PARKS BROWN

Colleges and high schools have turned into a competitive breeding ground for getting a jump on their peers and that first job. Schools have become performance oriented enclaves for teachers and students alike. In the effort to keep God out of the school, educational systems can also exclude teachings that produce a balanced, well rounded individual. We need to address the importance of leisure and the role it plays in our lives and society. American society has denigrated leisure to the point it is in ingrained in our national consciousness that leisure is lazy….and nothing we hear these days could be further from the truth.

School can teach you many things. One of the best lessons you can ever learn and learn early is… you do NOT work to live, you live to work. This is backwards from the American ethos of make a lot of money and retire early. A lifetime of working is not a curse, but part of our original design. Go back to Genesis (3:16-19) for a refresher. Once man turned his back on God’s original design in the Garden, aka sinned, we were all assigned to work out our remaining days. Women were given childbearing (and a desire for a husband) and men were given the task of working the ground to provide. We were made to toil by the sweat of our brow and the enemy has been trying to use that against us ever since.

Leisure, like work, is a gift from God. Leisure is a means of learning more about Him and drawing closer to Him. In Greek, leisure is the word ‘skole’. In Latin, leisure is ‘scola’, the English word for ‘school’. The word used to designate the place we educate and learn is derived from a word meaning leisure. What are the schools teaching kids about leisure in 2018? Leisure is how and where we stop to contemplate more than compose tomorrow’s ‘to-do’ list. Leisure is when we take the time to hear and see God.

God set the example in Genesis 2:2. ‘..so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.’ God established mankind as an agrarian culture; basically we are farmers. If you aren’t a farmer or if you don’t know a farmer, take my word for it…your work is NEVER done. Therefore, God established a day of rest as a means to remind mankind; “STOP working all the time.” More succinctly, “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'” Psalm 46:10.

Many folks choose financial gain or selfish pleasures in their leisure rather than contemplation or communion with the Creator. What does that look like…how many weeks of vacation do you have banked? Also, it’s popular to encourage each other that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. This is a subtle way to say, work hard and crash hard…again, a huge lie. What happens in Vegas (or wherever you go on vacation) reflects what has been happening in your life and can reveal your spiritual state more than anything.

Leisure was originally designed by God as the Sabbath and a day off. “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God…” Exodus 20: 9-10. No wonder the world wants you to think leisure is lazy. Leisure is a ticket to drawing closer to God in recognition of His establishing a time of rest. Again, so much of what our culture encourages is in opposition to God. Spiritual warfare folks.

Take the deeper dive and go back to your roots. The next time you meet someone don’t ask them what they do for a living, ask them what they do in their leisure time. Then, really listen. In YOUR leisure time, do you think about work or contemplate greater issues and questions? Do you drink it away or fill it with mindless conversation? Leisure is a mental and spiritual attitude more than it is time away from the daily grind.

The enemy tells a subtle lie that working too much will result in becoming a workaholic with less time for the family or less time for yourself. As always, the devil’s lies sound like a deeper truth but don’t point back to God. The deeper truth is that not having enough leisure time will separate you from God and establish a mindset of confidence and pride in yourself. Be careful not to teach this to your kids under the premise of ‘getting ahead in life’.

Leisure is the means to draw close to God. Therefore, your enemy will fight your leisure time tooth and nail. The enemy will say, ‘Work while you’re young, get ahead’…’you should work and save more for retirement and have your reward then’…’spend your leisure on your phone and keep up with the world’…’blow it out on vacation and get away from everything, you deserve it’. These activities will kill more than your body.

Jesus warned about listening to the devil and being so short sighted. “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” Luke 12:5. Spend some leisure time thinking about eternity and learning to differentiate between the voices you hear.

Memorial Day is the official kickoff for the season of leisure. Don’t spend your time simply getting refreshed from work or for work. Enjoy the true fruit of leisure which lies in worshiping the divine and communing with God. Learn from what your leisure time reveals.

People flock to hear the rich and famous. Wealth is like an altar where people come to listen, learn and worship. Right or wrong, wealth is thought to be a blessing from God that is accompanied by the wisdom needed to accumulate and control possessions. Wealth provides the ability to control many things, but not all things. Time cannot be controlled by any man or woman. Control of the clock is reserved for God and not influenced by dollars or yuan.

