"52. I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age. July 8, 1723."- The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards
Time. Is there a more precious resource? You are given a set amount of time for your life. You cannot buy more time. You can, however, invest your time.
You might be wondering why I am writing this post. Is this a preach at readers about using their time more wisely post? No. This is a post of personal reflection. I have found in my life that the people that I admire the most are the ones that are willing to peel back the facade of perfection or having one's life all figured out. They are the ones that point to their faults and failures and say, "I've got plenty of those". I can relate to those people. The purpose of this post is to share what I am doing. This is my resolution.
I have idols in my heart. Some of them I am very aware of. Others I am blind to. Would you like to know what one of them is? Yes? Great! You've come to the right blog post. One of the idols of my heart:
Video Games
This isn't a new revelation to my heart. I've known about this one for a long time. But here is the thing about idols.. they don't like being ignored. They demand the chief seat at the table. They sit there waving their arms at you, while crying out for more attention. "Satisfied" is not a word found in their Websters. More,More, MORE! They love to whisper delicious little lies. Your mother died of brain cancer last year. I will satisfy you with comfort. You've had health issues. Let's not talk to God about this. Let's go for some quick comfort. You desire to be married, but keep getting the friend speech. How about you just block out that pain with some comfort.
Escapism: The tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, esp. by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.
Video Games were the easy escape from reality. It brought along its temporary shot of comfort. There was one problem. It was a lie. I was looking for comfort in the wrong places.
So what did I do? I deleted my hundreds of computer games. I packaged up the rest of my video games. I made a resolution. I would stop looking to video games as a place of comfort. I would take the time spent there and invest it. How am I investing it? Daily I am spending time with my roommate reading scripture to each other. We are daily praying together. I am exercising my body daily so that I can bring my strength back to where it was before and in doing so puts me in a position to be better able to serve others. I am also reading books that will help equip me for when the trials come.
In the reading of this post there will be the temptation to want to heap praise on me. That is not the purpose of this post. While I appreciate encouraging words, I want praise bestowed on the only one that deserves any: Christ. Without the work of the Holy Spirit in my life, there would be no change. My life purpose would still be to satisfy the lusts and idols of my heart. So encourage me to fight on? Yes, please. Praise God that He cares about His children. Praise God that He changes the desires of my heart.
Source:
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards
