Troublesome Topic: My Favorite Place
Lesson 3 of 8Is the Placed I Spend My Leisure Time the Kind of Place God Can Make His Favorite Place Too?
In the Former Covenant God placed His copy of the summary of the covenant in the same place as the copy belonging to the Israelites. What is the corresponding truth for the New Covenant? God has not written His New Covenant on stone or papyrus, but on human hearts (i.e. our inner being) (see Jer 31:33). God’s most special place is now my most important place, my inner being, which is comprised of my mind, will, spirit, and soul.
Where do we spend our free time, and what do we do with that time? For most people that would be entertaining themselves with their phones. Are these activities things that God can join us in? I fear that in most instances, the time we spend on our cell phones is time spent satisfying self, therefore, it is taking us away from God rather than closer to God.
You may ask, “Can’t I just relax for a spell? Does everything have to be about spiritual growth?” We must remember that our enemy never relaxes and he seems to benefit most from the times when our minds are in neutral. So never relax from spiritual watchfulness. And yes, basically everything should be about growing spiritually in the midst of life’s difficulties. In contrast we have placed such a high value on entertaining ourselves at all times, even when we should be doing something else, that we have opened the door for whatever the enemy of our souls wants to send us through that entertainment.
Besides the temptations and the negative influence that the instruments of information and entertainment bring us, we should be concerned about the use of our time. My family deserves my attention, the house or a car often needs some attention, and I always have more stuff I want to research, read or write about. There are people to stay in touch with. There is never a lack of things to do. So why should I waste my time sitting in front of the TV screen or a computer screen doing things which Jesus cannot do with me? And whatever I do, He is either doing it with me or painfully waiting till I get done.
The next lesson in all three series on Covenants is: Association with the Impure Makes Me Impure