Are You Too Busy to Meditate?
by Ross Statham
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 22 No. 1, March 1996
Americans are known in other countries as busy people, and for the most part it’s true. My co-workers and customers at work all share the same refrain as my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus: they all tell me how “incredibly busy” they are. Why? Don’t we Americans have more labor-saving devices than ever? Fewer work hours? Enjoy more leisure time? (Statistics say that we do.)
Most of us get up early every morning, get the kids to school, commute to work, work all day, and drive home. But what do we do when we get home and get settled? Most of us turn on the television, sit down, and be entertained until bedtime.
Dr. Denis Waitley, the well-known behavioral psychologist and author of The Psychology of Winning, says each person's values result from what goes into their brain day in and day out. (Sound like scripture?) He strongly condemns most television, and he particularly condemns our getting sucked into watching the news. “Good news doesn’t sell,” says Dr. Waitley. “We subconsciously enjoy seeing failure in others, because it makes our own failures look minor.” He says that we should find “more productive and less entertaining” things to do with our leisure time.
Ten years ago I was in another city on business one Wednesday evening, and I attended mid-week study at a congregation that had been recommended. During the auditorium class discussion, the subject turned to ‘the low quality of what’s on television.’ I listened as seven or eight people complained, moaned, and groaned, wondering when the teacher would steer the discussion toward the biblical view.
I finally had to raise my hand. “Please excuse me for saying this,” I said. “I’m in the electronics industry, and I’ve learned that when a piece of equipment isn’t doing what I want, I find the switch and turn it off. Rather than complain about what’s on television, why don’t you turn it off and do something more positive instead?” and mentioned a few scriptures. Unfortunately, my observation wasn’t taken in the spirit in which it was intended, as about a third of the class actually turned around in their pews and stared hard at me. I was pointedly snubbed after church.
What does God say we should be doing? In Philippians 4:8 we read:
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things."
Brothers and sisters, we aren’t going to get “truth” from The Discovery Channel, “noble thoughts” from PBS, “justice” from A&E, or “purity” from the O.J. Simpson trial on CNN Headline News. We won’t learn about Godly “love” from Fox Television, and we won’t learn “virtue” or “praiseworthy” things from watching the ball game. All of these things (including the news) are entertainment.
I’m sure that you’ve noticed the improper words that have somehow slipped into your vocabulary. Where did those words come from? You’ve probably noticed that the young and not-so-young aren’t dressing as modestly as they did ten years ago. You may have had to confront firsthand a problem with fornication and adultery among our own young, our own middle-aged, even our own elders, deacons, and evangelists. Where did these evil influences come from?
I maintain that we are addicted to this evil, wicked influence, and I challenge you to a simple experiment. Unplug your television for only one month. Read your Bible. Pray. Meditate. Talk to your spouse. Play with your children, or better, read the Bible with them. Am I being too extreme? Jesus said in Matthew 5:29, "And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."
When the month is over, allow yourself one to two hours of television each week if you still think you’ve “gotta have it...” Know what you’ll be able to do with all of that time you’ll have on your hands? Grow in the Lord.
