The Art of Can Kicking

   Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14, NASB95)  

Kicking the can down the road seems to be a great American pastime.  We excel at putting off until tomorrow what should be done today. Just look at our national and personal debt. However the desire to kick the can may not simply be an American thing, but a human thing. Even those that excel at time management and getting things done are kicking a can somewhere in their lives.

To be fair we cannot do everything that calls for our attention in one day.  We do need to kick some cans down the road in order to prioritize the needs and responsibilities of life. The question then becomes one of searching and understanding our priorities so that we are kicking the right can, delaying the right things.

Most of you reading this blog would agree that God is or should be our number one priority, family and friends second, and self (job, hobbies, desires) third.  But there are those that kick the God can way down the road – “I’ll accept Jesus just before I die.”  Or perhaps the God can is compartmentalized – “God is for Sundays” or Christmas and Easter.  Either way God is removed from being today’s priority until a more convenient time.  (I do not know if you ever noticed but convenience always comes at a premium.) The greatest fear is that those who kick the God can down the road will kick the bucket before they reach the can again.

Those of us who claim that God is our number one priority must also be aware that we too may be kicking the God can down the road.  Granted not near as far, but perhaps much more often.  Our first commandment is to love God with everything we have and are. But it does seem that the busyness of life often interferes with fulfilling the command. I believe we need to change our thinking from time management to moment engagement. Instead of trying to shoehorn God into our day and feeling guilty when we fail. We need to change our thinking, our way of looking at time. We should love and glorify and abide in God during every moment of our lives. We must engage each moment, each task, each challenge, each event, each joy, each sorrow, each desire, each sacrifice while loving, abiding, and glorifying Jesus Christ.

Dale Heinold
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