Defilement
Num 35:34 says "Do not defile the land where you live & where I dwell." This must also apply to our bodies, for surely He dwells there too! This verse makes me sensitive to all the ways I 'defile' my body - not getting enough sleep; eating too many empty calories & not enough healthy, nutrient-rich foods; only getting a little exercise; filling my brain w/ useless, non-glorifying stuff from either the TV or computer games. There may be nothing 'wrong' w/ 'Dancing w/ the Stars' or 'Bejeweled Blitz' (computer game) but do they glorify God?? I shudder to think about all the hours of 'junk food' I've been feeding myself w/ these activities.
If we eliminate the hours that we sleep, it only takes 10 hours to comprise 10% of our awake time every week. Surely if we added up all the hours we spend in a given week watching TV, surfing fb, playing games on our iPhone's it would add up to 10! Some might say, "What's the big deal? It's just some harmless fun and entertainment?" But looking at the other passage from our reading, Mark 11:17 says, "My house will be called a house of prayer" & V18 basically says the enemy "began looking for a way to kill him." Can you see that if we're to be a 'house of prayer' how these seemingly innocent activities 'kill Him' in our lives? The enemy can easily creep in & steal 10 minutes here, an hour there, & before you know it, w/out even realizing it, 10% of your week is gone! And let's be honest, many of us are easily spending 10 hrs/wk on these activities but we are NOT spending 10 hrs in prayer and quiet time!! For many, 10 minutes/day is a challenge, which adds up to only about an hr/wk.
This is just one little aspect of our lives, but once we look at it closely, & really get honest, it IS an area of defilement. A couple years ago, my Bible Study teacher led our class through 'The Purpose Driven Life' study. In that context, this stuff is important if we really do want our lives to be driven by HIS purposes! So my prayer is that we would all be sensitive to our own personal areas of defilement in our lives & be willing to take steps to be more Purpose driven. :)
Created about 1 year ago
