Worth quoting

[silentreader]

Not from an Anabaptist source but relevant to modern Anabaptists.

If our loves are both revealed by and shaped toward what we give our attention to, then there’s a deep and undeniable connection between love and time. This is where I believe the social media companies have tapped into something weighty and true about the way humans are designed. Our lives are made up of a limited number of hours and we will give those hours to what we love and what we love will be determined by what we give our hours to. They want your attention because your attention opens the gate to your heart.
So, what does your use of time reveal about your love and what it is forming you to love? What sort of person will you become if you devote hours each day to watching cable news arguments or engaging in the latest Christian Twitter spat? On the positive side, how would you be more effective in your battle against sin and more secure in your relationship with God if you gave your time and attention to Scripture and your family?
Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:15-16 should compel us to evaluate the way we use our time because of the connection to our love. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

~Nathan Williams

[MaxPC]

Spot on. One example from reality is that man at the campground who completely ignored his wife and others in order to spend the entire day arguing on forums so that he could feel as though he is smarter than everyone else. He also physically abused his wife. He was arrested for the physical abuse but what if those years of spiritual and emotional abuse of his spouses? (This lady was his 3rd wife).
Who did/does this man really love? Alas this is not a rare situation either.

[PetrChelcicky]

Perhaps the woman should not have married him, if she resents his activities so much?
- Imho on the long run nobody can care for others, if he does not recharge his own batteries by caring for himself. And there's no general rule for the time one needs for oneself and the time one has for others. It is an interesting problem, but the quote does at best pose the question.
And I disapprove of the way the word "abuse" is abused nowadays.

[MaxPC]

Perhaps the woman should not have married him, if she resents his activities so much?
- Imho on the long run nobody can care for others, if he does not recharge his own batteries by caring for himself. And there's no general rule for the time one needs for oneself and the time one has for others. It is an interesting problem, but the quote does at best pose the question.
And I disapprove of the way the word "abuse" is abused nowadays.

Petr, the deep bruises he left on her arms, back and face qualifies as physical abuse. My wife and I helped her contact the police. Violence in marriage or in life is not Biblical in my opinion. It is important to not blame the victim but rather instead, help the victim flee the violence. Many times a spouse who is violent will hide their true behaviors until after the wedding ceremony. Some will reveal it beforehand. The violent spouse will manipulate the victim into believing it is the victim's fault. I encourage you to read up on the issue of spouse abuse.

[PetrChelcicky]

I prefer to call physical violence simply violence and treat it as something particular.
As for non-physical "abuse" I think that the term is too vague and seduces people into lazy thinking.
Do you know how many anti-Christian tracts pretend that the Christian churches are generally "abusing" their adherents?
A lot of anti-Christians see a hedonistic lifestyle (immediate satisfying one's personal wishes) as the norm and Christianity as a deviancy, whose success can only be explained by the fact that the members are spiritually or emotionally "abused" by the clergy. That's why I have become skeptical w.r.t. to the term.

[MaxPC]

I prefer to call physical violence simply violence and treat it as something particular.
As for non-physical "abuse" I think that the term is too vague and seduces people into lazy thinking.
Do you know how many anti-Christian tracts pretend that the Christian churches are generally "abusing" their adherents?
A lot of anti-Christians see a hedonistic lifestyle (immediate satisfying one's personal wishes) as the norm and Christianity as a deviancy, whose success can only be explained by the fact that the members are spiritually or emotionally "abused" by the clergy. That's why I have become skeptical w.r.t. to the term.

Thus we see the differences between our two cultures.