The Silent Holocron

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (KJV)

I was asked a very good question this week. What does it mean to humble yourself before God? This is a critical question for those of us who are Christians, so I decided to devote a blogpost to this topic. Let’s jump right in.

What is humility?
C.J. Mahaney states that humility, as the Bible defines it, is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness. The word “humble” is used 73 times in the Bible (in the English Standard Version), and nearly every single occurrence of the word is in the context of acknowledging one’s sinfulness before a holy God. An example that sums up this definition is found in 2 Kings 22:18-20:

But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD. Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king. (Emphasis mine)

Notice that to humble oneself is to be penitent before God, especially after hearing His word. To be penitent is to be regretful or remorseful of one’s sin, to repent of sin, and to seek God’s forgiveness for sin. It recognizes that one is hopeless apart from God’s grace towards us. It throws oneself in desperate trust on His mercy.

The New Covenant expands on humility
But that’s not all. This is very much an Old Testament definition so far. In those 73 instances of the word humble we see some remarkable fleshing out of the word once we start seeing New Testament examples. While it is certainly evident in the Old Testament, in the New Testament we see a much greater emphasis on the source of the Old Testament commands: pride. Jesus defined pride in its relationship to humility in this way: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12)

So we see that pride is exalting oneself, to think of one self more highly than others, including God. Directly addressing this, Paul wrote to the Roman church, “I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think….” (Romans 12:3) We are not to have unreasonable pride in ourselves. Why should we be proud of ourselves at all? After all, we are wretched sinners who deserve only Hell! “There are none who are righteous, no, not one; there are none who understand, no one who seeks after God!” (Romans 3:10-11)

God Opposes Pride
Why is pride so bad? Because it directly challenges God. Remember, humility is acknowledging our sinfulness and need for God’s grace. Instead of desperately trusting God’s grace to remedy our desperately sinful condition, pride stands up and says There’s nothing wrong with me! I’m just fine the way I am! I don’t need God’s mercy! I don’t need Jesus! I can handle it! I’ll take care of my problems! I can get to heaven on my own strength!

What a crock of rancid yak butter.

Scripture repeatedly warns us that those who refuse to humble themselves before God suffer dire consequences. For example, God through Moses and Aaron asked Pharaoh, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” (Exodus 10:3) We all know what happened there – plagues, horrible plagues, culminating with the death of every firstborn Egyptian son. All through Scripture are examples of those who refused to acknowledge their sinfulness before God and paid the price. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

Scripture tells us that God actively opposes the proud, while actively assisting the humble. “The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.” (Psalm 147:6) “He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.” (Proverbs 3:34) “For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.” (Psalm 149:4) Sometimes God allows things to happen in our lives to force us to stop getting a big head. Our bubble needs bursting! Sometimes all we need to end a time of trial, struggle and suffering is to stop, step back, take a deep breath, and say, “Ok, Lord. I get it. Help me to meditate on my sinful attitudes and actions, to beg your forgiveness, and trust that Jesus has secured your forgiveness forever on the cross.”

How To Cultivate Humility
With all this, how can we learn to be humble? What can we do to cultivate an attitude of humility in ourselves? C.J. Mahaney, again, has some excellent suggestions for us to meditate on.

ALWAYS:

1. Reflect on the wonder of the cross of Christ.

AS EACH DAY BEGINS:

1. Begin your day by acknowledging your dependence upon God and your need for God.
2. Begin your day expressing gratefulness to God.
3. Practice spiritual disciplines — prayer, study of God’s Word, worship. Do this consistently each day and at the day’s outset, if possible.
4. Seize your commute time to memorize and meditate on Scripture.
5. Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.

AS EACH DAY ENDS:

1. At the end of the day, transfer the glory to God.
2. Before going to sleep, receive this gift of sleep from God and acknowledge His purpose for sleep.

FOR SPECIAL FOCUS:

1. Study the attributes of God.
2. Study the doctrines of grace.
3. Study the doctrine of sin.
4. Play golf as much as possible. (Stephen’s note: or some activity that gives your mind release)
5. Laugh often, and laugh often at yourself.

THROUGHOUT YOUR DAYS AND WEEKS:

1. Identify evidences of grace in others.
2. Encourage and serve others each and every day.
3. Invite and pursue correction.
4. Respond humbly to trials.

