Scriptural Foundation:
Ecclesiastes 1:8 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Words cannot fully explain things, but people continue speaking. Words come again and again to our ears, but our ears don’t become full. And our eyes don’t become full of what we see.
Proverbs 27: 20 New King James Version (NKJV)
Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Reflection:
My husband and I have two different approaches to TV. He likes it on, even if it is just for back ground noise, whereas I like it quiet. I remember when you waited all week for a specific show to come on and then when that show was done, off went the TV. Now a days there are cable and satellite packages that have hundreds of channels to surf through. Granted some of them could be duplicates, but by the time you get to it you don’t notice the repetition. It doesn’t matter what is on the TV, it calls its viewers to the screen, like a siren to the rocky cove. Don’t get me wrong like the internet there is some valuable information that can be communicated via the TV, however it is all the other stuff that comes across that lulls some into an unproductive stupor.
I speak for myself when I say I have way too much to do around the house – hobbies and house work to be bogged down by sensory overload. I get more accomplished on a given evening when we come in and don’t turn on any TV than when my husband puts it on first thing as a way for him to unwind from his day. The issue is that this pass time gives the elusion that things can wait, while you relax from your day. Instead it is like quicksand, the more you try to accomplish with it on, the less motivated you become to keep moving and ultimately abandon your task to watch your favorite episode of Friends for the 100th time. In our opening passages in the Bible warns us about our eye gates that if we don’t guard them, they will turn around and rule our behavior. I sincerely believe this is the issue young and older individuals alike when it comes to things like video games or pornography. It starts off as something that is fun, a manageable activity then before the person knows it; they have sunk so far down into the quicksand that they can’t mentally/physically get out. Thank God for His Word, in 1 Corinthians 10:13 it reads, No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. You may lead a sedentary life style, pinned up and trapped in by your desires and temptations; however the Word is that branch that if you reach out and grab hold will get you out of the deepest pits and put you back on solid ground.
Seeking Revelation:
Grab your notebook:
- What are your biggest temptations or time burners?
- Determine in your heart that you will leave unproductive cycles in 2017 and look ahead to a totally different 2018
- Ask the Holy Spirit to help you gradually release and abandon these temptations.