In his day, Solomon was the wisest and wealthiest man to ever live. Estimates put his wealth at $2.1 Trillion making him the wealthiest man to EVER live even by today’s standards. That alone would make him a keynote speaker at a Chik-Fil-A banquet or college graduation. With hindsight as his guide Solomon deduced, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1. Solomon tried to control and possess all that he could with his wisdom and wealth, but he realized the elusive nature and power of time and controlling the clock.

Modern society is characterized by anger and frustrations that originate with the inability to control the timing of events. People don’t want to accept there is a place and time for Democrats and Republicans to be in charge. Sports teams rebuild their rosters to win today instead of building for the future. Facebook is sacrificing their customer base to make a profit today. Individuals buy into bitcoin not understanding cryptocurrencies because it looks like a get rich quick scheme. Millennials want it all and want it now because they are afraid time may not allow them to live a long and full life. It seems people have forgotten there IS a natural order in time and a season for everything. The devil is selling the lie that time is fleeting and can be controlled. FOMO is resulting in mayhem, disorder and separation from God.

Solomon pointed out God is the originator and architect of time. “I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in it’s time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men: yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecc. 3:10-11. We are hard wired to KNOW there is life after death, but we cannot fully comprehend the rhythm of time. Spiritual warfare targets our hearts and minds to not understand and accept God’s sovereignty. Our frustration with a lack of control in the timing of events in our lives leads us to seek council from men or play god ourselves.

The world wants us to spend our time and effort buying into the belief that education, intelligence and monetary success is the path to winning in life. Yet, the richest man to ever live said, “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned: but time and chance happen to them all.” Ecc. 9:11. Time and chance??!! People and nations are risking their reputations and souls trying to effect and control outcomes. Accepting a lack of control over time and destiny is not an option encouraged in our society.

We seem more willing to accept the concept of a ‘time and season for everything’ as long as we know or control the timing. If we could know the time of a party or politicians tenure in office. If we could control when a sickness would end and a healthy life would resume. How long before I get a raise in my job? We try to control the timing in our lives but maybe we should submit and trust it to God. When we don’t, this leads to anxiety over the future, anger at people for their political choices, apathy towards God and disunity in society. This is spiritual warfare, folks.

The fact is, “…men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.” Ecc 9:12. We want to avoid tough times and knowing they can fall on us unexpectedly results in our effort to control and minimize the timing. Maybe we should entertain Solomon’s conclusions. “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecc 12:13. This would require recognition of God and submission to Him and His timing. This is the nature of life and the battle for your soul.

When we accept there is indeed a time and a season for everything it can lead to us trusting and loving God, or rebelling from Him. This is the heartbeat of spiritual warfare.

Allow GOD to play out every second and season in your life. Don’t try to control the clock.

Everything in and of this world comes and goes. Also known as, ‘the only constant is change.’ The dollar usurped the pound as the world currency. Stock and bond markets move in cycles. Religions move in and out of popularity over the centuries. Comedies and love stories gave way to action and adventure in the movies. A political progressive was once a Communist. Winter gives way to spring, youth to old age. Solomon put it more presciently. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:” Ecclesiastes 3:1.

Finding satisfaction in our lives and work is truly a gift from God, but God has an enemy. The enemy has perverted this truth by wanting people to believe everything should be tolerated in the attempt to find satisfaction. Tolerance has become the enemy’s mantra in place of God’s mantra, which is love. In the pursuit of individual freedoms tolerance is the gateway to acceptance. What one generation tolerates the next generation accepts. Not everything should be tolerated. Tolerance can be a gateway drug that steals the truth and replaces love in your heart.

Are mass school shootings to be tolerated the same as multi-sex bathrooms? Should the opioid crisis be tolerated the same as a college teaching there are 5 different sexes and not just male and female? One of the tactics used to steal your free will and your very soul, is getting you to tolerate and accept things that should not be tolerated. Spiritual warfare takes the shape of the devil spreading lies of tolerance that don’t sound bad, but choke out the truth. I can still love you but not tolerate your behavior.

