Compartmentalization

Dictionary.com has three sources that it pulls a definition for compartmentalization:

Main Definition:
To separate into distinct parts, categories, or compartments: “You learn... even the ability to compartmentalize ethics” (Ellen Goodman).

Secondary Definition:
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Function: noun: isolation or splitting off of part of the personality or mind with lack of communication and consistency between the parts

Tertiary Definition:
Source: Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
compartmentalization
n 1: a mild state of dissociation 2: the act of distributing things into classes or categories of the same type

I bring up this word because I believe that is how my life is set up (that comes from some of my own analysis as well as input from a fellow rabbit chaser)...I feel as though that most of my life is compartmentalized in some form or fashion.

For instance, I have a life at my job...forty hours a week with a very small group of people (we are a small company :) ). The rest of my world (i.e. the other compartments) is set aside while I do my duty here at the office. I have a compartment where my church life and friends is kept...a compartment for friends back home...a compartment for family...a compartment for my life at the gym...and even my pool compartment is separate from my gym compartment.

I am not saying that there is not some overlap. Obviously, if my day is slow enough that I have time to be writing this entry to whomever is reading it :)...as well as sending an email to my address book letting them know that I have created a weblog...and responding to a text message that I received from a friend of mine...and making a phone call about the plans I have tonight...there is overlap. Not to mention there are times when our worlds (a.k.a. compartments) collide. I have often brought friends from home to Louisville, or vice versa.

The point I am trying to make is that I feel as though a great number of people do this as well...consciously or subconsciously...we place all of these areas in their own little box.

I find it interesting that the first definition source feels as if we can compartmentalize ethics...to some degree I have seen that is possible. An example would be when I used to work for Applebees Restaurant. I found myself laughing at jokes...or even making jokes...that I would not have when I was at church.

As Christians, we need to realize that the compartmentalization of our lives is okay...it is normal. But we should not compartmentalize our ethics. As we live our lives in Christ...our ethics must reflect Jesus in every compartment that we have.