Good Saturday morning! If you want a cheap cat, I have one for you right here. He hasn't spent a dime on me all year; I'd call that cheap! Waa ha, ha, boooo! Save the dumb jokes for prime time television! Get back to your day job! I make no claims to be a comedian...as you can probably tell. I'm looking at a Lego fire boat; one that I put together some years ago. There is nothing wrong with the toy and it doesn't hurt anything. However, this toy could contribute to my sin if I play with it while I should be doing God's work. On the other hand, the toy could be useful as a toy when I need to relax my mind and play. Have you ever taken all the fun out of your life?
Let's say you have just come to believe in Jesus and have surrendered your life to him. You want to do well, so you ruthlessly remove all of the distractions in your life. You must be about God's work, Jesus even said something like that. Like Mr. Clean you go through your home and car removing all entertainment. CDs, DVDs, books except for the Bible and Bible commentaries, toys (obviously), hobby stuff, anything that might distract you from the Lord's work is so gone from your life. Even that art on the wall that doesn't have much to do with much is taken down. Only pictures of Jesus (even though we don't know what he looked like back in the day), the Last Supper (see note on the previous item), crosses, and prayer plaques are allowed on the walls of this house. The television is tuned to one of the religious channels and the remote locked up. All radios are tuned to Christian stations and only magazines of Christian subject matter are seen. Even those calendars from the bank that don't have pictures of churches on them are removed. And everyone knows that Internet is nothing but the virtual gateway to Hell, out with it! The house is cleaned for Jesus! Praise the Lord!
Guests come over and unless they are of a similar mind, they might wonder what in the world is wrong with this house? Of course, some folks need to do this early in their Christian life. Not all of us do, but for some it works. However, cleaning the heart is not quite so easy. Many a person has locked himself away from the world in some manner only to find the same old images flashing through the dark corners of his mind. Others have cleaned house only to find that even Christian friends feel uncomfortable in their sterile home. Children in particular would be uncomfortable in a home with no toys of any kind. I would be uncomfortable in a home with no toys of any kind. There are distractions and then there are distractions.
If a distraction is keeping you from doing what God has called you to do, then of course it needs to go. But we all need times of relaxation and play. If you don't relax and play a little then the mind may start playing cruel jokes on you, like mine did last night when I dreamed that I was back at my old workplace. Obviously I need to relax and play a little today. The shuddering and gagging should ease later on today, I hope. Saturday is a good day for some relaxation and play. You may not be able to crawl around on the ground with the Tonka toys anymore, but you can find something suitable to play with I'm sure. Your toys might cost a bit more than they did back when you were little, but they are still toys. Enjoy the day!
Say a prayer for Burt today as he begins a long journey east... way east. It might even be tomorrow when he gets there.
Bucky
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