Disposable?

Over the last 50 years the disposable nature of our society has increased dramatically. Because we value convenience we have embraced a multitude of products and ideas created to make life easier. These range from microwave ovens to disposable diapers and cell phones. We’ve also developed the tendency of discarding those things we no longer value or that require too much investment of time.

Rather than wash and dry dishes, like I did as a teenager, we put them in the dishwasher and push a button! I remember being in grandma’s kitchen as she prepared meals on the stove or in her electric skillet. Even meals that involved leftovers had to be carefully reheated in the oven or on the stovetop so that everything was ready to serve at the same time. What a skill! Now we just microwave and eat in a matter a few minutes. In the fall we spent much time raking leaves and either bagging or burning them – which ever we had time for – as opposed to just running the mulcher or the “bagger” over them as we mow the lawn before winter sets in.

You may be thinking, “Thank the Lord for the labor-saving devices of today!” and it is wonderfully convenient to have them. But what I remember most about the activities that I mentioned above was the valuable family interaction that took place working together to clean up after a meal, or talking with grandma as she cooked, or the fun it turned into as we worked at a large task! These are the things that people really want in their lives but find it difficult to achieve, simply because it takes too much “time” and we have soooooo many things we want, or think, we need to do.

God’s Kingdom fights against the disposable tendency of the world by trying to convict us the wisdom of investing in “valuable” things. This process happens as we learn to persistently and generously sacrifice the immediate for the eternal. Eternal things are indeed timeless, but we display the value we place in them by the investment of our most precious commodity – our time! Learning to take the time to do Kingdom stuff is what keeps us from “throwing away” things that are really valuable – things like relationships, witnessing, praying, studying, serving, LIVING!

Jesus teaches us what is valuable in a disposable world.

How exciting to be His people,
Pastor David Vanderpool