Getting Practical

Okay…so my previous post was a theoretical rant. I am convinced it’s important. I’m convinced it’s missing from a lot of people’s lives. Seriously…a whole lot of people out there think they are immune. Yes, they know they need to be careful about what ideas they let into their minds. Yes, they know that most messages are not healthy or biblical. But they really don’t see the big deal. They really don’t think that those messages are getting in or making any difference in how they think or how they live. If you ask them directly whether they are affected by what they see and hear…they will tell you that they’re good. 

And I disagree.

No one is immune. We must learn how to turn our brains on in the most practical arenas of life. We have to protect ourselves. But really…how? How do we do this in the midst of our real lives where poopy bottoms have to wiped, homework has to be done, and busy family schedules mean we barely have time to tie our shoes, much less think about what we see and hear.

So, let me give you a couple of real-life examples and then some practical steps that you can do even while you do the thousand other things on your to-do list…here we go.

1. Song Lyrics

This is a huge area where we often get sucked into messages without meaning to. We fall in love with a beat, a sound, a catchy tune, and we casually ignore the lyrics as if the words aren’t burying themselves in our memories permanently (which they are…how many jingles from 10 years ago can you still sing?). Take Kenny Chesney’s song Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven where he’s throwing “extra” money in the offering plate to buy off God and go back to living the same old way. It’s upbeat, it’s fun, and it’s not a message we need to be absorbing. How many of the top ten dance hits of the last year are great to party to…and really horrible glorifications of sex and “fun”? Or what about Justin Beiber (and similar singers) whose lyrics are helping create our understanding (and our kids’ ideas) of what love really is? And don’t think for a second that Christian artists are “safe.” Have you listened to Mandisa’s song Stronger? Here are some of the lyrics: 

When the waves are taking you under
Hold on just a little bit longer
He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger
The pain ain’t gonna last forever
And things can only get better
Believe me This is gonna make you stronger
Gonna make you stronger, stronger, stronger

Really? God uses difficult times in our lives to make us…stronger? At the end of an illness, a season of grief, a spiritual battle…God wants us to be stronger? That’s what the Bible teaches God is trying to do through our pain? Sure, she sings…

‘Cause if He started this work in your life
He will be faithful to complete it
If only you believe it
He knows how much it hurts
And I’m sure that He’s gonna help you get through this

Yes, God promises to complete in our lives the work He’s started. It’s a guarantee. But “if only we believe it”? Really? So if I don’t believe it, He won’t follow through? Is that really how God’s promises work?

This is what I’m talking about. I think Mandisa’s song is upbeat, fun to sing along with, and frankly, can be a great song of defiance – sort of an “I’m not going down without a fight” anthem. But even still…we can’t blow off the questionable things in the lyrics of the songs we hear every day. Because they do burrow down deep, and they do impact how we think. 

2. Advertising

Billboards, commercials, the pages and pages of ads in your most recent Parents, Cosmo, Sports Illustrated, or whatever. You do know that every single one of those pictures is a lie, right? Every last one. They are faked, photoshopped, falsified. They highlight the “good” stuff and hide the “bad” parts. That bowl of ice cream is probably a big old scoop of shortening. That Big Mac is sculpted out of stuff that will never see the inside of a McDonalds. And the models? Not one of them is the real deal. Not one. And we buy into the lie that this is what a product or a person looks like, the lie that this is what a product or person should look like. And whether we want to or not, when we aren’t thinking actively, we buy into it. We think that’s how the dress should look on me. And when it doesn’t…we feel bad about ourselves. Don’t believe me? Check out this post…scroll down to item #8 and compare the advertised picture of the dress with one of the real woman wearing it. She looks GREAT in it (and frankly, I want one). But the real life version is not even close to the image they “sold” in the ad for that dress. So which one is the truth…and which one is the lie? If we aren’t looking at the pictures sent our way with our brains turned on we will absorb lies about ourselves, other people, God, and the world around us without even realizing it. 

Of course, there are lots of areas of media and messages that we can talk about, but you probably get my point. So what can we do? Here are a few simple things…

1. Once a Day – especially if you have never really considered this idea, you can’t just dive in and try to think about everything in your life at once. It will overwhelm you. Pick one thing each day and intentionally stop and ask yourself questions about it. What is that song really saying? Do I agree? That article you read on Facebook…where did they get their information? What is that advertisement really selling? That news commentator who talked non-stop for 8 straight minutes, but what was his main point? Just once a day, every day, will build up the habit of turning your brain on faster than you would expect.

2. Work in Teams – I’ve never been a huge fan of group work, but for a lot of people, doing something with someone else makes all the difference. If you and a friend see movies together regularly or read books together or love the same type of music, commit to asking each other what’s going on, what messages you’re seeing, whether or not what you’re seeing and hearing is sound. Iron really does sharpen iron, and this is a good place to see the benefits of working together.

3. Add it to an established routine – Do you do family devotions? Bedtime prayers? Dinner conversations (everyone shares one good, one not-so-good thing about the day)? Add this in, too. Once a week (or for one family member each day), pose a question about a movie or song or sermon or school assignment that will get people thinking about what messages or ideas are lurking behind a “nice” facade. 

4. Pray about it. We need wisdom to wade through the muck and worldly wisdom that permeates our media and the messages that fill it. The best source of wisdom is, of course, the Holy Spirit. Pray about a book you’re reading, the movie you’re going to see, the lessons your kids are being taught in school, the magazine you’re about to flip through. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you be aware of what you’re interacting with – what is good and what is less than good. Trust me, He is always happy to open our minds to Truth and protect our minds from lies. 

So there you go…some practical applications of a theoretical rant. What do you think? Am I on to something or totally off base? What have you tried? What do you wish you’d tried sooner? 

But whatever you else you do…start thinking. Turn your brain on and watch what comes your way!

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