How important is your media viewing to you? Does it determine your mood? If you aren’t able to catch a certain show, does it make you grouchy and frustrated? It seems to me that many people all around the world are very connected to media of one form or another. I remember how strange it seemed to be in a remote village in Asia or Africa, seeing people with nothing but a small stick hut to live in, but they had a generator or car battery powering a small television that they were all gathered around. Priorities.

Every year, I take a month break from any “entertainment-oriented” screen viewing to answer these questions. I never want to allow the shows I watch on the weekend to be the source of my joy, for “the joy of the Lord is our strength.” (Neh. 8:10) Now I recognize there’s nothing “wrong” with watching a show (depending on what the show is), but Paul challenges us not to be “mastered” by anything (1 Cor. 6:12). In this context, it can be good things like food or sex, and Paul says that these things must never become too important to us, to the point that we cannot give them up. Rather, honor God with your body (6:20), and make sure you are honoring him with your choices rather than your choices controlling you. I don’t want media to control me, so I “fast” from it for a month each year. This is not some sanctimonious, legalistic act, but rather just a chance to check my heart. Perhaps it is something you would be interested in?

This past month, my boys also decided to do a version of this. We ended up spending extra time reading books together, playing soccer, having family times, and doing some great stuff. At the end of the time, I asked for their thoughts. They actually enjoyed it, and said they’d like to do it again over the summer for a week. Certainly there were times during the month when we were all wishing we could chill out and watch something, but most of the time it was not so bad. We all also realized that it was a good way to check on what we had been watching to make sure it was appropriate. When flipping between Netflix shows, sometimes we wander into dangerous ground, but when we are “unplugged” for a month, then we can be more objective and affirm our standards.

So my encouragement to you is to ask the question, “What is there in my life that is so important to me, that if it is removed I lose my joy?” Proverbs tells us to “guard your heart, for it is a wellspring of life.” (Pr.4:23) Make sure that none of God’s blessings in your life, no matter how good, become so important to you that you cannot, or could not, give them up. Otherwise, according to a message I just heard from Tim Keller, they may have become idols in your life.

Pressing on by God’s grace, Eric