I have not attempted to treat this subject exhaustively, but rather to define what it means to be humble, why it’s important, and to give us some suggestions for cultivating humility. I’m indebted to C.J. Mahaney’s short book Humility: True Greatness in putting this post together.

Resources on Humility
C.J. Mahaney – Humility: True Greatness
Wayne A. Mack – Humility: The Forgotten Virtue
William P. Farley – Gospel-Powered Humility
Stuart Scott – From Pride to Humility: A Biblical Perspective
Donald Whitney – Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
John Bunyan – The Fear of God

This is a therapeutic post. I’m sorta preaching at myself right now. Bear with me.

So, I’ve been pushed into a corner today. I was exhausted from a long day of classes without much sleep. Allowed myself to get angry, I did. Wanted to load both chambers and blast away. And I didn’t particularly care what happened to the target. What could possibly have riled me up so much? Politics? No. Religion? No. Could it have been…Kentucky fans??? Nope.

What bothered me so much today was a busybody.

What Is A Busybody?
A busybody is someone who, quite simply, sticks their nose in your business. This sort of person feels as if they need to know everything going on around them, including everyone else’s business. Usually someone with a lot of idle time, the busybody attempts to fill that time by prying into the lives of those around them.

A busybody could be a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend, a family member, or some other person who would otherwise be uninterested. If the busybody is a friend or acquaintance, they are likely a gossip looking for goodies to share with others. If a family member, they may be gossips as well, or simply trying to be the one “in control” of the family. These family members are usually someone outside of your immediate family – an aunt, uncle, brother, sister, parent, or parent-in-law. If someone else, such as a neighbor or otherwise uninterested party, likely this busybody is just someone looking to make trouble by exerting false control over the lives of others.

Busybodies are tattletales. That’s why most gossips are also busybodies. More often busybodies are the investigative reporters for the gossips, uncovering the latest dirt on you for the rumor mill. They have to tell someone about whatever it is they saw about you that they did not like. Usually their information is not complete; they did not see the entire situation or conversation they are nosing into, they may not know whatever inside knowledge may be present (inside jokes, slang, behaviors, etc.). And the busybody, quite frankly, doesn’t care. They are quite ready to act upon their incomplete knowledge by exerting the false control they perceive themselves to possess.

You could have a bad day at work, or your kids could be having a bad day and throw a fit in public, or it could even be something as mundane and silly as lingering a couple of days before mowing the yard; these are gold mines for busybodies. They are like peeping toms who sneak around and snoop in your windows.

Busybodies often make you want to punch them squarely in the nose. Often you may find yourself saying things like:

“Don’t you have more important things to do than worry about what I’m doing?”

“I don’t see how it’s any of your concern…”

“Don’t you have enough on your own plate?”

“Butt out!”

Often in my secular employment I would tell those of my employees who would “busybody” their teammates something along these lines: “Why don’t you worry about what you’re supposed to be doing, and let me worry about what they’re supposed to be doing?”

What we lack, obviously, is a God-honoring way to deal with the busybodies in our lives.

What Does Scripture Say?
Scripture says that busybodies are idle people who are neglecting their work and go around looking for negative things in the people around them, often to share with others as gossip or to share with an authority figure to make themselves look better (2 Thess. 3:11-12; 1 Tim. 5:13). Busybodies, whether unknowingly or by character, show themselves to be evil-hearted people (Romans 1:28-31). Quite frankly, to be a busybody is to be in sin.

How do we deal with those who are in sin?

Pray
First, we must pray for the busybody above all else. Looking first to prayer directly combats the desire in us to respond in a less than loving way. When your first impulse is to tell them off, make some sort of appropriately snarky comment, or complain to your boss; take a full two minutes to pray. Pray for the busybody, yourself, and the situation. Prayer forces you to calm down. It forces you to breathe. It lowers your blood pressure. It helps you to clear your thoughts. Most importantly, prayer will force you to think Jesus’ thoughts about the busybody. And when you behave like Jesus, you can respond with grace and truth. 1 Peter 2:23 especially speaks to the kind of behavior Jesus exhibited – refusing to repay evil with evil. Praying will force you to do that!

After praying, you may actually find that you have no need to give the busybody any further time and energy. This is absolutely fantastic – all you needed to do was pray!

