July 16
“For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:14-17)
Yesterday we discussed the quantity and quality of worldly inputs that our minds have to process and contend with compared to the biblical and spiritual inputs we give them. Most of us will give hours and hours of attention to unprofitable and even evil things, yet we skimp on the Word of God or neglect it all together. This is especially true with the internet, where binge watching of television programs and endless movie choices are available.
The cycle of fleshly indulgence which leads to sin may look something like this for some of you who are addicted to the internet:
- You get interested in a movie or television program (rarely with eternal value associated with it, and often with worldly ideas embedded in it),
- You watch it when you really should be doing other things, perhaps taking care of business or things around the house, ministering to someone, contacting a loved one or friend, praying, reading the scripture, taking care of personal business, exercising, going to bed and getting good rest, or just about anything that is actually profitable for you.
- You continue watching…and watching…and watching long after you should have stopped and gone to bed.
- With no one else around, and your spiritual self-control at a low, feeling tired, you may feel curious about other things, even evil things, and you continue watching things you should not be watching and viewing things you ought not to be viewing, things which you certainly would not be watching if you were rested and refreshed or others were observing you. These are times when you can lose self-control altogether and the flesh, “which is being corrupted according to the lusts of deceit,” takes control.
Where is the first temptation in this scenario? Where is the way of escape in this situation? Where were the wrong decisions made? At what point was the decision made to give the flesh, the old sinful nature, control? Was that point later in the evening, when you started looking at darker and more evil things, or was it earlier? Was not the first point of temptation and failure early on in the evening, back when you decided to start watching anything at all? If you struggle in this area, think through and take careful notice of what you are thinking each step of the way. When you first decided to sit down and watch something, what were you thinking, and why was the decision made to watch anything at all? “I deserve a break. I want to just veg. I am curious about such and such a program that is popular.” In my opinion, none of these are Spirit led reasons. We are from the outset setting our minds on earthly things; we are deliberately walking into temptation, which only grows stronger and stronger as the evening progresses.
Tomorrow we will explore this area of uncontrolled media exposure, a topic that is so crucial and which is becoming more and more of a problem for so many or us.