What is Your Media Mindset?
“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” Romans 8:5
We live in an “On Demand” world, especially when it comes to media content. It’s easier than ever before to watch what you want to see, listen to what you want to hear, and read what you want to read, anytime, anywhere. At work, hanging out with your friends, or just being home alone, it’s all just a click away. And, as the verse above points out, making healthy choices is a matter of mindset.
The Bible teaches that we are “saved” when we confess our sins and place our faith in Jesus Christ. At that moment salvation is complete, instantaneous, and permanent. Paul writes in Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” That’s insanely great news, but we must also remember that even though we are saved we still have the capacity to sin and to be out of sync with our savior. To overcome this temptation, we must set our minds on what the Holy Spirit desires, and “not even think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Romans 13:14)
We are to have this mindset in everything we do, and especially with regard to the media we consume. For if we don’t control what we consume it can easily consume us, filling us with every kind of fleshly desire and feeding those desires so that we desire more.
Before you click to watch or read or listen, remember the words Paul wrote in Galatians 5:24-25: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
How do you monitor the media you consume? Are you pursuing what the flesh desires or what the Spirit desires?
Having begun as a guest speaker in 2005, Dan was appointed Interim Pastor in 2008 and has been serving Maple Root Baptist ever since. As a small group leader and Chaplin for the Connecticut Tigers, Dan has a heart for the lost and the God that saves them.