Process
Second, process what the busybody is saying to you or to others. Have you given the busybody a legitimate reason to butt in? For example, perhaps in the past you had been careless, overlooked something, were ignorant of something, ignored something, or were simply unaware of something. The busybody may simply be harping on a past mistake in hopes you will repeat it or get angry with them, thus giving them the chance to exert their false control. Or perhaps you have continued the observed behavior without realizing it, which gave the busybody ample opportunity to glean the “dirt” they need in order to survive. In this case, thank God for the busybody drawing the item to your attention – the busybody was God’s means of pushing you towards greater sanctification. But what if, after processing, you can think of no legitimate reason for the busybody’s unwanted attentions?

Lovingly confront
Third, lovingly confront the busybody. You should do this even with an unbeliever, no matter how much you may think the unbelieving busybody needs to be smacked upside the head with a 2 x 4! Follow the principles outlined in Matthew 18:15-17 scrupulously. First go to the busybody privately and explain to them you do not appreciate what they are doing. Explain to them (yes, use Scripture!) that what they are doing is sin and affects everyone around them. Explain to them how it makes the home, workplace, extended family, etc. an unhealthy place for everyone involved as long as this behavior continues. Ask them point blank to stop.

If the busybody continues to get up in your business, find a couple of trusted neighbors, friends, family, or co-workers and together confront the busybody. If even then the behavior continues, you have a couple of options.

If the busybody is a co-worker, you will then need to discuss the problem with your immediate supervisor. Often a word from management can stop the behavior in its tracks. If your boss does nothing or refuses to address the problem, follow the appropriate steps your work has put into place for dealing with workplace harassment.

If the busybody is a family member, you may need to speak with the person’s parents or spouse about the behavior. Tell them you need your help resolving an issue with the person. A good parent will correct the behavior, and a good spouse will lead their husband or wife to be better people. If they are unmarried, or out of their parents’ home, go to the family member that holds the most influence over the busybody and ask them for help.

If the busybody is a believer, does he/she attend your church? If so, ask your pastor or pertinent pastoral staff member for help. They should help you follow through on the remainder of Matthew 18.

Doesn’t attend your church? Be careful here. It would be best to still go to your pastoral staff for help, as often pastors in a community know each other and are working together in some ways for the good of the community. Initially, do not tell your pastor who the busybody is out of respect for a fellow believer and the other body of Christ involved. If your pastor and the other pastor decide a meeting is needed, then you are free to identify the busybody.

What if the busybody is not a believer? If you have followed the steps outlined above, follow up with the Gospel. A busybody’s greatest need is not to stop their gossipy meddling, but to be transformed by Christ that their minds may be renewed by the Holy Spirit. Remember also that in dealing with one who professes to be a believer, failure to repent and change is a sign that the person is not saved. Our duty then is no longer edifying the body of Christ, but sharing the Gospel and making disciples. Only regeneration and sanctification will change a busybody!

What if there is NO change?
If, after all this, the busybody refuses to change their ways, then I have a hard question to ask of you. Are you willing to suffer at the hands of the busybody that God may sanctify you (Romans 5:3-5, 8:16-26; Phil. 1:29; Heb. 2:10, 10:32-36)? Are you willing to “share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:3)?”

Finally, heed the wise words of 1 Peter 5:10 – “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Patiently endure the busybody, that you might receive a greater benefit from God himself.

Finally
I said this was a “therapeutic” post, that I was effectively preaching to self here. It really was therapeutic. It reminded me of the high calling to which I have been called, and my Scriptural need to be above thinking like the world. Instead, I need to be transformed in my mind (Romans 12:2) that I may present Christ clearly to the busybody through my words and actions.

I’m now far calmer than I was when I began writing this post. I’m more clearheaded. And I’m actually at the point where I simply don’t care anymore. That, my friends, is exactly what God wants from me – to care more about HIS nosiness than that of the WORLD!

Watch this.

And then tell all your friends and family to watch it, too.

And then ask yourself why we are not making a bigger stink about this than we are about combat deaths or capital punishment. Especially given the social significance of it.

We don’t even make as big a stink about lost people as we do about combat deaths or capital punishment, for crying out loud. Watch this, be humbled, repent, and ask others to do the same.

While thinking through some issues raised by Voddie Baucham’s What He Must Be If He Wants to Marry My Daughter, I was hit with one of those moments where the pieces fit, the light comes on, and one has no choice but to say “ah-ha.” Here is my realization: God’s sovereignty works in the same way parenting does.

