Decision Making Paradigm

(I actually wrote this a couple weeks ago but felt like I shouldn't post it until now)

I Corinthians 10:23: “Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible,” but not all things build up.  Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

This morning I read a statistic in the newspaper (not sure how reliable but astounding nonetheless) that the average American watches 5 hours of TV per day.  FIVE HOURS!?!  Five hours of brainwashing ourselves with the lies of the world, dulling our spirits and watching other people’s adventures instead of making our own…per day.

Now I’m not going to say television outright is evil.  God created everything and made everything work the way it does and therefore TV is only possible because God created the elements of the world in such a way knowing one day someone was going to figure it out and make images appear on a screen thousands of miles away from where something was actually happening.  However the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) and he is most definitely stealing our time especially in America by way of the TV.  Not only that but when I watch TV and I have my discernment going on…WOW!! are we being fed lie after lie after lie and joke after joke that Jesus would not find funny.  (Keep in mind that your eyes affect your whole being (Matthew 6:22-23) and what you watch and what you listen to affect you way more than you think but that’s another topic).  Now the point of this post is not to bash TV.  I’m not telling anyone to stop watching TV.  However what if we started thinking about things the way the Bible tells us to.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:15-18: Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…

Let’s say you watch 3 hours of TV a day (a little less than average).   This could be television, movies, video games, or whatever.  (From now on when I say TV I mean TV shows, watching sports, video games, and movies)  What if 2 out of 7 days a week you fasted TV?  You now have 6 extra hours of time to spend towards the kingdom of God.  We as a body of Christ could accomplish so much if we all had 6 extra hours a week.  What can you do in 6 hours?  First off you could spend time in the secret place with Jesus.  Since everything comes from intimacy this is first priority.  You could pray and intercede for your school, your government, or your workplace, you could read your Bible.  What if you read your Bible for an extra 6 hours a week!?!  You could take that 3 hours and go downtown and feed the homeless, or pray for people at the mall.  You could research human trafficking and figure out ways to help stop it like writing your government officials.

One question that must be raised if we are to talk about this is why do we spend so much time in front of a box?  I think there are many reasons but to be honest I believe one of the biggest reasons is that we are bored and we think we have nothing else to do.  If we are wasting our time watching TV because we are bored or because we have nothing better to do we need a wake up call.  (I am talking to myself just as much as anybody)  The world is in crisis.   One person dies every three seconds from lack of clean water; 27 million people are in slavery, only 4% of Americans under age 25 currently attend church.  I could go on and on.  There is always something to do in the Kingdom of God.  If you don’t see this it is because you are ignoring it.

After returning from Mexico and being at a missionary base for nine months I am really starting to believe that one of our biggest obstacles as a church in the US is that we suck at managing our time, we’re far too easily pleased and we’re lazy.

Well TV isn’t a sin someone might say so what’s wrong with watching it?  Or this show isn’t that bad and I really enjoy watching it.  That is not the issue.  If we decide to do or not to do anything because of whether or not it is a sin we are selling ourselves short.  The question is not what can I do and still be a Christian but what more can I give up that the kingdom of God might advance.  I am still working on this and probably will be for a long time but one thing I am trying to drill into my thick skull is to make decisions based on 1 Corinthians 10:23.

I Corinthians 10:23: “Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible,” but not all things build up.  Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

The question for every situation is not is this a sin or not, but is this beneficial or not.  Not just for me but for those around me, and for God and His kingdom.  This not only automatically eliminates sin from all our choices because sin always leads to death and is never beneficial (Romans 6:23), but it takes it to the next level where we begin to see the difference between good and best in every decision (not just to watch or not to watch TV) we make.  There are many good things we can do in this life, but there are very few excellent things.  I want to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which I have been called,” (Ephesians 4:1).

