The Investment of Time (2 of 2)

For the first part to this post, see "Nerds of America, meet your match ..."

The thing about triviality is this: if all you waste is valuable time that could be spent elsewhere, you get out pretty lucky. More often the things that mire us in wasted time have more devastating effects.

James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

While the first part of James’ definition is vitally important, it is this second aspect that I want to focus on today. “To keep oneself unstained by the world” is a vital part of living out faith in Christ, according to the apostle. It’s not hard to understand what he’s trying to say, and yet time and time again I could charge myself with having more than a few stains on my spirit.

It’s alarming how the infiltration of worldly ideas and images can stain your thinking. When I find myself rolling around in the mud of the world, the effects can be truly frightening. I start to look at sin differently – it’s not so bad, maybe it would be a lot of fun. I start to look at others differently – boy, they don’t really measure up to the people I see on TV/movies/internet. I start to think of morality differently – why am I leading this monkish existence, denying myself of what these people enjoy so much? I start to view humor differently – I can be a pretty mean-spirited punk if I’m not careful. I start to view God differently, relationships differently, my (future) career differently. Even the plausibility of my faith can come into serious contention.

This is why we, as believers, must be very careful what we feed our minds. Now, don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing inherently wrong with indulging in some mindless acts every now and again. It can be downright beneficial. Most people’s schedules are pretty hectic, and the healthy person knows when he needs to sit down and take it easy, without worrying about getting something accomplished. One of the smartest (and godliest) people I’ve met once said, “Sometimes the most godly thing I can do is to sit down and watch a football game.” My own sanity would behoove me to learn this lesson quickly.

However, this is most certainly a balance, and the consequences for indulging ourselves too often can be difficult to overcome. Think of it this way, if you really were motivated to spend 18 hours fighting an online monster in a fantasy game, on the surface you’ve just wasted a day of your life that you’ll never get back. But what were the relational sacrifices that were made? How many friends do these people have? How healthy are their relationships? If you’ve spent 18 hours in one sitting, my guess is you’ve spent an inordinate amount of time glued to a computer screen, taking in and immersing yourself in a reality that doesn’t exist. How dissatisfied would you be with the world if you spent most of your time plugged into an entirely different one? Could you even function? Not well, I would guess. While that's obviously the extreme, the same questions could be asked of the things I mentioned earlier, and I doubt the answers would be more comfortable.

I believe that the Christian who wants to be influential and disciplined must view time as an investment. If I plant myself in front of a computer screen and pour over my fantasy football team for hours on end, I have invested part of my life devoted to a fake game based on a real sport played by people I’ve never even seen in person before. In moderation, not so bad. In larger portions, kind of silly. If I spend all my time involved in the gossip scene of Hollywood, or filling my mind with the images that magazine photographers flood my senses with, I am training a part of me to become ingratiated with the world – a world that is antithetical to the kingdom of God and a world that is quickly passing away (1 John 2:17). What will I have to show for that at the judgment seat of Christ? Conversely, if I make an effort to invest my time in the Scriptures, to prayer, and the fellowship of believers, I am preparing myself to be the man that God has made me to be, and placing my treasure in a heavenly kingdom that will last into eternity.

Considering the market, I’d say that’s a pretty good return.