Twitter users have 160 characters to describe themselves in their bios. And do you know how many of us use 6+ of those precious letters to tout our love of coffee?
So. Many. Including, for a while, me.
But then I got to thinking about it. As much as I enjoy a cup of coffee (with sugar and cream), the drink is not the essence of who I am or who I aspire to be.
And more striking than the space I’d given coffee among my 160 characters was the out-of-proportion priority I’d let it have in my real life.
I would drink it throughout the day even though the quantity would make me feel kind of on edge and jittery. Those physical side effects would make it harder to focus on my work. What started as a comforting and delicious routine became a distraction.
I finally stepped back to reconsider the power the habit had gained. It was time to redefine myself in my bio and, more importantly, break free from the distraction.
After all, I want to serve Christ. Not coffee.
1 Corinthians 6:12 says, “All things are lawful for me” – but not everything is beneficial. “All things are lawful for me” – but I will not be controlled by anything. (NET)
Rewriting the 160-character bio was the easy part. Cutting back on coffee took longer. I resisted. I dealt with the side effects and excused the culprit before finally limiting how much I brewed in the morning.
This isn’t to bash coffee or those who enjoy it (which I still do). And go ahead and keep it in your bio because my main concern isn’t actually coffee or Twitter bios. Coffee is minor. So are online profiles.
What isn’t minor are all the things we do allow to take priority in our lives despite the harm they do us.
What’s eating away at our peace and our well-being? What dictates a larger part of our day than it ought to? What infuses our routines with downsides we’ve been ignoring for far too long? What controls us?
After all, our lives have something in common with Twitter bios: they’re short. We have a limited number of days. Let’s choose carefully how we choose to fill and define them: with Christ or with other, lesser distractions.
Has there been a time in your life when you realized you’d let something define a bigger part of your life than it deserved?
A very thoughtful post and wise application to the scripture.
Thank you, Sue!
Great check and challenge to make me assess the idols in my own life, Emily. They can creep up so easily, starting as harmless until they begin to demand a priority they shouldn't have (and often we don't notice the change). Thanks for this reminder!
They are so sneaky, aren't they? You're right; the change is often so gradual, we don't notice it. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Oh my friend, my heart has literally been racing all morning from the coffee I drank. Time to cut back. Your post is like chamomile tea.
I hear you; it's easy to overdo it with coffee. What a sweet thing to say-I feel like chamomile tea is one of the best things a post could aspire to, so thank you! 😉
GREAT post, Emily! I'm guilty. Coffee is a part of my Twitter and general bio. 😉 God has been reminding me of things that I've been allowing to distract me from the intimate relationship He desires with me. Last week was instrumental in helping me see things He wants to work in me. Now, to choose Him and His truths over the thought processes and mindsets that have influenced me for so long.
God's been working on my need to choose his truths over the other mindsets I've given sway for too long, too. So grateful that he doesn't just leave us on our own when we struggle in that way–he's there, and he sends reinforcements, too 🙂