When we think back, each of us had lots of toys with which we no longer play. At some point, our teddy bear disappeared from our life. So did our dolls and toy soldiers. And, our tricycle. Most of us (and nearly all the readers of this site) no longer have a bicycle. There was a “last time” that we played with each of those things.
Other “toys” to be put away are things we used to do. Once, soccer may have been important. Along with fishing, basketball, hopscotch, tops, tennis, and any number of things we no longer, or less often, do. We may, in fact, try some elementary extrapolation in which we think about the things we’re doing now, and asking ourselves if they’re just new toys, and if it’s time for them to be put away.
When we ask ourselves if we should continue avocations (for instance, I enjoy clearing brush from a few dozen acres of overgrown fields and forests) that we enjoy, the answer may be that we should keep on doing them, if only because it’s entirely possible that, without them, we’d be be tempted to do something much worse with the time on our hands.
It seems to be usually true that what we’re doing with large parts of our lives, like going to work or taking care of our family, is what we should be doing. We should tend to stay faithfully with our churches, jobs, and families. We should tend to stay away from anything that hurts our neighbors. And, we shouldn’t do anything that’s wrong or sinful.
Still, each of us probably has lots of activities that we may find, on thorough examination, that we’ve outgrown. I’ll reconsider my land-clearing as a useful expenditure of time and effort.
