Spiritual Sweet Tooth

And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. (Mark 7:9)

As you celebrate Christmas that I chose not to celebrate for purely scriptural (not personal) reasons, I want us to look at one weapon the devil uses so powerfully in these rotten times we have to live in. And Christmas fits in that overall agenda.

But I am not speaking about Christmas or the reasons I do not celebrate it. But I am certain it fits in what I am writing about.

Do you know that I do not have to be a murderer to go to hell? Do you know that I do not have to be an adulterer to go to hell? I do not have to be a terrible sinner to qualify for hell.

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36)

What is an idle word? It is a word spoken in jest, without much thought or seriousness. It can be a snide remark that does not ‘hurt’ anybody. I might be a joke. It is a word that does not produce anything of worth except probably laughter.

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. (Ephesians 5: 3, 4)

But humor is a huge industry, just like drama, nowadays.

But I am talking about the foundational aspects of this. Where do these things proceed from?

Children love sweets (candies), though more adults are demonstrating a craving for them nowadays. Children love sweet things. If it was in their power they would have sweets for breakfast, biscuits (cookies) for lunch and popcorn for supper plus a sprinkling of each throughout the day. They would not touch the drab foods adults insist they eat every day.

You laugh because they are children and we expect them to reason thus because they do not have the big picture. They do not know what they need and must rely on the ‘bad’ choices we give them because we have authority over them.

But look at the spiritual realm. How many people live on spiritual junk food? How many think they are healthy because all they feed on are spiritual snacks? How many have literally closed their spiritual kitchens because their neighbor makes ‘good’ food?

Let me now land. How many of you treat your Bibles as the indisputable way to access God’s revelation? How many of you will pray until God speaks and does what you seek without needing intermediaries? How many can truly say that what you believe is hinged on what God has showed you as you studied His word in prayer? How many can defend the doctrine you hold without quoting your spiritual monster, sorry, master?

Our generation is made up of spiritual lazybones and babes. Very few can read the Bible without being shown where and how. Very few can formulate a prayer or its agenda without guidance from somewhere. Very few behave differently from the dark ages that believed the Bible was open to a select few. We profess Christianity but live like Gnostics.

But we have a history, a history we must be willing to investigate adequately to make informed judgment and decisions concerning it.

The first problem is the human nature. Nature loves inertia. Like the boat it does not like to be rocked. It takes energy to move in whatever direction and in the spiritual it is even worse.

We love the familiar. We dread conflict. No wonder very few are willing to leave their traditions even where they are diametrically opposed to the Bible. No wonder someone will drop marriage to a person they were clearly led to by God (not circumstantial or sensual please) because the parents objected for no reason. That is the reason someone will desert God’s clear call on his life because a pastor feels otherwise.

The fact that we fear opposition is the reason the devil continues to reign over people who confess Christ.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21: 7, 8)

This gets to the main point of my post, entertainment. Many dispute when I say that the ruling spirit in the media (radio, TV, internet etc) is the devil. So I will go along with their assumption that the media is morally and spiritually neutral though I know it isn’t. We will go with the assumption that entertainment is also neutral. On my blog there is a post that deals with the media.

How much do you spend on the media? Does it compare with the time and money you spend doing God-honoring things? Consolidate the time you spend reading newspapers and magazines, listening to the radio, watching TV and chatting on social media. What positive input does it add to your spiritual life? How much time do you spend reading the Bible, praying, being a witness and in positive fellowship? Does that time compare with the time you spend doing those other things?

The greatest danger from the media is not hardening our spirits against God and His leading though it does it most effectively. The greatest danger is not introduction to the demonic though it does. The greatest danger is not in the infusion of demons and demonic agenda though it is there very powerfully. The greatest danger is the amount of time wasted doing nothing worthwhile on the media. We are ensnared not by the chains that are clearly visible but in the inactivity we expose our minds and spirits to. We waste so much time doing nothing but watching one performer after another encouraging us to continue being a cabbage. Even the information they feed us with is largely irrelevant to your wellbeing. It is information for information’s sake.

That news you must watch are unnecessary as there is nothing you can do to counter what has happened anyway. In fact they are negative inputs to your spirit as they most times arouse anger, depression and hopelessness as the events unfold. Has a news bulletin ever driven you to the prayer closet? And no wonder since the master of the media hates prayer as it will cut the stranglehold he has on the media addicts like I once was. In fact that was how God delivered me from news and later TV. He challenged me to use the news items as prayer points. My family therefore switched off the TV after the news and simply prayed over the stories we had watched. Interesting enough the taste of news disappeared. Then God gave me Isaiah 33: 15 and that sealed it.

Spiritual lethargy will be the death of our generation.

Why is it that in Revelation 21: 8 the coward is placed in the same league with the murderers and prostitutes and witches and idol worshippers? It is the reason I decided to post this message.

We are going to hell because we fear asking critical questions as we are being informed and entertained. We fear making decisions that might label us unprogressive. We fear confronting the values being imposed on our children by the entertainment we use our hard earned money to buy. And we fear the silence that results when we put that TV off or trash it. In short we fear confronting the input we are receiving without being consulted.

