This is Pastor Tim’s article which appeared in the Evening Leader on Monday, March 28, 2022
Here is a weird word for you: displacement. Bet you haven’t used that one in a sentence for a while. Displacement is the act of one thing taking up the space of another thing. An example of displacement is pouring water into a glass. The water goes into the glass and displaces the air in the glass. The air was in the glass, but as the water goes into the glass, the air is pushed out as the water takes its place.
Displacement happens when two things want to be in the same place. Which one gets to do the displacing depends on a lot of factors. As the glass sits on the table, the water is heavier than the air, so the water pushes the air out of the glass and takes its place. But, if I turn the glass upside down, the very weight of the water that displaced the air is the exact same force that causes the water to run out of the glass onto the table, at which time, the air then displaces the water in the glass. It all has to do with the position of the glass.
In nature, when it comes to displacing, there are many factors as to what gets to occupy the space and what gets pushed out. We also have displacement in our lives. So many parts of our lives are limited resources. You only have so much time, so much money, so much energy. This scarcity causes displacement. I can only occupy one place at one time, which means that for me to be in one place automatically implies that I cannot be someplace else. This suggests that whenever I make one choice, it displaces so many other options that I could have chosen.
Our lives are a lot like the glass from my opening example. When the glass is right side up, the water displaces the air. But if you turn it upside down, the air displaces the water. In almost all circumstances, my priority is to keep the water in the glass so I can drink it. Therefore, the glass is at its most valuable when it is aligned upright so that it can hold the water.
Do you have areas of your life that are not catching value? Are they like an upside-down glass where the valuable stuff is being displaced by stuff with no value? That may be because that particular area of your life is out of alignment. Do you get to the end of the day and feel like you have accomplished nothing? Then maybe things that have no value are currently displacing your valuable calendar space. Do you struggle with finances? Then maybe your finances are out of alignment and a lot of invaluable spending is displacing valuable investing.
Sometimes it is very difficult to identify a relationship, a situation, or a circumstance that is out of alignment. However if you look and see what is doing the displacing, then that is your priority. If you don’t like what is displacing everything else, that will tell you if that area is aligned properly. If valuable time, effort and resources are being displaced by waste and unfairness, then it may be time to line that part of your life back up. Because just like the glass, once it is turned right side up, it will begin catching water again. That area of your life that is filing with things you don’t want can become valuable once more, but it will take a few adjustments so good things can displace bad.
You only have room for so much and the last thing I want for you is to be wasting what you have by filling it up with things of no value. Rather than being caught up on March Madness, I want you to have a healthy and nurturing relationship with your wife. Instead of knowing all the latest garbage on social Media, I want you to have caring and healing relationship with your husband. But if bad things are displacing good things, it is going to be very difficult to enjoy that kind of health and security.
Align your life to catch good things or else you will be filled with emptiness.