Mom Time NewsIt's Time to Be Real! Recently, I read a book in which the author gave the most convincing reason I have ever heard as to why he would not become a Christian. Indeed, how he arrived at this conclusion is almost as intriguing as the conclusion itself. It seems after visiting different churches with his family, he noticed all of them spoke about Jesus, but none of them could relate their Christianity to their day-to-day life experiences. Therefore, he concluded Christianity could not be real. To be sure some, would argue, needlessly so, with this man’s assertions. Yet if we can push past our own prejudices and accept this man’s challenge to make our Christianity authentic, we might be surprisingly enlightened. You see the reality of our relationship with God should be reflected in our daily choices, or our lifestyle. The apostle Paul admonished us to be living epistles read by all men. Our relationship with God rests solely on this point-the daily choices we make. The varied choices we make daily should reflect God. Yet most of us in the crunch for time, take God out of the daily equation then govern our lives accordingly. Tragically, many times in our quest to accomplish more, we do not realize we have removed God in the hubbub of our busyness. We end up doing more but feeling empty inside. This emptiness occurs when our beliefs or values, those things most important to us, and our schedules are in conflict. Many times we are not aware of this conflict until it is too late. I once asked a time management workshop attendee to list the things most important to her. In classic Christian style she listed (1) God (2) husband (3) her children (4) ministry responsibilities (5) job. However, to her amazement when she tallied her time she found most of her free time was spent in church activities rather than with her husband or children. This realization forced her to make radical scheduling adjustments based on her real values. The key is to become aware of our values and plan our day so that our behaviors and beliefs co-act with one another. It is a fairly simple process but it requires brute honesty. The first step ids to list those things most important; your values. Write them down. Writing always brings clarity to the process. Next look at a typical day in your life. How much time is spent in activities, which truly reflect your beliefs, or values? Tally the time. Can you identify areas in your life that God may be urging you to adjust to reflect more of Him? Our Christianity is in vain if it cannot be reflected in our lifestyles. Indeed, our lives should be a reflection of Christ. Jesus spent just three short years in public ministry yet His impact on the world is timeless. He knew the right relationships to invest in, the right times to pray when to speak and when to be silent. His daily choices always reflected what He believed. Until our daily choices can truly reflect Christ, until what we say and do is the same, until our lifestyles adequately express Christ then our Christianity will not be real to us or anyone else. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Cheryl R. Carter generally writes on time management, parenting and family issues. She believes one of the biggest threats to the sanctity of the family is sexual sin. She is willing to step out of her comfort zone to address this issue. Read her other commentary under her e-newsletter--Momtime at www.momtime.net
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