Say No to Some Good Things to Make Room for the Best Things

During a normal week, I work 36 hours for my day job, and spend another 12-14 hours on my blog and coinciding social media. I have a husband and three dogs, and we have a house to take care of. I spend about 4 hours driving to and from work, and then on the weekends we go to church and sometimes drive another hour to visit my family. Life flies by and it feels like there is always something to do- and none of that includes having a social life!

Sometimes it feel like it is impossible to reach my dreams. Sometimes it feels like I never have enough time to work on the things I am passionate about. I want to be spending more like 20-30 hours working on my blog, but when I get home from work I am tired and the only thing I want to do is watch Netflix and eat Bon-Bons (Ok...more like pizza, but Bon-Bons work too).

But eating and watching T.V. isn't the solution to my problems. Those things are can be good things, but just because something is good, doesn't mean it's best, or that we should do it all the time.

I keep hearing the saying, "Give up what is good so that you can attain what is best", and honestly, I kept trying to figure out what that practically meant. I mean, I understood that some things are better than others, but I couldn't figure out how it applied to me.

But I am starting to realize that a lot of the time, I give up the best things in life in order to focus on the mediocre.

I mentioned before in my New Year's Goals and Resolutions post that I don't make Bible reading a priority like I should. I often choose to watch Netflix instead of spending time with God. I often choose to play video games instead of working on my blog. I would (if Taylor didn't keep me accountable- praise God for my husband!) choose sleep over church. I am so prone to choose the "good" (sometimes bad), over the very best. I often choose the mediocre over the spectacular.

And now I know what the saying means, and how it applies to me: I need to do the very best things with my time- not just the simple, mediocre, and (at best) good things.

In order to grow closer to God, I have to choose the best.

In order to improve and grow my blog, I have to choose the best.

In order to make God a priority (instead of sleep), I have to choose the best.

It's not always easy to choose the best. It is usually much easier to choose the mediocre. Good tends to be good enough if it requires less effort. But we need to start desiring more than just good- we need to seek after the best.

Now, before you cancel your Netflix subscription and toss your video games, choosing the best doesn't mean that every waking second of your life has to be given only to prayer, Bible reading, church, and whatever dreams you have for yourself. Much of it should be, but there is still something to be said for rest and relaxation. Enjoy the little things, but don't for a second start to believe that they are the best.

 Like nearly everything else in life, there is a balance to be found. Just make sure the balance is godly and...you guessed it: the best.