I've resurrected my blog now that I am on Spring Break and I began a weeklong media fast with my Youth Group. For the past couple of days I have been abstaining from Facebook, television, and games. I've had a few lapses however... (There is a new game called Tiny Wings on the ipod touch that keeps me addicted. I haven't played it for a couple of days because the ipod ran out of batteries, but I'm going to try my hardest not to play it.)
We are doing this fast as a Youth Group because Lent is here. If you haven't noticed, Ash Wednesday (3/9) came and now we are getting ready for Easter. Now I'm not all about liturgical calendars and all, but I think a lot of us can learn from past church traditions that have shaped Christians for hundreds of years. According to wikipedia, Lent is simply a time to sacrifice for Jesus. Whether that sacrifice is shown through old school fasting or media fasting is not important. What is important, I believe is that we practice the denial of ourselves in order to be more in-tune with our Maker and Creator.
The past couple of weeks we have been talking about how to figure out God's Will for our lives? A lot of us have different problems, difficulties, and worries. But when it comes to this crucial question, most of us ask it one time or another. I've been pounding away at Scripture that teaches us we need to be changed inwardly to know we are doing God's will. In other words, you need to have God's desires and His heart to know God's will. It's a challenging message whether you are a teenager or been a Christian for over 10 years. Starting this fast as a church has also taught me some practical ways we can determine God's will.
When I started this media-fast on Wednesday, I honestly didn't think it would be too hard. My Facebook account is only used when I am bored, I watch TV shows on Hulu also when I have free time, and the rest of the other free periods I would play Tiny Wings on my ipod. I'm not much of a music listener either, unless its Christian rap or J S Bach, so I haven't had trouble with that. But after about the third day, I could really feel myself struggling to stay away from these things.
Oftentimes, we don't remember how engulfed we are into technology and media. If none of us had computers, Ipods, Iphones, Xbox 360s, PS3, etc, we would experience a totally different world. In the moments I have had this week without many of the time-filling websites, games, and TV shows, I've noticed that much of our time is spent on hobbies and entertainment. Entertainment is something that has almost become the god of our age. Two weeks ago, I spoke about worship and what it means in Romans 12:1-2. I explained that worship is expressing the worth of something whether it is my words, singing, or actions. A lot of times, we forget that our actions speak more loudly than our words when it comes to true worship. I am guilty of it just as much as the next guy. And I'm not condemning everyone for doing Facebook and watching movies; but when we give an honest and fair assessment of our lives, do we see someone who is expressing the true worth that God deserves?
My answer is no. I have fallen short. Thank God I have a Savior who is not only capable of washing away my sins but also able to create in me a desire to worship Him in all areas in my life. I think I may adopt this media-fast to some degree into my lifestyle...
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