You might already know that the Fitbit has dominated the personal health market over the last five years. This year, it continues to trend as one of the must have holiday gifts to give. If you are not familiar with this small, rubbery wristband then here’s the concept in a nutshell.
FitBit is a little bracelet you wear that tracks your heart rate, counts the number of steps you take, measures how many calories you have burned through physical activity, and can even determine how well you sleep. All the data collected that is amassed is then downloaded to your computer or phone to help you stay physically fit. The company boasts those who wear Fitbit take 43% more steps than they did before they started wearing the gadget. This is good. Exercise in any form is good for you as long as you don’t over do it. Right? If FitBit is anything, it is a high-tech product that helps low-tech people understand and take control of their personal health. But what if we took a different direction and reworked the basic operating system of FitBit to measure not only our physical health but our spiritual as well? Imagine if we had such a device that recorded how much time we spent reading Scripture, counts the number of prayers we offered, or determined how many kind deeds we did for others throughout the day. With over a billion self-defined Christians in the world, a product that boosts spiritual health could be an overnight success. Add in all other world religions and those who believe they are “spiritual but not religious” and this new product has the potential to be the greatest selling product since sliced bread or even the Gorge Forman Grill! There are some who believe God is keeping score of all this for us; that there is a large, Heavenly warehouse that stores records of all our spiritual activity, or the lack thereof. I cannot say for sure if such a place exists. What I do know is when we clothe ourselves in the Armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18), when we give our prayers and concerns over to Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:13), and when we take the time to quietly listen for the Spirit (Mt. 12:18), we become more spiritually awake and alert. And even more in sync with our Creator God. As the Advent season comes to an end and the celebration of Christmas draws near, we continue to hold to the truth that Jesus has called us to always be spiritually awake and alert, to keep our faith active and healthy, and to constantly strive for peace; knowing the love and grace of God has been given to us through our blessed savior. There is no better gift than the One lying in a manger, gift wrapped in swaddling clothes. Comments are closed.
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Ian MacdonaldAn ex-copywriter turned punk rock pastor and peacemaker who dedicates his life to making the world a better place for all humanity. "that they all might be one" ~John 17:21“Prius vita quam doctrina.”
~ St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) * “Life is more important than doctrine.”
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