Many would watch TV just because they enjoy it.  Again this is not wrong.  Watch TV, enjoy it, but we need to be careful about how much time we put towards it and that it is not our source of satisfaction.  Sometimes we need to realize isn’t there something better to do?  C.S. Lewis says, "It is not that our passions are too strong, they are too weak.  We are far too easily pleased with lesser desires rather than pursuing with great passion our deeper desires.”  I heard Corey Russell say once: “We sometimes fill ourselves with so many good things we have no room for heavenly things.”  I think in America we settle for watching adventures instead of living them.  A good friend of mine once said, “People don’t do what they want to do because they do what they want to do.”  What do you really want to do?  What dreams has God put in your heart?  Are you making every effort to get there or are you settling for less?  Are you making room for God to do the impossible in your life?  Are you gathering your vessels? (2 Kings 4:1-7)  “God’s miracles are as big as the work we put into them.” (Darlene Cunningham)

I think it’s time that we as a church start choosing best over good.  It’s time that we start going after more heavenly things than settling for the good things that come a little easier. It’s time to start realizing “His love is better than wine” (Song of Solomon 1:2) and that the pleasures of God actually are better than the best pleasures of the world.  It’s time to start “looking carefully then how we walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15)
It’s time to figure out not just what is OK to do but what is beneficial to advancing the Kingdom of God.  It’s time to figure out what truly satisfies instead of settling for something less.  It’s time to stop settling for life and start going after life abundantly.

Now someone might say well I watch TV to rest after a long day at work and I’m just too tired to do anything else.  This is most definitely a legitimate argument that I will address in my next post, True Rest.

An article about time management I found useful can be found here: http://bible.org/seriespage/time-management

Brother Chris

Mission Adventures - Panama

Wow!  What an amazing couple weeks!  Panama was glorious!  The LORD did so many awesome things.  We saw people healed, saved, and delivered.  We also saw a group of high schoolers discover God in a new way in a new culture and they got to see the Kingdom manifest through them.  I’m going to try to keep this short but I’ll do a quick recap of the trip.

We first went to YWAM Minneapolis (which is actually in Rockford, MN).  We had a couple days training there learning dramas and such.  We got to have a lot of time as a time to talk and to worship which was great to get us all on the same page with the same vision.

In Panama, our first couple full days there we did ministry of various sorts.  We did a lot on the streets, dramas followed by preaching (really short) and then we prayed for people.  During this time we got to see a couple salvations and multiple people healed of various pains and sickness including sore knees, elbows, hands, and more.  A couple times people would get healed and then they were bringing us to their friends to pray for them it was very cool.  We also did Vacation Bible School.  It was great to be with kids and to do crafts with them, perform dramas and make balloons.

Probably the coolest things for me that happened was one night we did a treasure hunt.  This is where you spend a couple minutes asking God to give you “clues” about people He wants you to talk to.  So like “red hat” or “blue shirt” or “back pain” would be some examples of clues.  Then you go find the people and tell them they are God’s treasure and you pray for them and talk to them.  So this night me along with one of the girl students (Grace) both had received “silver watch.”  So we walked into a jewelry store along with Gina and Crystal (our translator) and I started talking to the guy in the store explaining what we were doing.  I noticed he had a “silver watch” on his wrist and so we asked if we could pray for him.  He brought us over to his wife who also was wearing a “silver watch” (hence us both getting it) and she explains to us that that morning she had told God that He had forgotten about her, her family, and her business.  We were able to tell her (as she was crying) that God loved her and hadn’t forgotten about her or her family or her business.  We were able to encourage the couple in their “marriage” which was another clue that I had.  We also were able to pray for the wife for healing in her legs as well as pray for God’s favor and blessing on their business.  It was really quite amazing.  The only reason we did a treasure hunt that night was because it was raining so we couldn’t be outside (we were at this mall) and she said that if it hadn’t been raining she would have left work early.  Truly a divine encounter!

The next couple days in Panama were spent traveling to and staying in an indigenous village about a 2-hour canoe ride from the city.  This was very cool, we did a kids program as well as a more regular service for the adults.  We got to stay in huts of families there and swim in the river.

The last day was spent visiting and seeing the city ending with a time of discussion about the trip as well as prayer and worship.  I think it was definitely one of the most amazing short-term missions trips I’ve ever been on.  It’s truly amazing what God can do in a week when you set your heart fully on Him and allow Him to use you however He wants setting your own agenda aside.

That’s all I got about Panama.  Thanks everyone for your prayers and support!  You can all be confident that your prayers were answered and that you played a role in everything God did even though you were physically far away.

Ephesians 3: 20-21 -- Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.