You never realize how attached you are to something until you try to quit.
So the other day I called to cancel one of my credit cards, per the advice of Dave Ramsey. When I finally got connected to a "retention specialist", I explained that I was using less credit and wanted to cancel. I literally repeated this line 6 more times over the course of our conversation, during which the representative basically offered to make me a Vice-President in the company if I would remain a loyal customer. Breaking this attachment was as difficult as removing the plastic box that most kid's toys come fused inside these days. Finally, I got my account closed. And as I hung up the phone, I felt something unexpected: Freedom. One less company that I owed. One less business relationship to maintain.
I have become more aware of my attachment lately...
I don't realize how attached I am to coffee until I try and go without. Yesterday I didn't have coffee until after lunch and the headache almost killed me.
I don't realize how attached I am to professional baseball until I try and ignore it, and the desire to look at box scores becomes constant. (Yes, I am that pathetic)
I don't realize how attached I am to my credit card company until I try to cancel.
This has made me think about our attachments to this world. What we let get our hooks into us really does pull us in that direction. As I think of Jesus, I am aware that his one attachment was to the Father. He only said what the Father told him to say. He only did what the Father told him to do. And He was FREE. More free than anyone ever has been.
I am thinking today about how nice this freedom would be. What would life look like if this was MY only attachment?
Journey free today-
Nick
4 comments:
Great insight, Vice President Nick. What an idea of what it would be like to only be attached to Jesus. That would be super freeing.
I sooo struggled with myself to finally cancel our cable. What if I miss an episode of 24?! What about The Amazing Race?! *Gasp* I'm not sure how I could go on... But I did it. Today. It only took me 3 months to work up to it. I'm not sure I feel free yet though...I think there is still a little panic going on...
We have lots of attachments -- work, school, spouses, kids, family, a mortgage, car, culture, etc. I don't know how, as a human, it would be possible to only be attached to Jesus. I agree that it would be freeing. I think we all need to figure out how to balance our connections/obligations/attachments (whatever you want to call them) so that it doesn't IMPEDE our connection with Christ.
You bring up a good point Britt. If by getting rid of attachments we mean "do without", it would literally be impossible to be attached only to Jesus. But how I was seeing the word was something that had a hold over me in such a way that to a degree, it "owns" me. I follow baseball so regularly that at this point I feel like I literally have to know what's happening. So in a sense, it has a hold over me that really belongs only to Jesus. Can I still enjoy and follow baseball and be attached only to Jesus? I think so. But I'm not there. I think that's part of our spiritual journey- that Jesus becomes more and more central, and everything else become peripheral to that relationship.
I knew what you were trying to say...just thinking about how far out that really carries. Do we cut back to the essentials or can we allow some extra fluff in there? I agree that when anything becomes a driving force, to the point that it draws you away from God, then you need to look at it :) Baseball scores, eh? That's...uh...something... ;-) When I read your blog I was thinking as the attchment being more like a source of power, fulfillment, and strength, rather than just merely a relationship.
How freeing it is indeed when I'm relying on God's strength and power, rather than my own, or what I derive from other selfish or futile pursuits.
Hope you are going to do the financial peace university thing again. I'd like to try it out to see what, if anything, it could do for us. I don't know if I'd ditch the card, but it's an intriguing thought anyway :D
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