What do I mean by that?

See, there’s the age-old question of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility — often posed, and I think wrongly, as predestination vs. free will. As I thought through the implications of raising my children “in the nurture and instruction of the Lord,” I was thinking about this passage from Baucham’s book:

Several years ago when Jasmine (Baucham’s daughter) was much younger, a family friend went through a difficult divorce. The breakup did not come as a surprise. It was obvious that theirs was not a God-honoring, biblically functioning marriage, and the handwriting had been on the wall for quite some time.

As things began to work themselves out and the dust began to settle, we talked with our children about the pain and high cost of divorce. As we took advantage of this teachable moment, Jasmine said something that I’ll never forget. She looked at me, shook her head, and said, “Daddy, I’m glad I’ve got you to pick my husband.” She was dead serious. She had just witnessed the consequences that often accompany a decision to marry an unworthy man, and although she wasn’t old enough to understand it all, she did understand that her father was there to protect her.

I have no intention of picking Jasmine’s husband for her. We do not advocate arranged marriages. Nor was that my daughter’s understanding of the process. She was merely acknowledging what she had been taught all her life — the fact that her father intends to play an active role in the process of finding and evaluating potential suitors.

As I read, lessons learned from Baucham’s previous book, Family Driven Faith, came back to me. I realized that what Baucham wanted me to understand was that everything I do as a parent influences the decisions my children will make when they are older. Whether my actions are intentional or unintentional, my children will learn how to approach life by my example. And as such I must make sure that I am a godly father obeying God’s command to “manage my household well.”

Unbidden, Proverbs 16:9 came to mind: “The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Ah-ha!

My children’s decisions are their own, but they are unavoidably shaped by my intentions for them as their father. Will I have raised my children to make strong, biblically faithful decisions that will bless them and glorify God? Or will I have raised them to follow after the traditions and philosophies of this world? Worse still, what have I unintentionally taught my children that might instill unwanted values in them? What a serious, serious responsibility and burden I must bear!

Then realization dawned on me: there is nothing unintentional about what God does. Every work of His hand has a purpose. Does not calamity come, unless the Lord has done it? Does not blessing come unless the Lord has given it? Does He not have mercy on whomever He wills, and harden whomever He wills?

My role as a father to my children is similar to God’s role as Creator to His creatures. His every intention influences our every decision, for good or for ill. And there are no unintentional moves with God. Every decision we make is under His control. He has planned for each decision, and determined which influences he will bring into our lives to affect them long before we were born. His influences are designed to bring about a certain end result. Just as I now determine which influences I want affecting my children’s decisions to bring about a desired result in their lives. Yet in both cases, our decisions are really our own. The heart of my children plan their way, but I have directed their steps!

The major difference between myself as a parent and God as our Father is that nothing can thwart the influences He has planned. As He is perfect, all-knowing and all-powerful; He knows exactly what must happen in each person’s life to bring about His desired result, and He does makes it happen. We merely acknowledge what we have been taught all our lives to the point of each decision. Our decisions are truly “free” yet God has “determined” from eternity how those decisions will come about. We really do what we want; yet all proceeds as God has decreed from the foundations of the world.

Realizing there is no conflict between God’s sovereignty and my responsibility, I shudder at the knowledge that God has made the role of parent such a mirror of who He is. I am unworthy to bear this mantle He has placed on me. So are we all, yet He calls each of us to be husbands, wives, and parents after His own heart. Just as God raises us up in the way He has determined we shall go, and we do not depart from it; so should we strive to raise our children.

This just in from Mr. Frank Turk:

The problem is not that there’s too much conservatism: it’s that there’s a lot of unfounded, flabby conservatism running around with plastic fishes attached to it rather than a robust, young, and dangerous conservatism riding around on the fat, noisy Harley which is the Gospel.

And that ladies and gentlemen, is what Christianity needs. Good night and God bless.

