The Power of Contrast

Part of my career has been spent creating marketing collateral such as printed ads, websites, flyers, brochures, PowerPoint presentations and videos. One of the oft used goals in graphics is to have your image(s) "POP"! This frequently is accomplished through some type of stark contrast. You want your ad or brochure to stand out, so you create this contrast between the background and a particular image that you want the viewer to focus on! When the foreground image blends with the background or the image you want to pop looks too similar to the objects around it, the image gets lost and loses it's focus. Viewers are likely to ignore the main image or not even notice it exists. This is the same reason we use bright colors for warning signs...to catch people's attention, warning them from danger.

This past week, I was at a study group and we were talking about Adam and Eve and how it must have felt when they first sinned against God in The Garden of Eden. One of the comments brought up was that there must have been a drastic difference between having this direct, intimate relationship with God verses the separation that occurred (for the first time ever with man) as the result of their sin. This contrast (being close to God, then distant) was probably overwhelming for the first couple; it must have hit them hard. There is something crucial to learn from this!

In the past, I have been blind to the importance of developing, fostering and maintaining a closeness to Jesus and I think one huge benefit of intimacy with God is just this: If we don't, then the distance we experience when we sin will not feel much different than any other time. If we are close to Christ and get to know deeply the beauty of His Grace, then when we sin, WE FEEL IT! The separation hurts!

We already live in a loud, disruptive, hyper-active world that is used by the enemy to drown out God's still voice. Even as Christians we surround ourselves with technology that often hinders closeness. (Hebrews 12:1 "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.")

So, realize the value of intimacy with Christ! Place yourself in a position of sensitivity where the consequence of sin matters. Don't allow yourself to race through life feeling only the immediate "next thrill" or stress. We can end up here, even (and especially) in ministry. Rarely or never knowing/experiencing a closeness to God is dangerous! It's very easy to become desensitized to God's conviction. It's very easy to not even know when we are separated from God. The road sign is shouting to stop, but we are too busy or distracted to see the sign. The sign would stand out if we slowed down or removed our "hinderances".

Why Being Too Busy Matters

Today I wanted to touch on a subject that continues to rear its ugly head as I meet with people or talk to people and that is how “busy-ness” has become a huge factor in our lives. There are many reasons why we (as a society) have allowed our schedules to become packed to the point where our spiritual PEACE, JOY, ENERGY and GROWTH get trampled. For some of us, raising kids seem to be a huge factor. For some of us, it’s the demands of our occupation. Those seem to be the two primary factors. For some, it’s a combination. For decades, that was my life. So busy that I had no ability to see the sites or smell the flowers along the path of life! So busy that my time with God was rushed, short and fruitless. So busy that busy-ness became my go-to excuse for getting out of things. So busy that I found myself stressed often, tired more, impatient, angry and ineffective at most everything. Does this sound familiar?

As I continue to read through Colossians, I got stuck for days on chapter 3, verse 12. In this verse Paul gives a list of virtues we are to wear as Christians (he uses terms like “put on” or “clothe yourselves with”). One of the virtues is patience. I know, this is a tough one. One of those virtues we are all afraid to pray for!! It dawned on me that we often do not have patience (say, while driving or at work or at home with the kids) because we are often exhausted. We are often exhausted because of our excessively packed schedules.

Yet, it may go deeper than just being tired all the time because of how busy we are. It goes deeper than being impatient. I wonder if we are developing patterns in our lives that foster weakness in our walk with God by allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed? Do we ever say “no” to things that have little or no value? Do we ever intentionally cut out time (on a regular basis) for reading or praying? Or do we pray when we can? Read if we get the time?

My point is this: Some of our weakness / stress / impatience / tiredness is controllable. I contend that we have some control over our time. I could say we have total control over our time, but that’s not true, nor realistic. Additionally, time management is intentional. You have to make time for down time! If we wait for time to open up, it won’t happen!!!

WARNING: Taking time out…down time…time to meet God…quiet time opens you up to feeling. Sometimes, we subconsciously run, run, run to avoid what’s going on inside. So, be prepared to discover things about yourself, things about God’s Goodness and insights into His Word. It’s risky! It’s healthy!! It fosters growth and forces you to think!!!

So, I write this with the full knowledge that I am currently on my own and do not have the regular time crunches many of you have. However, for months I was meeting with men and going to various meetings almost nightly, during the past few months. I finally realized that I was not able to keep up my spiritual disciplines (good disciplines) and was beginning to burn out. We have to see busy-ness as something to avoid, not justify! For some, being over-booked gives one a sense of importance. However, I would ask, “Who should be important in your life?” and “If someone is really important to us, how do we show that?”

OUR MESSAGE   If time really is a precious resource (not to be wasted), then value alone time. Value quiet time. Value good sleep! Value exercise (preaching to myself here)! Value a less stressed, less tired, less angry, more patient you! Value how you present yourself to the world! This one is huge. People look at you and put two things together: 1) Your talk and 2) your walk. If you say you have joy in the Lord, but are always worn out or stressed or impatient???? Not the message we want to send. This was me lately. For those with kids: Remember that our kids become a product of our lifestyles and are greatly influenced by the environment we provide. We influence by how we live mostly. Words have LITTLE meaning if our actions don’t match up.

There is no practical application I can give here. You know your schedule and life best. Just realize that so much of our fuel to enjoy Jesus comes out of time WITH Jesus and not “tired time” or “rushed time”.  May you be inspired to slow down!