Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)
During the Labour Day long weekend, I spent a weekend focused on prayer and Bible reading. I prayed for friends going through various situations. I reflected about some things in my life that need to change. I read through all of I and II Corinthians.
The decision to read the Epistles to the Corinthians was well-timed, since they are two letters of rebuke written to the Corinthians. You can almost imagine Paul saying, "Don't make me come over there!" as he makes a case for why the Corinthian church should smarten up and act wisely.
As I was reading, I could almost Paul saying, "Hey, Backguy - yeah, you! Don't make me come over there!" It gave me a chance to examine my own life. Where were the places where I could use a bit of rebuke?
One thing that was clear in my mind was the need to be smarter about how I use the computer. I have a tendency to spend time each evening on entertainment sites - YouTube, Sporcle, and others. However, there isn't much personal or spiritual growth that comes from these sites. They're like most things in the world - they can be good in moderation, but they can also be a time-suck if you're not careful.
I decided to forgo YouTube (and a few other video-sharing or time-wasting websites) for the month of September. I'll admit, the first few days were hard because there were all sorts of videos that I was hearing about. "Gangnam Style" was one of them. Man, did that video ever go viral! It was posted across Facebook and CNN. And then the covers and parodies were released, which were also posted Facebook. It wasn't so much that I was dying to see it; I was just curious to see what the hype was about so I could be better informed. After all, knowing is half the battle.
I made through September without giving in to temptation. (Full disclosure: I did have to watch a handful of videos when they were shown in a group setting, but the total time watched was maybe 5 minutes. Otherwise, I didn't break my commitment for the month.)
On October 01, I watched a couple of videos in the evening after work. Among the first was "Gangnam Style". I'm not sure why this video became so popular. To be honest, it seems kind of...well, dumb. Is this the kind of humour that we have come to find amusing?
There were lots of videos that I could have watched in September. I made a mental note to watch a handful of them later, but most were just forgotten about. I learned that I don't need YouTube or other fun-and-games websites.
I'd hate to make this all about resolutions or legalism. After all, resolutions are personal commitments that you make with no intention to keep in the long-term. And legalism is just a set of rules that you create for yourself. As stated earlier, I tended to spend time on these websites in the evening. Since I was no longer surfing these websites, I was able to spend much more time reading the Bible and praying for friends. I made a lot of progress in reading through the New Testament, and I was more intentional in praying for others.
Now that I'm allowing myself to use these sites again, I'm seeing that they aren't as great as I once thought they were. They're still fun, but they're less of an idol now. In contrast, turning off the computer a bit earlier each evening and spending more time in prayer and reading the word was quite enjoyable. I feel that I have grown during this time, and I want to keep up this pattern.
I want to leave behind that which is holding me back and, instead, press on towards the goal. I certainly do not consider myself a "good person", or even a "better person", for having made one change to my lifestyle. This is just a baby step. But, hopefully, this is one of many things that God is working out in my heart to bring me closer to Him.