I have just been wowed by this gem discovered by Phil Johnson of Team Pyromaniacs. It’s from a very old issue of Harper’s Magazine. Go here to read the post. The wow part:

In the course of his sermon Mr. Spurgeon presented the following picture of the Day of Judgment: “I think I see the judgment seat and the resurrection-day, A mother with her children are standing there. Three or four of her little babes are saved for endless glory. Their little bodies have put on immortality and life; and where are you who have been permitted to live longer? The stars fire falling from heaven, the sun is changed to darkness, and the moon into blood. But, lo! there is silence in heaven, and a voice is heard, ‘Gather my elect from the four winds of heaven! Your mother is about to be taken into the company of the blessed forever. ‘Mother!’ shrieks the son, ‘lean not be separated from you forever, Save me! Oh, save me! make intercession to the judge for me. He will hear thy cry, though he will not hear mine!’ ‘My son,’ she will reply, ‘I directed thy feet to God when thou wast young. On my breast you lay when my prayers went up to God for your soul. I taught you to lisp the name of Jesus, and your lips to utter his precious name. Do you not remember how, when you grew older, I taught you the way to heaven? But the time came when you scorned a father’s prayers and mocked a mother’s tears. But now your mother says, now, my son, it is changed. I can weep no more now, for I am glorified. I can pray no more for you now, for prayers are useless here. You are justly lost. You are damned, and I must say Amen to your condemnation.’”

Yikes.

Father, I pray that you will make my wife and I faithful and successful witnesses of the Gospel of your Son Jesus Christ to all the children you have foreordained to bless us with.

Thanks for joining as I blog through Don Whitney’s Ten Questions for the New Year. For previous posts in the series click here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?
I want to establish habits of diligence and discernment. In the last year we have learned the necessity of sticking to our family budget, as it has kept the bills paid and food on the table, and allowed us to see God provide even when we weren’t sticklers for our budget. I feel the best way to honor God in this area is to be diligent in following our budget, since we want to commit to paying off all debt in the next couple of years.

Since diligence generally means “caution,” one thing I have learned from 2008 (and 2007) is that I must be cautious about those who are church members or even friends. Not all who are your sheep, nor many who are supposedly “good friends,” have your best interests at heart, especially in Deaf ministry. I’ve seen church members who I thought were trustworthy turn against me; I’ve seen people I’ve been good friends with for nearly 10 years — pastors and others — spread horrible gossip and bear false witness about me to my pastor and others. By God’s grace I’ve been protected so far, but I’ve learned a valuable ministry lesson: be careful who your friends are. People I went to seminary with and other pastors had in the past shared similar stories with me; one even went so far as to say there was “a target on his back.” I know now what he means, and when I pray for him these days I pray with understanding.

This ties in with the habit of discernment. I need to be a better judge, not just of personal things like our finances, actions and such, but of people and situations. I’ve learned a lot from watching and listening to my pastor, who along with his wife has an incredible gift of discernment. They have developed this gift over 30+ years of ministry, and I’ve been astounded at times to see it at work. They are sensitive to things I wouldn’t even notice or give second thought to. Oftentimes my pastor notices something “isn’t quite right” and has been praying about it for weeks before I even realize something is going on! In fact, it was my immaturity in this area that was my undoing in the situations related above. If I want to be a good, effective pastor I must be discerning as the Lord leads. So this year I want to consciously practice the discipline of discernment. The only way I’ll get better in my judgment is to practice judgment prayerfully.

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
Have an established time of prayer. I mentioned before in #4 that I usually pray anywhere, anytime, whenever the need comes or something strikes me to pray, and that I have always been this way. This comes from being taught early in my Christian life to “pray without ceasing.” I was taught I should pray no matter what I am doing at any given moment. Obviously, this made it difficult to have established prayer times, since “quiet time” was presented as “personal Bible study time.” Instead I want to make prayer a discipline, something done intentionally. Rather than being random, spur of the moment, situational, and seat of the pants; I want to take time to think through what needs to be prayed for. I want to, as Paul wrote in Romans 8, pray together with the Holy Spirit. The only way I currently know to do that is to be thoughtful, deliberate and intentional about praying. I know my Pentecostal/Charismatic friends are going to get on me for this.

I’ll stop here and tomorrow we’ll get into the final question!

Thanks for joining as I blog through Don Whitney’s Ten Questions for the New Year. For previous posts in the series click here: Part 1, Part 2

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
I actually am not quite sure of the answer to this one. I need to have a good, thoughtful discussion with our senior pastor before I can give a good answer. There are several areas in which our church is in great need of strengthening, and I’m not sure which one is the most urgent and important – they all seem urgent and important!

