Idleness has a way of revealing our idols.

The copious amounts of free time brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with increased anxiety, will drive you towards comforts you find familiar.

It might be the K-dramas that you gave up years ago or computer games you never thought you’d pick up again. Perhaps it might be a more destructive sin like viewing pornography. What we pick up in our free time reveals what our heart really worships.

Let’s run through two helpful questions to consider during this quarantine season.

1. WHAT ARE YOU FILLING YOUR TIME WITH?

The busyness of the Singapore lifestyle has a way of covering up a multitude of idols.

Your work schedule might have temporarily distracted you from your addiction to Netflix, but now, without the pressure of bosses and a regular work schedule, all your former idols will rear their ugly head.

Take note of new activities you have begun to fill your time with. An empty schedule will be filled by activities you delight in. What do these activities say about the God you worship?

Idleness has a way of revealing our idols.

Porn websites have already seen a huge spike in traffic. They have taken advantage of these periods of isolation to entice more men and women into their snares.

Take note especially if old vices that you gave up before but have now returned with the increased amount of free time.

It is more than likely that you have not addressed the real root of your sin. Matthew 13:44 tells us that it is from joy that a man sells all he has to buy the treasure in the field.

Yet if you find yourself returning and clinging on to your old possessions the moment it becomes convenient, perhaps you do not delight in Jesus as much as you should.

Take time to note your schedule and activities. Be specific in your repentance. Be real about it and run to Jesus.

It will become far easier to slack off on work. You might find that it requires a lot less effort to complete the same task – and that’s great!

But what I’m calling attention to is the attitude you take towards your work. Now that there are no human eyes on you, how do you approach the tasks before you? Is it done with excellence (Colossians 3:23-24), as the Lord commands?

Test your heart against the word of God. It might be that you have served human masters while forgetting that ultimately, you are working as unto the Lord.

2. HOW DIFFERENT IS YOUR CHURCH EXPERIENCE? 

This is linked to the first question. But I want to focus on what we’ve come to fill our Sunday mornings (or Saturday afternoon) with instead of coming to church.

God has commanded in His word that His church gather together around the gospel of Jesus Christ, physically and regularly (Hebrews 10:25, Ephesians 2:19-22).

Yet in the age of internet preachers and social media theologians, perhaps your church experience had already begun to change.

A livestream that you can pause and ignore at your will is not an accurate picture of what it means to be part of the body of Christ.

Now that you cannot gather together physically and regularly with the same group of people – people whom you have made a covenant of fellowship with – is your church experience different?

Do you feel the pain of physical separation from your brothers and sisters?

If you do not, perhaps it is time to start thinking about how your framework of church differs from the one God has shown us in His word.

Because a preacher from halfway across the world whose sermons you watch on YouTube is neither an adequate nor biblical replacement for your local pastor. A livestream that you can pause and ignore at your will is not an accurate picture of the body of Christ and what it means to be a part of it.

These might be temporary replacements needed for the time being, but do not mistake them for the real thing.

This is a trying time for churches in Singapore, yet it is also a time of sanctification. This might be in terms of identifying old idols or correcting false beliefs about what church is and what it means to be a part of it.

It is God’s will for you to be sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Obey Him!

He is for you and wants to give you real joy. 

The writer’s name has been changed for confidentiality.