"What if I'm Desensitized?"
Question: What if I have already been desensitized by entertainment? Is there anything I can do to change?
Answer: It has been said that "you are what you eat" and Jesus said that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". Your spirit is either fed good spiritual things or it is deprived of spiritual nourishment because you are feeding the flesh instead. Galatians 6:8 says "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." The more we place our focus on the things of the world the more we become like the world. The more we focus on Jesus, the more like Jesus we will become. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
I personally became very desensitized to many things through media when I was a teen; immorality, violence, despair, drugs, and more. When I surrendered my life to follow Jesus at 17 years old I was challenged by a preacher regarding what it meant to follow Christ and I became convicted about the garbage entertainment I was accustomed to consume on a daily basis. I went on a media fast for a couple of weeks and I began to realize how free I was to serve the Lord without all that garbage coming into my heart. Since then I have learned to be more careful about what kind of entertainment I consume and how much I consume. As I put my focus on a growing relationship with Jesus I began a process of being re-sensitized. I began to grow in my ability to discern good from evil. It became easier to avoid media that was not beneficial to my Christian walk and more shocking to me when I didn't use proper discretion. The Bible calls it transformation.
We are told in Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…" If you maintain a steady diet of today's entertainment it will be a major contributor of bringing you into conformity to the world. Garbage in equals garbage out, what you sow is what you will reap. That verse also talks about a transformation that needs to happen by the renewing of your mind. It is important to fill our minds with the things of the Lord. We need a steady diet of Scripture. We need to read it, meditate on it, study it, hear it taught, memorize it, and most importantly obey it! We need to let our thoughts rise constantly to God in prayers, thanks, praise, confession, and adoration.
Change doesn't always come easy or quickly. It can be difficult to change our media habits. It may not happen overnight. Our spiritual lives do not always change overnight. When you begin to read your Bible and pray you may not recognize any immediate change. Don't give up. Like a compass needle that always points North, a Christians life needs to always be directed towards God.
Question: What if I have already been desensitized by entertainment? Is there anything I can do to change?
Answer: It has been said that "you are what you eat" and Jesus said that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". Your spirit is either fed good spiritual things or it is deprived of spiritual nourishment because you are feeding the flesh instead. Galatians 6:8 says "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." The more we place our focus on the things of the world the more we become like the world. The more we focus on Jesus, the more like Jesus we will become. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
I personally became very desensitized to many things through media when I was a teen; immorality, violence, despair, drugs, and more. When I surrendered my life to follow Jesus at 17 years old I was challenged by a preacher regarding what it meant to follow Christ and I became convicted about the garbage entertainment I was accustomed to consume on a daily basis. I went on a media fast for a couple of weeks and I began to realize how free I was to serve the Lord without all that garbage coming into my heart. Since then I have learned to be more careful about what kind of entertainment I consume and how much I consume. As I put my focus on a growing relationship with Jesus I began a process of being re-sensitized. I began to grow in my ability to discern good from evil. It became easier to avoid media that was not beneficial to my Christian walk and more shocking to me when I didn't use proper discretion. The Bible calls it transformation.
We are told in Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…" If you maintain a steady diet of today's entertainment it will be a major contributor of bringing you into conformity to the world. Garbage in equals garbage out, what you sow is what you will reap. That verse also talks about a transformation that needs to happen by the renewing of your mind. It is important to fill our minds with the things of the Lord. We need a steady diet of Scripture. We need to read it, meditate on it, study it, hear it taught, memorize it, and most importantly obey it! We need to let our thoughts rise constantly to God in prayers, thanks, praise, confession, and adoration.
Change doesn't always come easy or quickly. It can be difficult to change our media habits. It may not happen overnight. Our spiritual lives do not always change overnight. When you begin to read your Bible and pray you may not recognize any immediate change. Don't give up. Like a compass needle that always points North, a Christians life needs to always be directed towards God.
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