Stagnant

Romans 12:2 (NASB) - And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Have you ever seen the movie Wall-e? It depicts how humans have destroyed the planet and they are all on a spaceship lounging on floating recliners transfixed by the media screen right in front of their eyes. More and more lately I’m feeling like one of those humans on that spaceship. I’ve become so accustomed to coming home from work, plopping down in my recliner and either watching TV or scrolling through my phone, sometimes both at the same time. I have become stagnant, transfixed, or the best description I can think of is lazy. I’ve been listening to some Christian books on Audio that have to do with transforming my mind. I have come to realize that transforming my mind is a daily, ongoing, moment by moment requirement to live out this Christian life. It takes work. It takes focus. It takes time. None of which I have been applying myself to lately because I’m too hypnotized by my TV or my phone. It’s so much easier to zone out and forget about what needs to be my priority. An even uglier way to view this is my God is whatever I put as my priority. Have my media devices become my god? In all honesty, I believe they have. Other than my 8 hour a day job those devices are where my attention goes. That’s a horrific thing to admit. My God that loves me more than He loved himself, the one that sacrificed His one and only Son so that He could have a loving relationship with me for eternity has taken a back seat to my phone.

I remember a sermon my pastor preached years ago about the widow that was about to lose her sons to slavery in 2 Kings 4. She told Elisha that all she had was a little bit of oil. Elisha told her to go borrow every empty jar she could find and start pouring out the oil into those empty jars. She did this and filled every jar with oil and when the last jar was filled the oil stopped flowing. My pastor said that the oil represented the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit can continue to flow through us onto other people as long as we keep pouring. The moment we stop pouring out into other people’s lives that is when the Holy Spirit ceases to flow and we become stagnant.

2 Kings 4:5-6 - She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

Our relationship with God is not only so we can experience the never ending, all-consuming love of the creator of the universe but it is also so we can share that love with others. The enemy has been distracting humans since the beginning of our existence. He knows that if he can distract us from God’s purpose in our lives, we will take less people with us into heaven. This is why scripture tells us to be diligent, to be on alert, to renew our minds. We must have a clear, focused mind if we are to be useful in bringing more people into the kingdom of God. I believe it’s necessary for me to take a moment each day and ask myself some questions:

Who/What is my God today?

Where is my mind focused?

Am I diligently/purposely renewing my mind?

Is the Holy Spirit freely flowing out onto other people through me?

A God centered life takes work. It can’t be lived out without effort. We must strive after this Christian life as if not only our lives depended on it, but also the eternal lives of others that God puts in our lives to pour out on.