Less Than Admirable Motives.
Why do we have such a hard time as parents placing limits on electronics and activities?
Both can appeal to parents for less than admirable reasons. Both can serve as a babysitter or a diversion.
But the appeal of activities extends even farther, to our very identity as parents. We actually want to be labeled “soccer mom” on rhinestone-studded tee shirts and coffee mugs. We carefully arrange our car decals so every identity marker is announced. The thought of removing or withholding our child from an activity threatens the very way we view ourselves.
Maybe our view needs to adjust to something a bit higher. Families that prioritize Sabbath fix their eyes on, and find their identity in, Christ, recognizing their greatest potential for missed opportunity lies not in neglecting activities, but in neglecting time — lots of it — spent together as a family in worship, rest and community with each other.
God forbid we value the discipline of a sport more than the discipline of Christian living.
Both require great application of time and effort, but one is worth far more than the other. Because time is our most limited resource, how we allocate it reveals much about our hearts.
Our time usage should look radically different than that of the unbelieving family. We must leave time for slow afternoons, for evening meals where we pray together and share our faith and struggles, for Sunday mornings of shared worship.
God ordains Sabbath for our good and for his glory. May our homes be places where Sabbath rest is jealously guarded, that in all things God might have pre-eminence — even our schedules.
Ephesians 5:15-17: See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
