Treadmill or Moving Sidewalk?

In church yesterday, the pastor had a great picture of looking at life. He compared our existence to that of either being on a treadmill or on a moving sidewalk. The treadmill, while having certain health benefits, does not get you anywhere. In spite of walking or running for 5 miles, you wind up in exactly the same place where you started. If you exercise in a gym or health club, you are tempted to look at others and see how fast or slow they are going. He suggested that this is what many believers do. They live their lives putting out a lot of effort, comparing themeselves to others, but never really getting anywhere.

In contrast to that is the moving sidewalk that actually transports you from one place to another. One of the interesting points that he made was that it only goes where the creator of the sidewalk determines it should go. When you reach the end of these machines there is often a voice indicating that you are reaching the end. The voice never asks, "Where would you like to go next?" It only goes where it was designed to go. Applying this point he suggested that as believers it is actually liberating to be on one of these because we are freed from always trying to work for God. Instead we are carried along by God to the place of His choosing.

It was a great message. As I reflected on the message throughout the day, I came to the conclusion that generally speaking, I am on the moving sidewalk. Occasionally I take a stint on the treadmill, but overall I am on the moving sidewalk. Praide God. How about you. Which one are you spending more time on today?

Trent

Evil or Wasting Time

I picked up the book Blue Like Jazz the other day. I was confronted with an old truth in the opening paragraphs of the second chapter. Miller says that the devil is not so interested in getting Christians to commit some heinous sin as he is in getting them to just waste time.

Ouch! That was like a two-by-four to the head. I have been reflecting on that ever since I read it. Thoughts of what are my time wasters. That is easy to identify. But more importantly and tougher to get a handle on is WHY do I waste my time on those things? Is it that I am so shallow that I gravitate to time wasters? Is it that I am so busy at work that I feel I need to spend time in mindlessness? Is it a way to unwind? Until I come to grips with the WHY, the WHAT is always going to be a challenge.

Trent