Resources/Articles
The Screens We See
Think about the number of screens you sit in front of each day - computer screens, TV screens, movie screens, portable DVD screens, and handheld game screens. A little channel surfing or web surfing can subtly turn into hours that may leave you with glazed eyes and a mind full of information you have to diffuse over the next couple of hours or sleep on while lying in your bed.
What has all of that time in front of those screens done to your faith? Has your faith increased, diminished, or become inactive? Such a sober consideration will cause us to consider investing our time in things of lasting value. Time with your spouse, family, or friends gives you an opportunity to share your faith with those you love, but will wisdom and understanding come from the time you spend with a screen.
Grant it, we are visual people. Most people would rather see a thing than be told about it. We like the graphics. We love the colors. We admire the setting. We adore the action.
God is not on a screen, but he is visible. He is witnessed through his word and everything that is made (Psalm 19). Those moments seeing his creation in a human being or a tree or an animal or a sunrise are images a screen cannot duplicate. The scriptures you read about God’s love, purpose, help, grace, and goodness are not something any screen can create. Those descriptions of God are designed to be fulfilled in the life of someone like you. Once a soul obeys God, his or her life illustrates the magnitude of God’s glory in a way that no screen could reflect. The screen is a great work of man, and the graphics are appealing, but it does not match the workmanship of God he can create within you (Ephesians 2.10). Every moment you spend on a screen takes a moment of your time.
This is why those words in Ephesians 5.16 are so valuable: “…redeeming time time because the days are evil…” God is calling for you to listen to his messages. We need to spend time with him rather than “screening his calls” - taking only the calls from him we want. He calls for us is to “be holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1.16). He exhorts us to “walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called” (Ephesians 4.1). God petitions us to “give more diligence to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1.11). Are we leaving time open each day just for the purpose of listening to God’s call/ If you are one of his sheep, hear his voice rather than watching the screen. It will keep your faith alive!