Our people need to learn to spend significant time in the Word and in prayer. They need to learn to commit themselves to faithful church attendance and service. They need to learn what it means to live lives of holiness. They need to learn to be strong witnesses in our community. All of these things are very basic to what it means to live a “Christian” life. That makes it very difficult to pick just one!

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
As far as our Deaf people go, I’m going to keep this one to myself. Beyond this, I have determined to pray for the salvation of my co-workers and employees at work. I will pray that God will bring me and other believers at work opportunities to speak the Gospel into their lives; that he will place people in their lives outside of work that will share the truth with them; and that he will bring those of them that he has appointed to eternal life to himself that he might be glorified in them. Our company is a great, great place to work; it is also a vast untapped mission field. I want God to be glorified at UPS not only through the work and character of believers there, but through the witness of the truth we share through that work, character, and words.

I could go ahead and give a couple more questions, but this is a weird day, so I will stop here. Next time we will look at questions 8 and 9.

Thanks for joining me as I blog through Don Whitney’s Ten Questions for the New Year. To see the first two questions, click here.

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
Begin a regular practice of family devotions. We started that on January 1 by starting the Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible reading plan. I fully expect we will have fits and starts, and I don’t expect us to be 100% faithful as we seek to establish this habit. We won’t seek perfection in this but simply to establish the habit of family worship. If we miss a day, we won’t try to catch up but simply pick up at the current reading. This year all I’m interested in doing is getting us to have a daily time of Scripture reading and prayer. Perhaps later we can work devotions in. This habit of family spirituality is one that I have become deeply convicted about over the past year as Tricia and I realized that we were going to be a family, and of course as the man of the house that responsibility falls to me. If I want our marriage to be a godly marriage, and our daughter to grow up to be a godly, Proverbs 31 woman, having regular family worship is absolutely necessary.

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
Scripture reading and prayer. As a pastor and seminary graduate, the easiest thing for me to do is to immediately read Scripture as something to be studied, exegeted, and preached. While that is all well and good, I firmly believe I cannot study, exegete, and preach God’s Word unless I am first immersed in Scripture as a reading habit. To this end as we follow the M’Cheyne reading plan I will be using it to do just that — immerse myself in the Word simply by reading it. I won’t try to study it unless I’m using a reading as sermon material. I freely admit this is not a habit I’ve had since the end of my college days and shortly after my first year of seminary. I feel I need to un-learn some of the habits that plague many seminary students/graduates and pastors where their time in Scripture is concerned. You might say I’ve found that I need to re-connect with Scripture much in the way men who find themselves in a period of “busy-ness” need to take time to re-connect with their wives and children. It is not simply “touching base,” but a serious, intentional immersion in the things that one loves and is interested in. It is good for a believer to periodically refocus on Scripture in this way.

I also want to be more intentional about my prayer life. I usually pray anywhere, anytime, whenever the need comes or something strikes me to pray. I have always been this way. What I’m getting at is having a set time where I deliberately pray. I’ve had regular quiet time in the past, and likely I also will in the future, but I want to establish a “prayer closet” habit, not a quiet time. I think that I will strive to determine which part of the day I am most alert, distraction-free, and available and block at least 30 minutes of that time to prayer.

Hmm, we’ve got room for one more…

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
I need to spend less time on the computer. My wife would say computer time is my biggest time-waster. I’m actually not sure, but I’d have to agree. I don’t watch much TV anymore at all, not since I started working nights at UPS. I do most of my work (sermon prep/writing, lesson prep/writing, bill paying, blogging, etc.) on the computer. A lot of the leisure activities I do are also done on the computer. So it would seem I spend a lot of time in my home office. This means I have less time for reading Scripture, reading my books, playing with my daughter, and connecting with my wife. My wife would also say it means I do less housework.

This is an area that I have actually attempted to get under control in the past, but as both my wife and I are computer users (and I’m borderline computer geek), we have failed in this respect. I have a habit, started over 10 years ago in college, of being on the computer quite a bit during the day. Since moving to Louisville and becoming internet-savvy, the bulk of the time we spend on the computer is nothing more than internet time. And I think we can all agree the net is the biggest time-waster out there!

Somehow I need to limit my internet access during the week. I am not yet sure what this will entail, whether it means no access beyond checking email during the day or scheduling limited blocks of time for this diversion or some other thing. I will be mulling over this with Tricia as well as asking other net-savvy brothers and sisters what they have done to regulate this area of their life.

Next Time: Questions 6 and 7.