Tai-Bo for the Soul

Rather than a normal devotional thought, today I have a challenge for you. Since the purpose of this blog is to exercise in honesty and transparency, I of course will be sharing with you a challenge I've made for myself. Before we get to that though, let's go ahead and have a devotional thought.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the fact that people can honestly look me in the eye and claim that they're not affected by their music, their movies, their tv, anything. Video games, television, movies, books, all of it, culture and art affect us as people. If it didn't, we wouldn't buy it. End of story.

So the funny thing is that we as Christians continue to buy and feed our brains poison. It's really quite similar to alcohol or smoking when you think about it; we do it simply for kicks the first time, and pretty soon we're force feeding ourselves a steady diet of spiritual and intellectual death. I'm not going to harp on brainless music and whatnot today, that's not the point. The point is, I have a terrible habit of feeding myself garbage.

Lately, I've been trying to diet. There. I said it. I want to lose weight. You'd be amazed how hard that actually is to admit when you've lived a certain way for a long time. At first, I feel almost ashamed that I'm working on this problem. (See previous posts about honesty. I like the one back at the beginning of the blog myself.) However, as my body responds to my change in diet, I can't help but notice a huge change in my energy level, my disposition, just about everything. Anyone who doesn't believe that what you eat matters has clearly never tried to eat right.

So here we are, coming full circle again. I've begun to wonder what would happen if I were to take a mental diet. If feeding myself only healthy food changes my body, what would feeding myself only healthy thoughts do for my mind? It is with this in mind that I have decided to put myself on a brain diet.

Now bear with me here. I own R rated movies. In fact, I just bought a season of The Sopranos. It's not that I think that all art needs to be G rated, it's just that I need to approach my entertainment with pure motives. Am I watching V for Vendetta for the gratuitous violence, or am I reminding myself of all the difference on person can make? Art has a point people, please don't miss it.

Still, I have lost my focus, my motives are tainted. And so for one week, I will not watch any television, movies, listen to any music, anything that is not completely and totally pleasing to God. Like with all fasts, the criteria of what is "pleasing to God" are completely up to whoever is engaged in the fast. I for one am just going to turn the dang thing off.

One week, that's the challenge. See if your perspective changes. I'll report on what happens to me, I'd love to hear what happens to you. Think of me as a media Shaq.

(jake)