Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Smallest Of Things Can Cause The Greatest Concern

I posted a short thought not long ago about Casting Crown's "Slow Fade." Well, this post is sort of a second version of that. Slow fade says that WHO we are in character is developed by a series of actions over a long amount of time. Well, this post is more about those actions and less about the amount of time. Here goes:

Get this, even within the context of a tiny particle, there are microscopical particles. Just like a piece of dust in Who-Ville, the town which is floating upon a snowflake. What I find most amazing about these extremly small particles is that they are, perhaps, MOST harmful to our bodies.

What decisions are so miniscule that you are very rarely mindful of them? For me, my use of time and my use of the mind are two things that I am never constantly aware of. I notice that these are weighing me down, and I want to gain control of them. They can act like an unending domino effect: the lack of mindful (or of wise, beneficial, good) thinking may be causing poor use of time; on the contrary, the poor use of time may be causing my mind to become (or to remain) lazy. When in the end, I want to use time effeciently in order to grow nearer to the heart of God, do well in classes, and to have some hope of a social life.

Scripture (James 4:17) says, concerning the person who knows the good that he or she ought to do, if he or she does not do it, for that person, it is sin. Be aware of your decisions! Both obvious ones and ones that generally are not a concerned; the decisions that seem to be too small to even be a worry (be assured that some decisions may not matter to many, but each one makes a difference to all). The Lord sees all sin equally. He sees the intent of our hearts (which is not always the same). Is not our heart's intent different when we 'ignore' doing good from when we mindfully reject temptation (James 4:14-26)? We can be free of lying for a lifetime, but even the man or woman who keeps from committing lies will not feel content or at peace until every decision to be made by them is under careful control. We must not do the things that the Bible communicates that we shouldn't do. We must do the things that the Bible communicates we ought to do!

To follow in Christ steps the best that we are able to we must be constantly mindful of our lives, Jesus' place in the center of them, and our place in the will of God

  • Every Word - to speak with truth and intensity, and not with hollow words to fill in time. That is, in the cafeteria, at work, in a hallway, in walmart, AT HOME. We must be constantly mindful of our lives, Jesus' place in the center of them, and our place in the will of God.
  • Every Thought - instead of staring lazily into the lighted buttons or floor numbers while on an elevator, be mindful about even your state of mind. Recite Scripture in your mind, think a prayer to God. Be free to wonder, and allow God to bless you and convict you by ways of imagination, and by some simple thoughts. We must be constantly mindful of our lives, Jesus' place in the center of them, and our place in the will of God.


Our everyday decisions are much like the smallest of small particles. The smallest decisions, which we have no choice but to confront, often-times have the most extreme results in our lives, both mentally and spiritually. Further, many people (maybe you) are not aware of these decisions. Chemists know the very detailed information on the 'particle' issue, but the general knowledge that normal people have of chemistry, I assume, is very ignorant to the danger of the tiny particles. Likewise, those of us who are seeking Christ diligently have a conviction to devote our WHOLE lives as living sacrifices to God. See Romans 12. Looking upon the general church of the day, including The Salvation Army, not too many have this knowledge of the danger in 'small' decisions. Not too many people take into account the seriousness of the matter, atleast. Holiness is a rare quality among the people who know and profess to believe that it is something worth striving toward.

Who are you? God knows us Completely (Psalm 139). He has one very powerful microscope.. what sorts of things will He see when He focuses in on the most miniscule particles of your life? I ask myself: how can I better make use of my mind, and time? In what ways can you better make use of those things which you have recently forgotten all about?

Finally, will you do it? Please share your thoughts.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have so wonderfully reminded me how sin creeps in ... as a miniscule particle that slips in sometimes unnoticed. But like a splinter that sometimes is not visible with the eye, it causes so much trouble. I pray that my life would be pure before our Heavenly Father and that he would burn away all that is not of Him.

Thanks Chris. I love how the Lord speaks through you and I give Him glory for your sensative spirit.

Love you...

Dad

Matt Frye said...

chris, good thoughts. but you made a point that i want to challenge...

you said that "we must train our minds to reason for everything". i would argue that some things can't be reasoned. or should i say, shouldn't be reasoned. like faith for example. faith is the absence of reason. i don't follow christ because i made a decision with my mind because i agreed with some doctrine or belief system. i follow christ because of the mystery of my relationship with him. that's just an example, but reason scares me sometimes. i like rationalizing things. i think it's important on occasion, but at the same time, it's impossible to know everything. it's near impossible to never sin again, especailly at this age. i'm not saying that we shouldn't strive for it, but we also shouldn't beat ourselves up about it either. remember, "there is now no condemnation for those who are in christ jesus". just a thought

Christopher Hinzman said...

Hey Matt, good call. I may have used the wrong word trying to say what I meant to, or I may have just simply been wrong. Reason isn't the word I meant to use. Is anything else questionable to you? Here's what I'm thinking.

Christ was constantly mindful of the will of the Father. It is pretty unlikely that we can be as mindful as Christ was. I don't think we should beat ourselves up about it. In striving to be more Christ-Like, what I meant by that statement was that we should do our best to allow His goodness to occupy our thinking in the times that it would otherwise be at a stand-still. This is, to be devoting to Him our thinking, to keep from having a lazy mind, to draw us nearer to Him in those times.

I mean we should, not so much to constantly reason for everything, I mean to be constantly mindful of our lives, Jesus' place in the center of them, and our place in the will of God.

Does this clear it up?

Christopher Hinzman said...

Thanks, Dad... I love you too!