I hope you have a hobby, a past-time, a way to unwind; we need that. It draws us to rest, fun, health, and relationships, and we need that. So what is it for you? Today’s hobbies for women may look like: Pinterest? Reading novels? Scrapbooking? Working out? Shopping? Talking on the phone? Photography? Facebook? Blogging? What does “fun” look like for you?
Sometimes we’re quick to notice when a hobby becomes a parasite in the lives of others. Wives don’t miss it when their husband’s hobby is a parasite. “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?” (Matt. 7:34-4) Maybe that log in our life is really a parasite!!! How do we know if our own past-time has reached an unhealthy level we need to fix?
Can it really be so simple as the truth of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:21? “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Since I believe that Jesus is God and that every word of the Bible is true, it’s a good place for me to start. If I have the guts to ask God to show me if my hobby has overtaken my heart, I should look to see where my treasure is. You’re probably like me when I say that my treasure boils down to: my energy, my time, my attention, my affection, and my resources. We could use other words too, but that about covers it.
So for an “I’m-not-afraid-of-the-truth” look at your hobby, ask these questions:
- How much of my energy am I regularly devoting to my hobby?
- How much of my time do I give to my hobby? (Actual time, not planned time)
- How much of my thought life goes in the direction of my choice of play?
- How much of my decision making is based on my hobby being important to me?
- How much of my available resources do I give (again … actual, not budgeted) to my play-passion?
You notice each question starts with “how much,” because we can argue subjective feelings, but we can’t talk our way out of objective amounts. It’s easy to make excuses for our “thing” we love, but numbers don’t lie. Numbers help us see what’s real. They help me evaluate how much time I spend blogging, how much money I spend on it, how much of my thought life is really “blogging,” how many of my decisions are driven by my love of blogging, how much sleep I might lose to blog, etc. You can just swap out your choice of play/hobby for “blogging.” Go ahead. I invite you. I would love to not feel alone in being convicted. 🙂
I’m reading a great book by Bob Waliszewski called Plugged-In Parenting: How to Raise Media-Savvy Kids with Love, Not War (Focus on the Family)
Instead of getting stuck there shaking your head and saying “Kids today,” do we have the courage to look back at our own lives to see if there’s a past-time eating us from the inside out? You?
I would love to know if there’s a past-time you suspect may be eating you? Leave a comment.
Wow, thanks for sharing this. I recently spoke with a friend how things we love to do can quickly become an idol in our lives. This is great.
You’re welcome Amy. It’s such a temptation and can creep into our hearts without much notice. It sounds like you and your friend have a great relationship where you can talk about “real” issues of the heart. What a gift!