Believers must pray for and cultivate a discerning spirit from God so as not to fall prey to the lies of the enemy. In Mark 4:10-25, Jesus told a parable of four different types of soils that represents what is happening TODAY. In this parable and in 2018, some people hear the truth, but “As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.” Other’s “hear it and receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time.” Still others “hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

This is spiritual warfare folks. Yesterday we didn’t accept killing unborn babies under the argument a woman has the right to do whatever she wants with her body. Satan sowed the seed of tolerating a decision regardless of the moral consequences and now there are 40-50 million abortions in the world each year (World Health Organization). Politicians have been used to plant the tolerance that America is not known as a Judeo-Christian society and weakened the root of our beliefs. The devil has sown tolerance of divorce and torn down the nuclear family.

In the previous parable Jesus also tells about the soil that is good, hears and accepts the word of truth and produces a good crop. Let’s face it though, we can all be different soils in different seasons. 2018 is a season where our tolerances of yesterday are producing an acceptance today that is endangering the very soul of our nation. You can hear and know the truth but we have an enemy who wants to steal it from you and his name is Satan, the devil. You can’t defeat an enemy if you don’t know his name, his lies and his tactics.

The enemy of mankind is waging a battle for the soil and soul of your life through tolerance. The devil doesn’t deal in right and wrong; he deals in right and almost right by slightly perverting the truth. What Satan doesn’t mention is that through your tolerance of what is almost right comes acceptance of his lies. The result can be weeds and lies that grow into deeds and actions that effect your heart AND eternity. Soloman nailed it. “For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecc. 12:14.

We live in a world at war not in peace. The length of the battle is your lifetime. One lie the enemy tells is you should tolerate everything and live for today. God does not tolerate our sin. God forgives our sin when we repent and ask for forgiveness. If we tolerate and accept our own sin we are in for a rude awakening.

Learn to discern the truth through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Don’t let this season of tolerance make you accept the lies of the enemy and possibly have an incorrect view of yourself and others. What one generation tolerates the next generation accepts.

One day last week provided me with a moment of clarity. A haircut resulted in a lap full of gray hair clippings. A picture while trimming the dog’s nails revealed an ever growing bald spot. I was reminded of what I know but I tend to forget because I see it every day. We become so accustomed to the ordinary and lose sight of the truth right in front of us. So much truth is being hidden and lost in the ordinary because of spiritual warfare.

The truth is there is an underlying angst in our world today. The signs are unrest in your job and marriage, discontentment with the ruling authorities, anxiety about the future, loneliness in a crowded world and a decrease in deep relationships and community. The cause is spiritual warfare and it is taking the joy out of daily living. The results are the usual suspects…divorce, sexual perversions, idolatry, envy, greed, anger, hatred and unforgiveness. The casualties are disconnected families and a generation that doesn’t fear or even KNOW God. This fight is waged in the hearts and minds of every person on the planet and no one is exempt. Spiritual warfare is the snake you can’t see and don’t hear about. It’s the snake on the plane that is biting everyone.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12. Until you accept this FACT, you’ll only see gun control, racism and politics as topics of conversation. Spiritual warfare is the difference defined by the red pill or the blue pill, Neo. To see the underlying condition of the hearts and minds in people, you need to recognize spiritual warfare. Then, you must deal with the enemy that is attacking your very soul.

Remember the story of the guy who died in the flood because he had never seen the water rise so high? He wouldn’t listen to the sheriff who came by, the highway patrol who warned him, the guy in the boat or the helicopter when they came to rescue him. The guy drowned. It wasn’t until he met the Lord after he died, that God reminded him how many people He sent to save him from the flood. We need to get back to knowing and seeing God in the natural, everyday commonplace things. Only then will we see the profound implications in the war around us. Only then, will we see the real enemy, the devil.

Another FACT to never forget, the devil IS real. When you see pure evil like the school shootings in Florida, I can promise you he is spreading lies in the hearts and minds of the players involved. When a Christian couple thinks maybe they married the wrong spouse, the devil is trying to make you doubt God’s sovereignty and power to unite and hold everything together. Remember, the devil LOVES to lie. “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44….You wanna know who’s really behind fake news?

When the Bible recounts Christ being tempted in the wilderness for 40 days, the devil is revealed in spades. When speaking about the kingdoms of the world and the authority, splendor and control of this world, the devil says, “…it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Luke 4:6-7. In this world the enemy runs rampant, but under the radar.

