It's sort of like a club fair - visit each blog, see what they have to offer you, take the free samples, move on when you get bored.
Sometimes there's even the option of putting your name on a mailing list just to get a free cookie.
Many emails later, you wonder if putting your name on that list was worth it. But you don't unsubscribe - in case there may be more free future cookies.
Well, the same is true for Christianity. And Christian blogs. And pseudo-Christian blogs. And self-worshipping spirituality blogs. And any other sort of lifestyle blog.
You can get lost in them before you even realize what happened. Hours have passed, and you begin to wonder what it is you just figuratively signed your brain up for. And depending on the type of blog it is, you may be left in a worse condition than you started.
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| Your brain on Twitter. Source |
Things get mucky. Truth gets foggy. Insecurities are magnified, and Jesus is brushed to the side for a before-bed lullaby.
We get lost in a series of pictures, personalities, comments, and points of view that are consciously and unconsciously forming our perceptions of our own lives, the way we view the world around us. Our spirits are temporarily indulged and pleased - only for the moment, and potentially with a personal cost.
We can never be too careful about what we expose ourselves to.
The same is true for Facebook and other websites on the internet. By now it is no secret that these social networks are breeding grounds for comparison traps, feelings of inadequacy, failure, rejection and loneliness.
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| He's cuter than your sad feelings. Source |
But we keep on inviting those bad feelings by logging on, opening up the browser.
This is not a post about giving up social networking sites, tumblrs, or blogs. Not at all. What kind of a hypocrite would I be if I told you to? The fact of the matter is, we don't have to give them up. They are a part of our culture, and they can ultimately be used for our good and overall well-being.
But my question to you is - are you willing to alter your approach to these forms of recreation?
Are you willing to unfriend, speak up, and place limitations if doing so would help keep your morality intact?
Are you willing to honestly ask yourself if the things you're viewing glorify God, the One who we are placed on this planet to live for and represent? And if the sites are for leisure, are we at least designating the same amount of time we spend online to spending time with the Lord (if not more)?
I'm writing about this because this is incredibly convicting for me. I think I, like many of you, probably have developed some sort of youth-centric-21st-century-ADD of some sort. Having grown up with technology, I know how hard it is for my generation especially to turn off the computer and x out the things that trigger us into spirals of negativity. It's like this force that compels us. We don't even know what it's like to sit quietly and read - or even if we want to, who has the discipline?
It kind of looks a lot like sin.
Big scary word, that one. It's practically taboo in our culture, but it is scary for a reason. Sin is damaging and totally life-ruining. Ask the family member of a drug addict, or the wife of a cheater. There's nothing funny about it.
Temptations dangle about, inviting us in. All we have to do is entertain it, eventually click the page of whatever that wrongful act may be, we enjoy it for a time (sometimes not even that) and suddenly feelings of worthlessness and failure abound. We don't have to allow this.
God has promised us that
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.
And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
(1 Corinthians 10:13)
(1 Corinthians 10:13)
And because He has promised us this, He will give us the strength and wherewithal to get out of a sinful mindset. In order to do this though, we must draw upon this strength by asking God to come to our aid in prayer and reminding ourselves of the truth in God's Word that is stronger than the sinful behavior.
This is what Jesus himself did when He was tempted in the wilderness after fasting for forty days and forty nights, which can be looked at in full here.
In order to best offset these temptations, we need to do what Jesus did. Satan offered the Son of God himself everything physical this world has to offer, but Jesus knew the truth of God's word readily to strike down the lies of evil. And of course, the only way to do what Jesus did is to familiarize ourselves with Scripture for when the moments of weakness strike.
How are we to avoid getting lost in a frenzy of Christian or pseudo-Christian ideas? How are we to know how God wants us to live out our lives? By going to the Bible and seeing what God REALLY says, not what other minds shape shift the Bible into saying.
Better still is to make sure our bodies are not in situations where we are more likely to sin than others. Incredible pastor and thinker Charles Stanley always says that Christians should never make snap judgments when they are :
H - Hungry
A- Angry
L - Lonely
T - Tired
In other words, we are to H.A.L.T. Makes perfect sense when you think about it, don't you agree? I know when it comes to myself, my eyes are often bigger than my stomach, my emotions rage when I should have a forgiving and tender heart, my soul cries out when it should be seeking refuge in the only One who fully loves, and my mind plunges into negativity when I should be sleeping.
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| Source |
So, not exactly the best times to be making our decisions.
Let's just stop and think a little before we commit ourselves to our leisure activities - both on the internet and out there in the real world. Or if you're on Catfish the TV Show, your internet-real-world.
So, how are we to avoid sin? How are we to resist those terrible thoughts and influences that are just a click away?
Don't play with fire - pray, familiarize ourselves with all of God's tremendous promises, and HALT.
Sounds good to me.
After all, if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
