Routine

       As a teacher in the public school system, one thing that I have become increasingly aware of in the past year is how important a routine is to the students. Since my work has currently been as a substitute teacher, I normally "break" the routine each day I work. Reasons for this include: I am not their normal teacher, my classroom management is not the same, my expectations can sometimes be different, and my teaching style is different (especially when it comes to math.) Naturally, when there is a break in a routine/structure of the classroom, the students automatically lose some focus. Talking ensues, they automatically try to manipulate the teacher, etc. 


       I somehow think that when it comes to our relationship with Christ, a routine can be a detrimental thing if it does not get examined periodically. (forgive me if this becomes a ramble) 


      Just think for a moment. Do you have a normal routine with Christ? Maybe you read the Bible at a certain time everyday, or you do something special every Monday. Maybe you pray a certain way each day, or you have a certain method to approach you devotional time. I know that I have my own routine that I adhere to every day. Yet, I sometimes wonder if I ever need to switch things up for freshness and to revitalize my relationship with God. 


      Now, take a look at a regular routine in your day. For instance, I am going to think about my morning routine, which is the following: shower, breakfast, get ready for work, brush teeth, make lunch, and then finally leave (in that order). This routine is so regular to me, that it has become automatic. Is it the same for you? I do not have to think about what comes next in my morning. I, in a sense, go on auto-pilot.  I can be so far removed from my morning routine, that I will question whether I performed a certain step or not. Going with that, in college, when I was living with two other guys, there would be days where one of them would get up earlier, or do something to cause a break in my routine. Well, I am sure this might be the same for you, but I  would get disoriented when a break occurs. What was once steady becomes unstable and I have to gain my ground again. Let's think about this with our "Christ" routine as I will now dub it. 


      If we allow ourselves to go on auto-pilot with Christ, are we going to be able to have a meaningful walk with Him? Are we going to be able to constantly be sensitive to His still small voice if we slowly slip into a rut? I know that there are times where I feel very dry spiritually and then I wonder if it is merely because I have lost Christ in what I am doing; that I am only reading my Bible, because it is what I do every morning. I think when something becomes the norm, then examination needs to happen. All to often we can incidentally become self focused. We get trapped thinking that the Lord will be upset for our disobedience with our man-made routine. Just the other day, I was afflicted with guilt because I had gone three days without reading a devotional book. The guilt was not from the Lord, but from Satan. A deliberate attack to make me place my trust in a material item, not in the Lord himself. We end up taking something originally intended as glorification for God, to our false belief that it is through that book, or through the "filling my quota" prayer time, that I will earn my righteousness with God. 

     Now, I am not saying every quarter your routine should be completely changed. I feel however, that every so often we need to examine the practices in which we spend time with the Lord. At the least, we need to purposely center what we do back onto Christ. He is "the way, and the truth, and the life." John 14: 6 (ESV). He is our only way to our Father in Heaven. We cannot get there by a mere daily routine.