Reality “Life”

Nowadays it seems like there is no shortage of “reality” television shows. Of course, I personally think this term is an oxymoron. It's like saying, “a phony kind of real” -- it doesn't make much sense. Regardless, the one thing these shows do accomplish is helping people avoid or ignore their real lives.

Most of us tend to deal with the stressful things of our lives by ignoring them. The Bible tells us in James 1:23 & 24, “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.”

The Bible refers to itself as a glass or “mirror.” You see, one of the main things the Bible does is show us reality or what is real. As humans we tend to avoid reality. That is why we are so afraid of mirrors, scales, recordings of our voices, or anything else that tells us the truth or what is real. Many of us live our lives like the ostrich -- sticking our heads in the sand. Hiding from reality never changes anything. To be quite frank with you, avoiding reality causes feelings of despair and discouragement when reality catches up with you.

Sometimes life gets very complicated when a person avoids reality. One can only go so far before reality catches up with him. By confronting reality with these practical steps, one can avoid being overwhelmed.

1. Make a master list of all of the things you've been avoiding or ignoring. (i.e. cleaning your room, science project, reading assignment, purchasing a gift for a loved one, returning books to the library, finding a ride to a ball game, cleaning out your locker at school).

2. From the master list, make another list of things that can be resolved right away. Carry this list with you at all times. You'll be surprised how often, just by glancing at that list, it will remind you to take care of little things you can take care of right away.

3. The rest of the items on your master list (which should be big things that can't be resolved right away) get one sheet of paper per item. At the top of the sheet of paper write the task that cannot be resolved right away.

4. Write a plan or steps to deal with this task or problem. Perhaps you have been ignoring or avoiding your Bible reading. At the top of the sheet, write the problem. Now write a plan or steps to correct the problem.

5. Make a public decision in church if necessary. Especially when dealing with a spiritual problem, a public decision will put pressure on us to confront it.

6. Each day look over all of the sheets that have “big” problems or tasks and see if you are sticking to the plan you made. Don't lose hope if you get away from your plan. Pick up where you left off.

7. Update your lists periodically. This will show you how much you have accomplished. It will also help you stay on top of things to avoid the feelings of being overwhelmed.

Confronting reality will be something you always have to make a conscious effort to do because our human nature is determined to ignore reality. You can avoid a lot of frustration by living a “reality life.”