I played the blame game.
Don't we all do that sometimes? It's so much easier to blame the devil for our own sin.
One thoughtful commenter from yesterday's post had this to say: "If you are wasting time with Twitter or Tweetdeck, I hold that you'd be wasting time if you didn't have the tool."
Exactly.
"I can taste the fruit of Eve
I'm aware of sickness, death and disease
The results of our choices are vast
Eve was the first but she wasn't the last
And if I were honest with myself Had I been standing at that tree My mouth and my hands would be covered with fruit
Things I shouldn't know and
things I shouldn't see
Remind me of this with every decision
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know.
She taught me to fear the serpent
I’m learning to fear myself
And all of the things I am capable of
In my search for wisdom, acceptance and wealth
And to say that the devil made me do it Is a cop out and a lie The devil can’t make me do anything When I’m calling on Jesus Christ."
-Sara Groves, Generations
"But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death." James 1:14,15
13 comments:
Good point, Sarah Mae.
I think tools like Twitter, blogs, and Facebook, are great ways for moms (who otherwise wouldn't be able to) to connect, stay inspired, and encourage one another.
But like all good things, if overdone, it can be a bad thing. If something like Twitter is taking over your day, and preventing you from getting done what you need to, then the problem should be addressed.
I remember in the Bible, Jesus ate well and drank wine, and people didn't like it. But wine and food weren't sinful. It's drunkenness and gluttony that are sinful and Jesus wasn't a drunk or a glutton. So, there really shouldn't have been an issue. But it's so easy to blame environment.
As usual, the problem is with us and maintaining balance.
I pray we all find peace in those areas in which we struggle. It's a challenge, but thankfully, we never face challenges alone.
I find it so much more comforting when I can blame something else for my lack of will power! But as a grown up I must practice self control and moderation in all things otherwise the cats would never get fed....
Yes, blaming is so much easier. Just like the cashier at Walmart wanting to double check my receipt when I was trying to exit the store, it was her fault I became impatient, right.
It's a sweet thing that the Lord is ever working in our lives, revealing our weaknesses and giving us the grace to overcome, even giving us that desire to overcome.
:)
At church on Sunday, the message was about fruit and how there are all these other things that keep us from bearing as much fruit as we can. Then the pastor asked us to examine our hearts and see if there was anything God wanted us to prune away and immediately, I knew that for me, it's facebook. My answer was loud and clear.
But I keep telling myself, oh, I can just stay away from facebook for a while, strike a balance, and all will be fine. But I really don't think I can. I think it needs to be cut out completely from my life. Ugh.
For some reason, which I am thinking more and more is God helping this addictive personality
--I cannot figure out Twitter and the likes, for the life of me.
I used to think that I couldn't be addicted to anything. Ha! Then, I met Blogger, then, Facebook.... .
We can be addicted to seemingly "good" things. I have so experienced that for the past 8 months.
I admire the transparency that you continually display. Isn't it wonderful that God keeps a short rein on us? Not comfy, but shows us that we are HIS.
Nothing better than that!
I am just reading yesterdays and todays post. I am not criticizing by any means so I want to be clear on that. I want to share a story. My daughter (at 6) came home from church one day saying, "The devil made me do it." She learned this from her young Sunday School teacher. I know the teacher meant well, but that is not want I want my child to learn about the devil. I told her that God gave her free will and that is because God wants us to choose Him and His ways. He could have made it so that we just bowed down to him like robots, but he gave us the power to choose. And the devil can not "make us" do anything... we have to choose to do it.
Thank you for this! It is absolutely ridiculous how much time I can spend on the computer in a 24 hour span.
By the way, I love Sara Groves. Saw her at a Hearts at Home conference a few years back. Went straight to her table and bought all 6 of her cds. Since then have gotten her 2 newest releases. Her singing for her Father is beautiful.
By the way, I need to add that for me it has been blogging to some degree. I think it is important to constantly evaluate why you are using it and how much time you should spend on it... I have been blogging way less lately... ;)
I cannot bring myself to look too deeply on this topic right now. I don't want to see what I'm sure I'd see.
But I must tell you that if I ever see a scary, scary snake at the top of your blog again, I may run away forever.
{shudder}
Kimba
Love love love Sarah Groves.
It's so easy to blame everyone and everything else. That whole victim thing. I do it all the time. Thanks for the reminder to keep it in check!
Last week, it was amazing what happened when I had been away from the computer for most of the week. I survived and actually enjoyed being unplugged (until late at night when I had to get caught up again.) I'm constantly having to re-evaluate and often times I am completely convicted. People say that they can have a blog as a "job" and only write on weekends, and only work during nap time etc. I want a camera on their home because I haven't been able to figure that out yet. :)
Oh OUCH in a GOOD way~LOL! I happen to love Sarah Groves, too. I tell you she totally captured who *I* think I am with her "All Right Here" album... Are they still called albums? Or just CD's? (((((HUGS))))) sandi
I do think we constantly have to look at what we're doing and make sure that it isn't taking time away from or interfering with important people/things in our life - like God, spouse, children, family, household, church, service, etc.
I struggle with it on a regular basis! And it doesn't matter what "it" is - if I didn't blog, then I would check e-mail and read magazines. If I didn't have those, I would find something else, even gazing out the window - LOL!
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