The devil is a “schemer”, a “thief” and a “liar”. He is also “the god of this age (and) has blinded the minds of unbelievers..” 2 Cor. 4:4. When your thinking is limited to what you can see in this world and doesn’t include the spiritual realm, you become blinded and conformed to it’s patterns. Don’t lose the ability to renew your mind to truths in the Bible. Truths that were established when God created the world and time was new. Truths that never change.

To see truth in the ordinary everyday, “Set your minds on things above, not on Earthly things.”Col. 3:2. Then, listen to the news and talk to your friends to hear and feel the battles in their lives. Don’t trust Facebook to give you the whole story. Don’t believe the lies in the headlines. Learn to discern the truth by reading the Bible. Deflect the devil’s lies with faith in Jesus and fellowship with like minded believers. “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11.

Just because you don’t see the warfare doesn’t mean it’s not real and you can’t be injured in the battle. Odds favor, you’re wounded whether you know it or not…and these wounds can hurt and kill. Truth is the first line of protection against being a casualty.

Spiritual warfare is at the root of ordinary issues in society today. Spiritual warfare is causing profound problems in marriages, schools, politics and all relationships. If you start to look for it, it’s as easy to see as a bald spot.

A recurring topic of conversation is balancing the demands of life in 2018. Balance is another way to ask, “Am I living it right?” From the minute we start running to ball practice, cheer leading and music lessons, we join the rat race. The fast lane is different for everyone and it changes the older we get, but the need to balance everything remains the same. I played golf two weeks ago for the first time in forever. I was having a blast until I looked at the time. We had enjoyed an hour and forty minutes together and were teeing off on the 7th hole. When I learned our pace of play, I stopped having as much fun.

Asking for divine intervention in balancing life and time is near the top of too many prayer requests. “Help me balance my…everything!!” FOMO has become epidemic and the result is multitasking on steroids; and opioids for that matter. The attempt to balance our time is a control issue. At the core, control is a spiritual issue.

The Bible says “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.” Psalm 90:10. At the pace most people are running that’s a very big IF. We try to balance our incessant wants and growing list of demands on our time. Anxiety arises because we were not meant to manage time on our own. We were designed to submit and let God direct how we use our time, where to spend it and what to do with it. If you don’t have a connection to the Holy Spirit, you’re on your own to balance life. Good luck. That’s why there are books, videos and college degrees on time management…and so much frustration.

So, does God know more about balancing and managing time? Proverbs is a book “for obtaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight.” Proverbs 1:2. Wisdom is seeing things as God sees them. “For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.” Proverbs 9:11. Obviously, if God can add years, we need to let Him speak into how we balance our time.

The writer of Psalms reminds us that with God, “..a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by..” Psalm 90:4. If we can get advice from a God who has that perspective, understanding and sight, I have to think balancing our schedules can become a whole new ballgame.

As everything with God, it takes faith and believing. “Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.” Proverbs 4:10. The practicality of this means starting each day in communication with Him through the Holy Spirit. Giving Him props and submitting to where He leads us to spend our time is a discipline that can yield hours to your day and make the years of your life more numerous.

God has become a common name accepted in our culture. Jesus is known to his followers but can be divisive to others. The Holy Spirit is more unknown and rarely taught and talked about from the pulpit today. Letting God dictate your pace of play each day requires listening and obedience to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is critical to your faith and crucial to time management.

Why and how is the Spirit such a vital component to letting God manage your day? For starters, He is the guiding voice in a believer’s head and heart. He is the EXPERT in looking ahead and seeing around the next corner. Jesus vouched for the Spirit to all of His followers. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” John 16:13. I can’t think of a better resume and referral.

Balancing your time and settling into a comfortable pace of play in life might require a few changes in your daily routine. It begins by submitting control of each day to the leading of the Holy Spirit. This requires a relationship with Jesus and getting to know the voice of the Spirit. It isn’t difficult, but it does take a commitment and discipline.

The Holy Spirit gives power, revelation, warnings of things to come, speaks truth, gives hope, renewal, rebirth and gifts from heaven. With these abilities, balancing your life and schedule doesn’t seem far fetched. Your pace of play will never be an issue again.