A Diet

I'm feeling the need to go on a diet. I know what you're thinking--the holidays are coming to an end and I've gained a few pounds from all the sweets and treats of the season.

Wrong.

This is a diet of the mind.

We can renew our mind with the Word of God (Rom. 12:2), but it's also very helpful to deprive your mind of certain things, as well.

Let's think of the body. You can eat healthy food all day long, but it you're ending each day with a big piece of chocolate cake or apple pie, chances are, you're body is not in tip-top shape.

This is what a lot of us are doing, spiritually. We wake up and read our Bible, listen to Christian music during the day and/or some teaching tapes/CDs/podcasts, but in the evening, we want to unwind and relax, so we turn on a favorite TV show--Lost, Desperate Housewives, etc., and fill our minds with junk.

What are these shows doing to our minds? Isn't it just a little harmless fun?

I compare it to the chocolate cake each night. It's not making you sick, if you are eating right all day long. It's probably not affecting your weight too bad, if you are eating right all day long. But it's not beneficial.

I have heard so many good things about the show Lost in the last few years. I don't watch much television, so I didn't know what I was missing out on and I didn't want to try to catch up on all those seasons. Then Netflix came out with a program where you can watch a lot of movies and shows instantly streaming on your television. We signed up for a free trial and ventured to see what everyone was talking about.

We watched the first episode and it wasn't terrible. It wasn't awesome, but it wasn't terrible. (It wasn't nearly as bad as the pilot of Flash Forward!) We continued watching and I was sucked in (my husband was not, he's stronger than I, apparently). It is a show that leaves you hanging each week and I wanted answers! But as I enjoyed this new entertainment, I also noticed an interesting coincidence.

I formed a habit quite a while ago of daily Bible reading in the morning. I was still doing this daily, but once I added Lost into my daily routine, I noticed a sudden lack of revelation. I wasn't even being productive with my blogs. Whenever I was reading my Bible, nothing was really speaking to me. It seemed that all my mind wanted to think about was Lost--Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, Charlie, Kate, Locke, and Claire. I started obsessing (I guess that's my personality. Perhaps it's also because of the technology we have now, that I can watch an episode every evening, rather than one per week.).

The thing is, I knew we shouldn't be watching the show. (Not saying you shouldn't watch it. Perhaps you don't obsess like I do.) I knew it wasn't right for me. My husband wasn't that interested, I was the one pushing every few nights to watch another episode. He was even ready to quit and I said I would just watch without him. He said he preferred me not, too. (Another clue I needed to quit--sounds like I'm talking about substance abuse or something!) I was insisting. I knew it was worthless. I knew it was soap opera junk, but I found myself justifying it in my mind. (Another clue, when you are rationalizing or justifying behavior, it's wrong.)

We watched most of the first season and then with my husband's work schedule we knew we wouldn't be able to watch for most of the next month. He got on wikipedia and started reading the episode synopses. I decided to check it out and realized then that I didn't need to continue watching. There is something about reading a plot versus seeing it visually (with all the appealing people and settings) that helps you see through the hype. I still had a bit of an addiction, though, I spent the next few days reading through the wikipedia pages. Finally, I realized the show was not worth my time.

I'm not against television. I watch Survivor, but I have never obsessed about it. I think that's what shocked me about Lost. I hadn't seen a television drama in so long, it was shock to my system. I have been used to watching reality TV, where you get real-looking people, in semi-real situations, not ultra-beautiful people caught in love triangles and each having intense back-stories that intertwine.

So was there any connection with my obsession for Lost and the sudden lack of revelation in my Bible study and fruitfulness in my writing? I think so.

Our minds are powerful things. We can fill them with good things or bad, or a mixture of both. What goes in, is what will come out. Some things are downright wrong, say pornography, for instance. Other things are in a gray area. It is unfortunate, though, that our entertainment is increasingly leaning toward the pornographic. Take this challenge--cut out R rated movies for a period. You will be surprised, after a period of "fasting" from these movies, what is really in them, the violence, cursing, and sex. We say these movies are for those over 17, but really, should adults even be watching this stuff? A few years ago, we made a point to cut back and not watch movies rated R. I think we went almost an entire year without one (that was huge for us, we used to be big movie buffs), then occasionally watched one here and there. We really noticed that we couldn't handle what we thought we could. We realized that we were watching a lot of trash in the name of "art."

But what about those activities that aren't bad? There are lots of gray areas and this is where you have to seek the Lord's will for your life. Some things aren't bad, but they're not good, either. They may just be time wasters or distractions in your life. The question is, what fruit is it producing in your life? Is it a stress-reliever, a way to unwind, or is it keeping you from more important things? Is it something that causes worry (news headlines, for example) or causes you to pray? Is it a fun time of togetherness with your spouse or family, or is it pulling you away from your spouse or family?

This is what I've been thinking about recently. I have certain things that I know I am called to do, some writing that I really need to focus on and in order to focus, I need to cut out those time wasters and distractions. Therefore, I feel the need to go on a diet. I am going to cut out Facebook and my blogs for the month of January. I wanted to cut out email, too, but it is too much a part of life. I will drastically cut back on how often I check it.

So, I will see you all in February!