It is an electronics-free week for the kids. No gadgets or video games. Just Bibles, books, paper, pencils, crayons, markers, and lots of imagination.
Periodically, my husband Kenya and I put away the tech toys, not as punishment, but as a way of keeping the children from becoming addicted to electronics. We frequently remind them of how important it is to think for themselves, independently of media influences.
We figure if we only mandate that gadgets be put away as a means of chastisement, the kids will naturally feel that life without their tech toys is somehow torturous. On the other hand, if we normalize the notion of living without the need for an entertainment device of some sort, they will better be able to remain balanced.
Unfortunately, as adults, it can be easy to lose our balance. We don’t have a mom or dad forcing us to turn off the cell phone or computer; log off Twitter or Facebook; disconnect from the outside world and be introspective.
We have to make our own choices. We must decide to control our environment.
But this is often easier said than done.
So many things are thrown at us from savvy marketers hoping to separate us from our hard-earned money. We are well aware of the push from tech companies to monopolize more of our time. This is how they get investors and advertisers to pour cash into their businesses. We know all about clever sales pitches disguised as useful tips and tools, when they are only shared as a way to dictate, predict, and regulate our consumer behaviors.
There is a lot competing for our brain space.
Unfortunately, many of us have become desensitized to this truth. We passively accept what the media feeds us and aren’t diligent enough about filtering things out.
We have forgotten how to separate the necessary from the extraneous.
And it takes serious discipline—that word again from yesterday—not to fill our time with things that don’t edify, empower, or educate us.
Living on purpose without being consumed with the culture must be deliberate. Either we control our environment or we’ll be controlled by it, when we should be the ones actively creating it.
We have the power to say yes or no to activities and people. We possess the authority to allow or disallow certain things in our lives.
But we must exercise that power, which takes discernment and maturity.
To help drive this point home, I’m stirring Ephesians 4:14 NIV into your cup of inspiration. It says, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”
When you drink down the contents of your cup, you will begin recognizing the tricks and schemes of the enemy. You will be more aware of the world’s attempts to suck you into counterproductive systems, cycles, and behaviors. You will more clearly see the difference between being consumed with life and being consumed with divine purpose.
The former throws you into a cycle of busyness, while keeping you immersed in meaninglessness and frivolity. The latter will keep you occupied with things that carry eternal value and edify both you, and all those you touch.
In this day and age, God is calling for discerning soldiers who are unwilling to be conformed to this world. He is seeking those who will control their environment and only give over to the influence of God’s sovereign will.
Now let’s pray.
God, I belong to You—mind, soul, and body. Please help me remain yielded to Your will alone. Let me only be controlled by Your Holy Spirit who will put me in remembrance of the precepts and principles found in Your Word. I thank You for revealing how cunning and crafty the enemy is in his attempts to lure me away from Your plan for my life. Right now, I commit to being even more diligent about keeping my environment spirit-controlled every day of my life. I am wholly Thine, oh Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