What is entertainment? A pastor friend who went to be with the Lord some years ago (Gilbert Kivuti) told me this one time we were having a discussion about entertainment probably in 1988. Amusement is actually the absence of thinking. Though I have never checked it in a dictionary, my observations prove to me that it is the real meaning.

To muse is to think, to ponder, to meditate. To amuse is actually the opposite. An amusement park is a park where someone releases all their pent up energy as they foolishly scream their heads off in one then another amusement object. That is why you will look ridiculous when you went there dressed formal. In fact most will advise one to carry changes of clothes since you might even wet yourself. And of course most of what goes there is childish enough to muddy one’s clothes.

Think about entertainment and time. Why is it that people who are unable to pray for an hour and will sleep almost immediately if they attend prayer vigils have no problems watching a football game at 3 am? How does someone who can’t read a chapter of the Bible each day read a 1000 page novel weekly plus newspapers each day? How does someone who has a hard time being awake have no problems watching late night movies? Why is it easier to buy your friends an expensive meal or gifts than support someone whose ministry you appreciate or have benefitted from?

Spiritual things need your muse. Amusements excite. And flesh craves that excitement and will pay anything to access it.

No wonder some pastors have converted from solid doctrine to entertainment and amusement to keep the offerings flowing since people will generously give toward that amusement. That is the reason their churches are overflowing though society is not changing and sin continues wreaking havoc in those churches where amusement and entertainment are the rule. And sad to say motivation for the greater part falls in that category as it does not cause people to muse over their relationship with God.

People save for years to go on a holiday for a few days or weeks. But with the media one does not need to save. What mammon requires is your little time and even divided attention is not really a problem as he can work around at making your life give him undivided attention later. Like the forbidden fruit it is very easy to partake since the premiums come later. But that premium will be prohibitive. Sadly you did not even know there were premiums that would be required as you partook.

We were talking with some young people when one of them wondered aloud. It had suddenly dawned on him that he had $1000 worth of movies, and very cheap movies at that, movies that go for less than a dollar each.

He didn’t feel the pinch when he was buying as it was at his convenience. It is looking at the aggregate that he was shocked at how wasteful and costly that cheap indulgence was. And we are wondering where the saving culture went!

But let us think beyond the money. How much time did this young man spend watching those movies? How much sleep did he lose because of those movies? And how much impact have they had on his outlook on life. On average a movie is two hours. Assuming he has 1000 movies that means 2000 hours have been swallowed by the watching. That is three months of his life, day and night, that has gone to amusement. Yet rarely will a good movie be watched once. And it is doubtful if all that movie watching took more than two years.

Again I am not going to the negative and evil direction as it is evident to most. But I want to prove to you that even positive media is destructive as it takes from us time that we could use doing more constructive things or even resting blissfully.

Ever wondered why time flies when you are playing a video game? Ever wondered why time flies when you are watching a movie? Ever wondered why time flies when you are enjoying doing nothing of value? Your mind is blank, a-muse. But sadly your spirit continues being awake and receiving spiritual input from the one you have opened yourself to.

That is why after coming from a ‘hot’ movie or disco it is almost automatic that people go to have sex somewhere, even bushes, whether they had planned to do so or not. Some resort to rape if they lack a willing partner. That is why fights must break out during and after some concerts. That is why I do not board noisy matatus. This is because there is a lot of discord, even fighting in them due to all that noise that blocks our musing so that demons can be channeled through the music. And this I have observed over many years.

Entertainment blocks our cognitive processes, leaving us to flow with whoever we deposited our musing with. This explains why time flies. We are not in charge at all and so don’t care for time or anything else as long as we are enjoying. And that irrespective of whether it is football or video games or movies or TV or chat rooms in social media. We have surrendered our minds to that entertainment.

Forget about pornography. Forget about consumerism. Forget about introduction to the demonic. Forget about erosion of values through what we expose ourselves to in accessing the media. Though destructive by themselves, it is the surrender of our cognitive and sober processes to entertainment that makes them so effective. And that is why even positive media can be destructive even in its positivity because we block our minds to connect with what that positive medium is offering.

Have you ever wondered why prime time in the media is the time we do not need the media at all? Why do they bring prime news and programs when families are coming together after the day’s hassles? Why do they bring interesting things when the parents and children are coming back together after their different pursuits of the day? When will that family bond? And we wonder why children hardly ever connect to their parents!

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

Is that possible with all the entertainment we are enjoying? Is that possible when we are constantly surrendering our minds to enjoy this or the other amusement?

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

Am I that diligent to protect my heart from all kinds of intruders that get in through the media?

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

Does God and His agenda occupy the first place in my life? Can it really be with all the baggage I continue accepting from the media? Am I accountable to God for the way I spend my time during my a-muse times? Is a-muse a spiritually recommendable activity? What does 1 Peter 5: 8 say?

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1Peter 1:13)

What conclusion do you draw from this post? Is there something you need to do about it? Will you do it?

God bless you