Servant, not Master

In the article by Jerram Barrs which I linked to in the below post, he writes this phrase; "Let it be a servant and not a master!"

This has struck a huge chord in me, as time and time again I find myself enslaved to those things which ought to serve me! And yes, television is one of these, I often give it authority over my life, it holds me back, captivated by moving images and addictive storylines, when I could be spending time chatting to my wife or playing with my son. I often find myself sitting up late watching series and films when my body should be in bed resting.

But that is not the only 'servant' which can often become master of me. The internet is another, books, xbox, mobile phones etc all place constraints or addictions upon me. How many wasted hours have been spent playing pointless games, how maAny days do I check my emails multiple times throughout the day, just in case i've got mail. How often have I ignored those around me as I read a book (as wholesome as that book may be). And how many times have I stopped what i'm doing because I get a phone call.

We are called to be more than conquerers in Christ Jesus and not to be brought under the power of anything apart from His word, yet we continually set that which should serve us up as our master.

We need to begin in Prayer, to ask God to reveal those servants which have become masters.
And we need to make them serve us, or put them out of our lives if we cannot become the master over them.