What we have discovered the last 2 days is that our minds our sponges, and we are probably soaking up things we shouldn't. Statistically, we are spending 100x more time in front of a TV than at church. What we now turn to is some practical things we can do to be influenced by Biblical rather than cultural influences. These are just ideas. What you need more than a few ideas is the desire and commitment to saturate yourself with biblical influences and rid yourselves of much of your negative influences.
1. Know what your influences are and list them out. If it is TV, what about it is influencing you? Are you watching too much, are you watching things you know you probably shouldn't? If not TV, it may be a hobby, the culture you live in...whatever it is, if you don't know it is influencing you, how can you combat it?
2. Intentional Schedule: We schedule meetings, events, parties, vacations, etc., yet never seem to schedule our free time. I know, scheduled free time doesn't sound free...but it is! My deepest desire is to know and follow Christ, yet I have often found myself wasting time, watching TV, or doing something else that doesn't line up with that desire. To combat that, I try to schedule some of my free time. When and what are you going to read? What time will you watch TV and what time will it be shut off? When will you work on house projects and hobbies? The problem most of us have is if you are left without a schedule, we come home hopping to really get into the Word and find ourselves 3 hours later still watching TV. If you schedule your time each week (and stick to it), this can be avoided.
3. Book List: The truth is, we all need to spend more time saturating ourselves in the Bible and other Christian books. We are spending too little time in this area, which has a major impact on our spiritual growth. So make a list of books you want to read and when you will read them. Have categories, so you can be reading about and working on many different areas of your Christian life. Example: I read a biography on Saturdays, marriage/parenting book on Wednesdays, devotional everyday, personal growth book on Saturdays, and ministry related books throughout the week. At any given time, I am reading between 6-10 books at a time. I will admit that this is a lot and I am a little crazy...but there is no reason why you can't have 2-4 books you are reading at a time. There is no reason you can't substitute a TV show for Christian book.
4. Let Technology work for you: Laura and I have shows we like to watch, but instead of watching them when they come on TV, we wait. Then we either watch in on our own time at hulu.com or we wait until it comes on DVD and rent it from netflix (TiVo works too). What this does is allows us to watch what we want, when we want it. We are not locked into a specific time slot and we don't have to worry about missing a show. Some people watch a show each night, get hooked, so they can't find time for other things since they "have" to watch their show.
5. Change your mindset. Have a mindset that works towards eternity, not one that just works for getting through each week.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1Cor 10:31
This series of devotions has kept me thinking about what I do and why. I look at the things I "choose" to do and the things I "choose" not to do. Why are some things more important for me? This set of devotions has helped me determine the purposes of my actions and focus on God's will.
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