February 9th, 2023

Time flies. Everybody says that - especially as they grow older. And it’s crazy how fast the Fridays come and go. As life goes on, days begin to blur together. Sure, we feel like we accomplished a lot, but why can’t we ever remember exactly what we did a week ago?

In my day job, I’m an operator. I’m the guy tasked with putting out fires. My weeks will always feel busy. Because as with any business, new problems and situations always arise. At the same time, I’m expected to grow the company. Which can be hard considering a 40-hour week doesn’t always constitute progress - it just means we are maintaining our current level of operation. 

Typically growing the business means extra hours. And a better focus on other “move the needle” tasks outside the scope of the day to day. I’m sure you can relate to this dilemma in your own personal life; both in work and family, side hustles, building net worth, etc.

This vortex is normal. But people who recognize it know they need to shake things up to “level up” and get somewhere new. Whatever that means for you, we cannot just keep doing the same things over and over - week after week - expecting different results. 

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Now let’s zoom out. Forget your weekly tasks for a moment and think about the big picture. How far along are you on your 2023 goals? For many - myself included - you’ll realize it’s already February 9th, and some of the big strides we were hoping for have not yet happened. I see this realization happening in the church, where far too many are waiting on something external to happen before we begin fighting in the culture wars that are already well on their steady downturn thanks to radical activists and the progressive movement as a whole.

Eric Metaxas details this phenomenon in his new book, Letter to the American Church. As he argues, the church has a responsibility to act now to combat the evils of our time. He says that too many Christians rely on unbiblical “faith” - or otherwise put; “cheap grace.” Which is a cope in and of itself that absolves a person from putting in any real world effort towards fighting in the culture wars. Or, as some other authors put it, a never-ending spiritual battle; one that has no utopian end so long as we live in a sinful world that the Devil enjoys having his way with.

I equate this level of thinking by most in the Church to the same mindset we tend to have with our weeks; doing the same thing over and over but always expecting different results. 

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.

Not to speak is to speak.

Not to act is to act.

God will not hold us guiltless.”

Metaxas believes the American Christian ought to reevaluate their priorities. Instead of focusing on recruitment numbers to the faith, we must hold strong to the promotion of Truth. Or we risk losing it all to a godless faith that is hungry to devourer all institutions. Just look at how the government is already redefining the family unit. And don’t forget about how far gone the Churches were under Hitler during the World War II era.

Truth, as explained in Rob Dreher’s Live Not by Lies, will always prevail. But it cannot become known after lives are lost and countries become vast wastelands with economies built on the backs of a slave state. Though that may feel like a leap, nothing is out of the question when a nation turns from God. With the removal of God as the focal point of a society, something else sinister will always rush in to fill the void. ALWAYS.

This is why a people who have rejected God will turn to a godless technocratic government to do His role better. It never works, but the belief in it is what gets us to where we are today.

Both Metaxas and Dreher agree when they say one of the greatest ways to combat a culture that is distanced from God is to focus on the institutions built for glorifying Him. Family is just one example. Similar to the days under Soviet Union reign, a family built on biblical principles and action will serve as a symbol for others about true freedom and true joy. Regimes don’t want people to understand this, which is why they slander these institutions every chance they get. 

Now let’s zoom back in. How can we better equip our daily actions to serve this greater purpose? As a starting point, I urge our readers to look beyond the “maintaining” mindset and strive for a “building” one. For example, are you using your time efficiently? Or are you spending too much time putting out fires at work that you are unable to spend time with your loved ones talking about actual important topics like how to get plugged in with more like minded Christians? 

The goal here is to tap into these much larger concepts - like the role of the Church in society - through actions you can do on a weekly basis. Add those things to your schedule. Meeting with a small group once a week may seem like a big commitment, especially with all the other things you have going on in your life. But it will also compound over time, which will inevitably “move the needle” on where you want to see yourself in 5, 10, and 20 years. Heck, it will even make you better in your day job, because you will be a more calm minded person rather than one who operates merely in chaos.

Also, side point, evil loves chaos. That’s where it strives. There is no better place for a godless ideology to poke its ugly head into than one operating under chaos without order. Freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want. It’s the ability to have these God imposed institutions like Family without government influence. We are called to the responsibility of maintaining these institutions - which is ultimately the role of true freedom.

Nowadays, we’ve been tricked into believing what we do doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. But that’s far from the truth. Instead, what we do collectively can make a greater impact than we could ever imagine. Because it compounds and can influence the masses.

My task to you is to be real with yourself. What are some areas of your life that are ultimately wasting time in the macro? What can be cut, and how can you implement physical tasks like reading the Bible or just being silent with God to turn yourself into a growing person. 

Think hard and be honest. What we do with our time matters, and it takes constant effort to build something that rejects society by simply existing. No schedule is perfect, as this is a battle that needs to be dealt with and understood each and every day. Are you putting yourself in situations to better equip yourself for rising to the occasion?

This same mentality can and should be applied to everything we do.

Time flies!

-Beavs

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