Most have heard the saying, “nature abhors a vacuum”, literally meaning that the natural world and its laws loathe or utterly detest a vacuum.
We experience this first-hand when opening a sealed food product coming in a rigid container. Think a soda can or a jar of pickles. When you first open the container, you can hear the sound of the atmosphere rushing in to displace the void (or vacuum) presently contained therein.
As we move into a life of faith in Jesus, we find a slippery place in vacuums. Not the Hoover kind, but when we have idle time we can find trouble – funny, I first typed “idol” time…maybe that’s more correct?
In Romans 7:21-25, Paul describes his love for God and the war that continues in his mind. He aptly recognized that we are held captive by our old nature, sin, even after choosing to follow Jesus.
So start to swap out some of the old stuff in your life for better stuff – consider changing your music selection, your TV viewing habits, the books you read and how and who your weekends are spent with. No, I’m not suggesting a complete, wholesale change (unless you’re up for that) but pick one thing and change it. Then, choose another. Before long you’ll have a bunch of new, healthy habits.
Garbage in, garbage out. Fill your life with positive, encouraging and faith-filled things. Swap out the old stuff for better stuff.
Remember, don’t leave a vacuum. Search and replace. And enjoy a better life.
Richard Bahr 