Media

               Media. Today, the Internet has a huge influence over our lives. We rely on it for work, school, and entertainment and thought it in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, it can be dangerous. It can take focus away from family and friends, distract you, but what I want to talk about today is how it can get in your spirit. What you surround yourself with is what you think about the most and with the introduction of Internet and computers, there’s a lot out there to choose from. Music, TV, movies, and books have huge influence over our lives and thoughts and as Christians especially, we have to be careful.

               I love music. It can make me happy, sad, peaceful, but it’s also an escape. When I’m having a bad day, I can just slip my earbuds in and press play, tuning the world out. Now, I only listen to Christian music so it doesn’t have a negative effect. However, I really like Twenty One Pilots. They’re Christian but only a few songs of theirs are. Mostly their songs talk about things like depression and suicide. They’ve helped a lot of people through their music but I found that it made me depressed. I was already dealing with some heavy stuff and I just couldn’t listen to them anymore. It was too much. Before, my parents had always told me to be careful with music because of how powerful it is but I hadn’t experienced it until then. Another thing with music that I catch myself doing is, as I said before, relying on it. It’s a safe place for me and although the stuff I’m listening to is Christian, it means I’m not going to God first and foremost. It happen with other things as well but it’s something I’m having to think about and work on. God has proven himself faithful to me so many times and all He asks in return is that I seek Him first and put him above everything else.

               Movies and TV have a much bigger effect. Every woman you see is pretty and skinny and every guy is handsome and well built. Image is huge in this world and the media isn’t helping that. No one posts about their bad days in Facebook or puts their bad picture on Instagram. There’s so much subconscious pressure on everyone to be as good as someone else. I’m not skinny in the usual sense. My face is round and my stomach sticks out slightly and though, yes, I am pretty, it’s something else that I’m dealing with. Every movie I watch has someone skinnier than me and it gets so hard to have confidence in myself sometimes. That image gets in my head and then I start comparing myself and hating what I see in the mirror. I find myself wishing I was fitter and prettier. And that’s just image. Not just in looks but in personality, those fictional characters are perfect. I’m the quiet one in my group. I just don’t talk. Then someone will make a comment like, “you should talk more,” or “are you always this quiet?” and though meant nicely, I have bad days and then my brain gets going and picking at all the little things. The enemy put’s thought’s in my head and it is so easy to listen to that voice. That’s we have so many bulimic, anorexic, and depressed people in today’s society. Media combined with someone out to keep you away from God is a dangerous combination. Whoever has your ear is in control.

               So be careful. The same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives in us. We don’t have to have those negative thoughts or emotions. Media is way for the enemy to get to us. I’m not saying we should stop using it all together, only that we have to watch what we’re doing and remember God in all of it.

               Put God first. He’ll take care of you.