Episode 237: Breaking the Idol of Entertainment: Jonathan Youssef

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to Candid where we never settle for less than the truth. I'm your host, Jonathan Youssef.

[00:00:12] Each week we'll tackle tough issues, answer your hard questions and take a candid look at the Christian faith.

[00:00:20] You aimlessly unlock your smartphone for what might be the millionth time today and you scroll

[00:00:27] through your Facebook feed. After 20 minutes, you ask yourself, what was I even looking for?

[00:00:35] Then later in the evening, you finally sit down and relax in front of the TV.

[00:00:39] You know you need to catch up on sleep but before you realize it, you've already watched three episodes

[00:00:44] of the top trending series, half of which you missed because you were scrolling through feeds on your phone.

[00:00:50] And Netflix is launching you directly into the fourth as you think just one more.

[00:00:56] Before you start to sink into guilt about every moment of entertainment you've enjoyed or simply

[00:01:02] dismiss the rest of this episode to avoid the discomfort of impending shame, let me adamantly assert

[00:01:10] that entertainment in itself is not sinful. There's plenty of entertainment we read happening

[00:01:16] in Scripture, Jesus attended parties and enjoyed food and drink. The Psalms are filled with

[00:01:22] music and dancing. Paul was expertly knowledgeable of secular poetry and theater.

[00:01:29] And one Timothy 617 assures us that God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

[00:01:38] That is how good and loving and creative he is. And ultimately, our greatest joy is found in him.

[00:01:45] That's why the Westminster shorter catechism declares at the outset what is the chief end of man?

[00:01:51] Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

[00:01:58] But if we are not careful, good enjoyable things can become ultimate things and our priorities

[00:02:06] can become disordered. To make matters worse, there's a terrifying number of forces working against us.

[00:02:13] Not only do we fight against our own sinful flesh and the unseen forces of the spiritual enemy,

[00:02:19] but an entire economy exists in our culture in which whole corporations grapple for our attention 24-7.

[00:02:28] In her article The Binge Breaker featured in The Atlantic author Bianca Boscher captures this

[00:02:34] struggle through the words of Tristan Harris, founder of The Time Well-Spent Movement.

[00:02:41] You could say that it's my responsibility to exert self-control when it comes to digital usage.

[00:02:46] He explains but that's not acknowledging that there's a thousand people on the other side

[00:02:51] of the screen whose job it is to break down whatever responsibility I can maintain.

[00:02:58] Harris learned that the most successful sites and apps hook us by tapping into deep-seated

[00:03:04] human needs. But don't panic, though the world and the devil are working to binopoulize your thoughts

[00:03:12] and keep you attuned to their message, you are not alone in the battle.

[00:03:16] The force is working against you are strong but you have a yet greater power living within you,

[00:03:22] Jesus Christ. You see, the blood of Christ has the power to break every chain that endeavors

[00:03:28] to enslave you, every addiction, every idol that seeks to seduce you down the road to destruction.

[00:03:34] Even the idol of entertainment. Though this idol works to entice you into believing life is about

[00:03:42] your own diversion and pleasure, the Bible shows us life is about God's glory and your enjoyment

[00:03:50] of Him who is your master, your father, your redeemer and your resurrection.

[00:03:57] Paul in Romans chapter 6 tells us offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death

[00:04:04] to life and offer every part of yourself as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer

[00:04:11] be your master because you are not under the law but under grace. Don't you know that when you

[00:04:18] offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey whether you

[00:04:23] are slaves to sin which leads to death or to obedience which leads to righteousness.

[00:04:29] But thanks be to God that though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart

[00:04:37] the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and

[00:04:43] have become slaves to righteousness. Though free from the bondage of sin, we often forget that we are

[00:04:51] yet slaves to righteousness. So instead of truly enjoying something deeply creative or beautiful or

[00:05:00] thought-provoking, we spend our time mindlessly consuming a variety of entertainments.

[00:05:06] Instead of analyzing our entertainment before the light of truth to praise what is noble and good

[00:05:13] and uplift what is lacking through the gospel to the glory of God. We simply use entertainment as

[00:05:20] an escape from the troubles of the world or we turn them into a habit lacking meaningful blessing.

[00:05:28] But every aspect of our lives, even our entertainment can and should be submitted to God just as his

[00:05:35] word exhorts us whether you eat or drink or whatever you do to it all for the glory of God.

