"Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it sure makes the rest of you lonely."
-Charles Schulz
Getting out of the routine of physical exercise is not a good thing. Sadly I must admit that's where I am right now. It's not that I don't like exercise or don't need it, it's just that I am out of the habit of doing it. I have forgotten the benefits of carrying less weight and having more energy.
If absence makes the heart grow fonder, why am I not drawn to the gym at 6:00 a.m. every morning? I've been absent from there for a couple of months now. Why is it that when my schedule was fuller and my time was scarcer, I had time to
work-in my workouts? If I were truly committed to exercise right now, my
intentions to workout would be replaced with the
behavior of working out. Now my workouts allude me while lesser things seduce me.
Isn't this the way it is with our relationship with God?
He created you and I with a God-shaped hole in our heart that only He can fill. In the absence of the One who is fond of us and our pursuit of Him, our hearts grow fonder of lesser things - social media, emails, television, wine, food, pornography, sports, hobbies, work, etc. And it's not that He's left us, it's that we have left Him (see
Deut.31:6 )
The writer of the hymn, "
Come Thy Fount of Every Blessing", reminds us that we are "prone to wander - prone to leave the God we love." We are lulled into complacency one poor wandering choice at a time, only to wake up somewhere down the road asking, "How did I get here?" Chuck Swindoll summed up our wandering half-heartedness the best I've ever heard it; "The problem with a living sacrifice is that it has a tendency to crawl off the alter."
King David wrote, "I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done" (
Ps.9:1) Did you get that? "I will praise you with
ALL my heart." Giving half-hearted praise to the God who gave it all for us isn't praise at all. It's the lip service of a hardened heart...the living sacrifice that is crawling off the alter...the gym membership that isn't getting used.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder only of the things to which we are truly committed. What is
my level of commitment to the One who gave it all for me? What is
yours?
Lord, help us align our actions to our intentions. May we not be
lukewarm but whole-hearted!
...See you at the gym!
Play to win this week in the game that really counts!
Bill Edmonds is an Executive Coach and Business Consultant who works with leaders and organizations in the areas of personal and organizational development to help them reach their full potential. He spent 24 years with Merrill Lynch as a Director and Market Executive. For more information as to how his firm can serve you, or to book him to speak to your group.
Visit our website: Northstar Leadership Solutions.
