09/26/2024
(A sample of our Abba's House Digital Devotional Group. Join to listen and engage in our private chat. https://subspla.sh/nmx6pbr )
Why is it that the worst songs are some of the hardest to get out of our heads? Is it because they’re uniquely catchy? That might be part of it. But there’s actually a scientific answer to this question.
Dr. Roy Baumeister explains that if you “listen to a randomly chosen song and shut it off halfway through...the song is likely to run through your mind at odd intervals. If you get to the end of the song, the mind checks it off, so to speak. If you stop it in the middle, however, the mind treats the song as unfinished business….And that’s why this kind of ear worm is so often an awful tune rather than a pleasant one. We’re more likely to turn off the bad one in midsong, so it’s the one that returns to haunt us.”
Neurologists will tell you that it’s not just unfinished songs that our minds keep reminding us of. There are also unfinished tasks and unfulfilled commitments which our brains are bursting with. That's a problem, because God didn't design our brains to store that much information. And because we know we can't “keep track of it all,” our mental to-do lists often cause Christ-followers a tremendous amount of anxiety. Why? Because we know that Jesus has commanded that our “‘yes’ be ‘yes’” which brings us to the second principle of this series:
Principle #2
LET YOUR YES BE YES
To redeem our time in the model of our Redeemer, we must ensure that our “yes” is “yes” from the smallest to the biggest commitments we make.
Our solutions for practicing this principle in our modern context are inadequate to say the least. From trying to keep track of to-dos in our head to storing tasks in starred emails, I think most of us would admit that our “yes” is not always “yes” like Jesus commanded, and thus, we’re more stressed than ever.
So what’s the solution? Extracting all of your commitments out of their current locations—your brain, email inbox, post-it notes, etc.—and placing them into a trusted, external system.
“Say only ‘yes’ if you mean ‘yes,’ and say only ‘no’ if you mean ‘no.’ If you say more than that, it is from the Evil One.”
Matthew 5:37
“And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.”
Philippians 4:7
“So now finish the work you started. Then your “doing” will be equal to your “wanting to do.” Give from what you have.”
2 Corinthians 8:11
“My brothers and sisters, it is very important that you not use an oath when you make a promise. Don’t use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. When you mean yes, say only “yes.” When you mean no, say only “no.” Do this so that you will not be judged guilty.”
James 5:12
““If a man makes a special promise to the Lord or makes a promise with an oath, he must not break his promise. He must do everything he said he would do.”
Numbers 30:2
Redeeming Your Time - By: Jordan Raynor
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