things or activities are “good” and which should probably be avoided? Is it possible that if we were more careful with our spiritual intake, that our spiritual growth and well-being would be magnified? Maybe we need to develop a list of things or activities in which we will no longer engage and stress what will enhance our spiritual growth. Care needs to be exercised that our “list” does not duplicate the rigid strictures of the Pharisees but rather through seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we develop a framework to develop a healthy spiritual diet as well as a physical one.