On today’s episode, the guys discuss the Christian’s relationship to media consumption.  This is one area in which it seems a lot of Christians struggle and even sin, finding themselves hindered in growing, being effective witnesses to the gospel, and making the best use of their time.  This is also an area in which the situational landscape has changed dramatically in recent years and decades.  Given the advent and continual evolution of smartphones, people have an unreal level of access to media content! This fact raises concerns in relation to both access and specific content, touching on everything from matters of wise time use to navigation of pervasive content that is profane, sexually inappropriate, blasphemous, and violent.

The topic of media consumption is, in short, a discipleship issue.  People are wired to be shaped and shepherded, and daily choices train our hearts to believe, know, and love certain things.  Christians need to be intentional about setting our hearts and minds on the things of God, which means we must not stew in content that draws out evil desires in our hearts, such as “infotainment” that fuels a warped interest in violence.  We cannot find our identity through social media, obsess over hearing new things, or allow ourselves to be desensitized to content that contains overt filth and/or trains us in an unbiblical worldview.  Certainly, we can engage with secular content with a redemptive aim, but even this approach requires wisdom and care!

The unfortunate reality of our day is that the average Christian spends vastly more time with media content than the Word of God.  The danger here arises from the fact that what we consume shapes and flows out of us.  In order to be wise about time use, we must be aware of the “vortex” dangers of media, consider what a balanced diet of media and other things looks like, prioritize the Bible, and remember that we will give an account for the stewardship of our time.  We should be intentional about planning our media consumption, knowing that to honor it as a gift from God used for our recreation or other positive ends, we must care for our souls, weigh our impact on the next generation, and ultimately – and for our joy – make our highest aim the glory of God.