Even the Son leaned on the Father in the garden of Gethsemane. How can you expect to do any differently?

So, how do you do this practically?

OK, I hate this part. This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you to watch out for what you’re taking into your soul. What I mean is, the moral and spiritual content of all the media you watch—whether it’s music, movies, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, blah, blah, blah… Here’s all I can offer you about that: If your ideal for relationships is personified in a couple that exists only in HD, you have a dilemma.

I was hanging out with a friend of mine who is a film producer. Someone came up to him and said, “Have you heard of such-and-such film? It’s a great movie, etc.” His response was, “That’s great, but could I sit down and watch it with my mother?” Wow, that is
a challenging proposition, but a true one. How does what we’re viewing and listening to affect us? Are we leaning on the Father in the choices we make?

Let Go of the World

I grew up in a “Betamax household.” Yep. That’s what I said. Betamax. “What does that mean?” you might ask. It means that whatever the most popular form of media delivery device there was, I had the other one. VCRs came out. Most people had VHS. I had a Betamax. Video games came out. Most people had Atari or Colecovision. I had Intellivision. Nintendo? I got stuck with Sega.

The list goes on—until Apple. My senior year of high school, my mom got an Apple computer. Finally—I was ahead of the curve! It
took 14 years for it to be realized; but, I was finally ahead of that curve. I can’t tell you the joy I had when it was becoming apparent that Apple was taking over the world of computers. It was exciting for me. I didn’t feel like such a Betamax-loser. iPods are everywhere. Even the Pope has one. Seriously.

Funny that the symbol for this company is an apple with one bite taken out of it. No doubt, it’s a reference to Sir Isaac Newton and his moment of genius that occurred under an apple tree. It reminds me of another moment, under a tree a long time ago, when innocence was tempted. When becoming master of one’s own destiny was dangled in front of someone’s face. But it also reminds me of
the danger of worldly possessions and how they can “possess” your heart. Look, there’s nothing wrong with stuff. But Jesus clearly said you can’t have two masters and that you will lose your faith in the process of gaining the world.

I’ve been there, in my heart. I pretty much still struggle with materialism. College students now spend upward of five billion
dollars a year on clothes and shoes. You make an average of $800 per month from jobs, etc. Most of that is spent on entertainment or clothes. If you have money for $150 jeans, maybe you could actually start tithing? Something to think about…