Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit;" Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
James 4: 13 -14 NKJV
I learned a new saying which I have applied to my own life some time back. I'm not sure if the guy invented it, as it seems like a common knowledge thing. Anyway, a fitness guy I follow mentioned the term "time sucks." Time sucks? Whoever heard of such a thing? Well, it turns out that when you learn his definition of what he was referencing then you might just be familiar with a few time sucks in your own life. See, time sucks are those things in life which occupy our time and keep us from the things that are important. For me, my time sucks were pornography and surfing the internet...for pornography. I have a coworker who spends a good deal of his time online with sports betting and fantasy football...time suck. I've been there, we find that place where we feel comfortable and it becomes our go to comfort zone. I get it. When we're in our own time suck, the cares of life are of little or no consequence. That in no way means that they go away, just that our attention is elsewhere. It might be something as harmless as watching a tv show at night, reading a good magazine or going out for a few drinks. It's wherever we find the comfort to spend our time. The larger question is, what are our time sucks keeping us from? Family time? Quiet time with the Lord? Time spent of important projects? It could be any number of things. Now, I've heard more than a few people over the years make reference to the phrase "idol worship" when describing these behaviors. Well, if you can define a idol as anything that keeps our attention away from God then that may be true. I believe that in our hearts we know what the right things are to engage with our time. Which is how I overcame a major time suck I had been facing for years. Read on.
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2: 20 NKJV
Like I said, for years I had faced my own time suck of dealing with pornography issues. Much of my time was spent in videos, magazines and online images. To give you an idea of how far back this went, most of my dabbling into porn was done with videos and magazines as Al Gores internet had not yet been developed! That was back in the day. However, slowly I began to see the emergence of God into my life. Don't get me wrong, I was still into porn, but God was certainly knocking at my door. I hate to say that my own physical condition had a hand in my emergence from a pornography addiction, but that's exactly what happened. A pastor friend of mine one day introduced me to a Christian brother who was pretty much into hardcore fitness and activity. That was HIS time suck so it seems. Like I said, we all have our own places where we spend our free time. What my friend showed me was that I was able to do the activities I long ago thought I couldn't. What was stopping me was...me. Thus began the slow process of transforming one of my major time sucks from destructive...to constructive. After all, that is what's all about, right? Another huge realization came when I discovered the truth of who I was as a man. I wasn't the out of shape, porn browsing junkie that I for so long thought I was. For lack of a better explanation...I am Jesus. The apostle Paul assures us of this reality in Galatians {Galatians 2:20}. These days my time sucks consists of trips to the local gym at least 4 times a week. These days my time sucks consist of finding new and healthier ways to nourish myself. Through it all, Christ Jesus is in me.
~Scott~
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