I just read a fantastic post over at Parchment and Pen about Fantasy Christian Men that struck a chord with me this morning:
I think there are many men like me. I am going to call us, “Fantasy
Christian Men.” We love Jesus. We really do. We want to change our
world. We want to advance the kingdom of God. We want to fight
injustice. We want to be heroes to our wives and children.
Unfortunately, however, we are just as good if not better at fantasy
than reality.If you look at our focus, passion, reading, time, thoughts,
conversations and strategy you will find many of us are killing it at:
Fantasy Football; Basketball, Baseball; Netflix; and Video Games. We
are endlessly engaged in things that are rooted in fantasy. I know you
will probably say you are forming powerful relationships with people
for Christ through your fantasy draft weekend, the chat room from your
favorite video game, etc…
Tim's post is about falling into the world of the TV show "24", which I watched regularly when it aired. I can definitely see myself in some of his words here. There have been other TV shows, other books and other forms of media-related obsessions that have taken me out of the reality that God placed me in. More recently it's been my iPhone. I'm far too into my phone and its ability to connect me with non-present-tense things. (It really needs to transition from "mind extension" to "useful tool"...)
I think my more regular (and I really hesitate to call it) "fantasy" in this context is work. I spend an incredible amount of mental energy throughout the week on my job, the happenings at my job, the people at my job, the problems/solutions/grips/gossip/etc. at my job. I don't spend nearly enough time praying for the people at work, my tasks at work, advancing his kingdom at work, etc.
I think this is a good resolution to start off the week.
