Feeding on the Trivial

Often if you ask someone for their most recent edifying read or what they've been studying in their Bible, you'll hear how they're too busy for those things right now. It's always a challenge, isn't it? Just when you think you've got a handle on a God-honoring use of your time, you find yourself drifting off into meaningless, trivial activities once again.

Recently I found myself starved for more time to read edifying books, so I began searching my schedule for "free time". That lead me to the few hours between cleaning up from supper and bedtime. Yes, it lead me to... the "TV Zone". Now I enjoy an episode of LOST as much as the next guy, but the rest just leaves me cold. So why do I leave it on? I swear it mesmerizes me into submission! No more, I told myself! I'll still watch LOST, but I now make an effort to turn it off the rest of the time. It didn't take too many nights before my brain woke up and I was able to read with understanding and without falling asleep! It took just a week to jog my brain out of its TV daze. (Perseverance pays off once again! And remember... I'm the one with brain damage.) Then I came across a little devotion by John Piper about the problem of TV. It's a far greater problem than being just a thief of my time! Here's an excerpt.
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If all other variables are equal, your capacity to know God deeply will probably diminish in direct proportion to how much television you watch. There are several reasons for this. One is that television reflects American culture at its most trivial. And a steady diet of triviality shrinks the soul. You get used to it. It starts to seem normal. Silly becomes funny. And funny becomes pleasing. And pleasing becomes soul-satisfaction. And in the end the soul that is made for God has shrunk to fit snugly around triteness.

This may be unnoticed, because if all you've known is American culture, you can't tell there is anything wrong. If you have only read comic books, it won't be strange that there are no novels in your house. If you live where there are no seasons, you won't miss the colors of fall. If you watch 50 TV ads each night, you may forget there is such a thing as wisdom. TV is mostly trivial. It seldom inspires great thoughts or great feelings with glimpses of great Truth. God is the great, absolute, all-shaping Reality...

Do you ever ask, "What could I accomplish that is truly worthwhile if I did not watch TV?" You see, it isn't just what TV does to us with its rivers of emptiness; it is also what TV keeps us from doing... For example:

* You might be inspired to some great venture by reading about the life of a noble saint like Amy Carmichael and how she found courage to go alone to serve the children of India. Where do such radical dreams come from? Not from watching TV. Open your soul to be blown away by some unspeakable life of dedication to a great cause.

* You might memorize the eighth chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans, and penetrate to the depths of his vision of God, and discover the precious power of memorized Scripture in your life and ministry to others. No one could estimate the power that would come to a church if we all turned the TV off for one month and devoted that same amount of time to memorizing Scripture..."

Heavenly Father, help us know the wonders of Your Word and your world.
Keep us from the trivializing effects of our culture.
Help us fight for the joy of seeing great things.
Put us out of taste with trifles.