July 19
“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)
Continuing our discussion from yesterday about getting control of our internet exposure, the best decision in my opinion is to simply not spend time on the internet in the first place. Just don’t get on, and don’t allow yourself to get interested in being entertained (or being diverted, soothed, excited, made to forget your troubles, or for any other reason that is not fulfilling the purpose of building you or others up in Christ) by the things that are on it. I personally have way too many goals and things I want to accomplish for the Lord in my brief life to waste time in this way. And yet I do, repeatedly, and getting sucked into watching things for hours on the internet is very tempting to me, especially during seasons of life that might be described as loneliness or depression. What I am writing to you here I write from personal experience.
I cannot recall a time when I regretted a choice to not spend time entertaining myself on the internet or watching television, and I can recall times when I very much regretted it. But especially in the evenings, when I am tired, if the kids turn on a program on Netflix, or if I am on the computer doing work and just feel like stopping and allowing my mind to “veg” and be entertained, before I know it I can get sucked into hours of watching things I had no intention of watching earlier in the day.
Not only do I waste time and get further behind on the things that I need to get done, but my mind is on fleshly things. It is no longer on spiritual things. It is like I have wandered away from the Lord and definitely feel the lack of His presence. I believe I have quenched the Spirit when I indulge myself in this way. My spiritual power and awareness are drained. My prayers are sluggish, and the next morning my mind keeps returning over and over again to what I saw the night before. So not only was the previous night ruined, but with lack of sleep, a mind continually diverted to fleshly things, and being distant from the Holy Spirit, I have essentially ruined the next day too (or even longer, depending on what evil things I allowed my mind to absorb).
What is the solution to these unplanned diversions? Is there ever a time when it is okay to watch things on the internet? PLANNING IN THE SPIRIT. I don’t mean schedule in 6 hours of binge watching into your schedule because you think you are spiritual enough to handle it and deserve a break, but what I mean is asking the Lord whether or not you can watch something and if so, what you can watch and for how long. If you believe with a clear conscience before the Lord that you can watch such and such a thing at a certain time (like after your other work is done), and you agree to watch nothing else without His permission, then you have a green light. But if you can’t do that, if you can’t ask the Lord what He wills and be willing to go along with however He directs you, then in my opinion you are in sin if you proceed to spend time entertaining yourself on the internet.