COMPARTMENTALIZATION

A little over a month ago I moved to Russellville, Arkansas to start a new chapter of life at Arkansas Tech. For a creature of habit and consistency, this change of pace has been full of many unexpected blessings and challenges. Literally every earthly thing about life is different now. Friends. Food. Hobbies. Routines. Everything is changing. While many aspects of my life are changing this Fall, the one thing that remains the same is God and his continual love and grace for me.

During this season of change, my biggest challenge has been time management. Being on my own has forced me to create my own schedule and manage my own priorities. Living in a dorm on campus has been great for me, but my mom can’t wake me up every morning and make sure I have my life together.

Coming into college I knew that I had to set my priorities straight spiritually, physically, and mentally. I knew that God needed to be my number one priority no matter what was thrown my way. While God needed to be my number one, I knew that my relationship with Him would also determine the relationships I made on campus and in the community.

Having these priorities in my mind, I wanted to start good habits in the beginning of the semester in hope that they would continue until graduation. Before class started each day, I attempted to throw in a quick devotional into my morning routine. The hour I spent getting ready was filled with background noise of podcasts in hope of some spiritual encouragement to get my day off to a good start.

The first week of school I immediately attempted to explore every option to fellowship with other believers. I was going to bible studies and church groups multiple nights a week and trying to fit discipleship group time into my schedule as well. I was trying to fit in every possible way to be spiritually fed into my schedule. I had previously thought that time management and priorities would be my main issue in college, but I found that compartmentalization was holding me back from fully experiencing the splendor and the goodness of God.

Compartmentalization is a psychological defense mechanism in which thoughts and feelings that seem to conflict are kept separated or isolated from each other in the mind.

What this means is as humans we tend to compartmentalize our lives and separate our faith from our everyday lifestyle and habits. Why do we do this you might ask? It’s because it is not humanly possible to set our minds on God and on worldly desires at the same time. We can’t be striving to receive the fruits of the spirit if we are consumed by worldly tasks. Since we can’t do both at the same time, we tend to put our life into different categories and call it “time management”.

In Colossians 3:2-4 Paul writes, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory“

Not only are we called to set our minds on things above, but we are called to live a life in Christ. In Chapter 1 of Colossians Paul vividly paints a picture of what it looks like to remain in Christ instead of compartmentalizing our faith .

“For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on Earth, visible, and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” ( Colossians 1:16-18)

How do we set our minds on things above? How are we able to live our lives in Christ? And how do we avoid compartmentalizing our faith?

To set your mind on things above means to avoid selfish thoughts and let your mind be consumed with thoughts of the Kingdom. When our minds are set on things above we give up worldly desires such as money and power and focus on serving our King and loving His people. When we set our minds on things above we worry less about finding happiness in worldly contentment and receive the full joy that God offers. You may be making time for God in your busy schedule, but do you remain focused on Him throughout your day?

When you are saved, your old life is thrown away and we are called to live a life in Christ. To remain in Christ means to include him in every aspect of life. To remain in Christ means to seek him from the time you wake up until you lay your head down at night. It means you make decisions based on His teachings. It means that you stay focused on him and live out your faith at school, in your home, and in your place of work. To remain in Him means to store up His word in your heart and live it out every single day. Salvation is a surrender of your life and remaining in Christ is a daily choice to follow Him.

To avoid compartmentalization we must set our minds on things above and remain in Christ daily.

Yes I was spending time listening to sermons and fellowshipping with other believers. Yes I was having deep conversations concerning my Savior. Yes I felt like I was managing my time wisely, but I was just putting God on my to-do list instead of putting Him in my heart. While I was trying to make time for God, I was leaving him out of the other aspects of my life

I was striving to put God first, but my life just felt like it was crammed and not whole. My relationship with God was and is the most important but I was sectioning it off. While I was trying to grow my relationship with Christ and fill my time with fruitful content, I realized that I was just busying myself.

God shouldn’t just be worshipped during church services on Wednesdays and Sundays. He should be worshipped at all times. He should be included in every friendship or relationship. Everything comes from Him and should be used for his glory. Whenever you set your mind on things above the jealousy and envy you felt before will be filled with joy and gratitude. When you remain in Christ every aspect of your life will work out for the good because you are putting Christ in everything.

God is worthy of so much more than our time.

Our faith is not something that can be limited by the hours in the day or a busy schedule.

An hour of fellowship is not enough for God.

A 15 minute devotional in the morning is not enough for God.

That Tuesday night devotional is not good enough for God.

God doesn’t want your time, he wants your heart.

Let that sink in.

Our God is worthy of every thought and conversation.

He is not a part of our life- He is our life

Without Him we would not have life.

But through Him we are able to live a life that is full of grace and pure joy.

A life in Christ is a life worth living.

REFLECT:

1. Is your mind set on things above?
2. Are you compartmentalizing your faith?
3. What are aspects of your life that are absent from the presence of God?