Life As Experienced

Idols.

Seth Caddell — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:05:57 +0000

My video games can be an idol. My Kindle can be an idol. My bathroom remodel project can become an idol. Idols exist everywhere in our lives, as things (physical or not) that distract us from God. If you were honest, I bet you could name a few of your own. Nice homes, cars, or yards. Kids, work, or hobbies. Those with much and those with little are both susceptible to collecting idols.

The problem with idols is that they are so easy to collect, and so tough to get rid of.

Idols have this power over most of us: they grab our attention, our focus, our free time and consume it. Time we should be spending connecting to God is spent connecting with our idols. The priority reserved for God, gets spread out and distorted. So our quiet time becomes Facebook time, our lunchtime prayer becomes us telling a friend about the idol update. It’s slow and subtle, but it happens to each of us.

So how do we stop it? I think there are different ways to deal with idols, but I think the underscoring idea is that we intentionally reconnect with God. We shine a light onto the subtle shift in our lives, and acknowledge that we need to begin making our way back. The challenge is that once we do that, often we just replace old idols with new ones.

How do you get rid of the idols in your life?

Service.

Seth Caddell — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:39:44 +0000

Churches serving people is nothing new. There are church across the country reaching out to their communities offering unique ways of loving people, and meeting needs. As I’ve mentioned on here before that’s one of my jobs at my church. I organize opportunities for people to serve others, for church members to mow yards, wrap presents, and host free block parties. It’s a pretty sweet gig, to be honest. But the other day I was challenged with a thought.

What if no one ever came to our church because of our service?

Don’t get me wrong; we do have people coming to church, and meeting Jesus because of this awesome people at our church loving others through service. But what if our people poured out their time, energy, and sweat to serve our community without ever seeing someone come because of it? Would we still serve? Would we keep showing people God’s love in practical ways?

I think we would; because Jesus doesn’t ask his followers to serve to bring people to him. It’s often a byproduct of our service, but our service is based simply in the fact that the one we follow served. Jesus didn’t wash the disciples feet so they would come to his church. He simply served them, loved them, helped them no strings attached. He healed, and raised the dead, not to hand the person a tract, but simply because of love.

Our service is not based in convincing someone to attend our church, but rather to show them God’s love.

How do you serve? When have you been able to show someone God’s love through a simple action?

Lent.

Seth Caddell — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:15:20 +0000

I’ve never celebrated Lent before. I grew up non-denominational, and it wasn’t until college when I learned what lent was (yeah, I was that sheltered). But once I grasped the concept it seemed little more than a silly tradition, where a bunch of people give up something they don’t need to in order to be a little more spiritual. Obviously, I was wrong. I read more on the subject, and began to figure at the very least I’d give it a shot.

The concept of fasting isn’t new to me. I’ve done fasts before, and normally find myself approaching them with a mix of dread and excitement. Fasting has taught me many things, and often has given me clarity. My prayer is that over the next 40 days my fasting will prepare me for an amazing Easter.

The concept of giving something up voluntarily might seem silly at first, but I’m hoping to prove it can be a powerful experience.

So, I’m giving up drinks (besides water) for 40 days. I’m going to pass on milk, soda, juice, and anything else that gets offered to me. I’m giving this Lent thing a shot.

Have you ever celebrated Lent? What did you give up?