Read Important Things

An unprecedented amount of content, new and old, enters your purview every waking hour. This is the world in which we live, having dropped the limitations of page size and word counts in favor of the limitless internet-content-fire-hose. The only limit we now have is time - and we're probably working on getting rid of that one, too. 

It's not a crime to read the dumb articles on Facebook or dive down a Wikipedia rabbit hole just to see where it leads. These things even have some value, in limited doses, because our brains need to relax. It is a crime, however, to allow those distractions to steal from you your ambition and potential (and therefore your ability to serve God and glorify him with your vocation.) And when you read the word "crime," don't be mistaken. It's not as though Buzzfeed actually has any power to take something from you against your will. It's a crime because you give them time you don't have to give, making you the thief, robbing the one who gave you the time you have [read: God].

Since we can't make time stop, so that we could endlessly peruse, and since we were created for a greater purpose than our whims, we must be stewards of this limited resource, which brings us back to the title: read important things. Every day. A diet of Doritos is not a legitimate way to live, and a diet of nutrition-free reading is no way to learn. Read important things. 

Solomon is pretty clear on this: Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. (Ecclesiastes 12:12) Read important things, and make sure you do it with the mind of a diligent steward. Put the biggest rock in the jar first (the Bible) and make sure other important rocks are getting in as well - otherwise you'll be filling yourself up with sand. 

Finally, if you're reading this because you were on a Facebook binge and clicked it because you thought you had time to waste but now you feel bad about it, it's going to be okay. Jesus made perfect use of every moment of his life, and when God looks at you that's what he sees, because Jesus covered your wasted moments with his perfect moments. Theologians rightfully call the period you live in right now your time of grace. So, how shall you use it?

-Pastor Kent Reeder