[00:05:41] You may be thinking that your entertainment is about to get agonizingly boring or prudish,

[00:05:48] but that's just what the world and the devil wants you to believe. For actually immeasurable joy

[00:05:54] and fulfillment are only found in the holy presence of God and pursuing that holiness in every

[00:06:00] part of our lives will yield happiness. So we need to be slaves to righteousness

[00:06:07] if we really grasped how glorious the gift of righteousness truly is, we would be unabashed

[00:06:15] holiness junkies. We can start pursuing righteousness in our entertainment by asking ourselves

[00:06:23] some important questions and answering them with honest discernment through the power of the

[00:06:29] Holy Spirit. One is this entertainment leading me to deeper enjoyment of the Lord or am I sacrificing

[00:06:37] the pleasure of time spent glorifying God for an hour or more of unfulfilling screen time that

[00:06:44] leaves me restless. Two, am I using this entertainment as a means of stress relief or escape rather than

[00:06:53] finding comfort in the character and promises of my Father in heaven. Three, is this entertainment

[00:07:01] holding sway over how I order my life or is it taking the place of something that is more important?

[00:07:10] Four, is this entertainment increasing or hindering my fellowship with the body of believers?

[00:07:17] Once you have plumbed the motives of your heart towards your entertainment, it's time to take action

[00:07:26] whether you need to make a change in your pattern of entertainment or you feel confident that

[00:07:31] your entertainment is submitted to your Savior. Here some practical means to shield your heart

[00:07:37] and preserve your attention for the only one deserving of your focus. The only one who promises

[00:07:44] boundless joy. First, recognize that there are whole teams of people in entire industry working to

[00:07:53] seize your attention. In addition to the forces of Satan and our flesh that endeavor to draw us away

[00:07:59] from God, we must exercise humility and discernment so that when we mix up our priorities,

[00:08:07] we can readily confess and repent and be lifted up by the love and forgiveness of Christ.

[00:08:13] Second, discipline yourself to disconnect. We must guard against the addictive nature of modern

[00:08:21] entertainment. Our smartphones are decidedly difficult to control when it comes to distraction

[00:08:28] where constantly inundated with alerts and notifications that prevent us from forming focused

[00:08:34] and thorough thoughts. The kind of mindfulness we need to glorify God. So to counteract the colorful

[00:08:41] apps and brilliant beings designed to win our attention here are some tips. One, turn off notifications

[00:08:48] on your phone. Two, limit the visibility of your apps by sending the most likely to send you down

[00:08:54] rabbit hole apps into folders so that your screen can be clear of clutter. Three, consider implementing

[00:09:03] apps that can help you stay aware of how frequently you're using your phone and for how long such as

[00:09:08] checkie or moment, I am always notified on Sunday morning and that is a great reminder to me.

[00:09:17] Four, keep your phone stored away or at least screen side down when you are interacting with people.

[00:09:25] Your phone has a do not disturb option. Use it. Please use it when your preacher,

[00:09:32] your pastor is preaching. He would appreciate that. Three, determine what are some healthy habits for

[00:09:40] your entertainment consumption. What do you want to get out of the variety of

[00:09:46] enjoyments that the Lord has provided for you in your life? Look to the word of God for direction

[00:09:52] about how God wants you to spend your time. Perhaps make a plan such as setting an alarm to make

[00:09:58] you aware of the time you've already spent binging the latest Netflix series.

[00:10:04] Once you've thought through the purpose and plan of entertainment in your life, share your goals

[00:10:09] for entertainment with other believers that can hold you accountable so that you can together seek

[00:10:15] righteousness in all things, the sure road to joy. Four, most importantly find fulfillment,

[00:10:24] belonging and acceptance in Christ alone. When your identity is firmly rooted in your adoption

[00:10:32] as a son or daughter of the living God, you can defeat any and all means that the idol of

[00:10:39] entertainment hurls your way to enslave you and to draw you away from the light of Christ.

[00:10:45] The more deeply satisfied you are in Jesus Christ, the freer you will walk in this world.

[00:10:51] The more you relish the gospel, the quicker you can silence the condemnation of the enemy.

[00:10:57] Just go read Romans chapter 8. The more focused you are on your Savior, the easier it will be to keep

[00:11:04] your priorities in order not because you are forcing them but because you are mature in Christ.

[00:11:12] This order brings you the most delight. May God grant us the wisdom and discernment to delight in

[00:11:19] an entertainment that points us to Him for in Him alone will we find abundant joy. Finally,

[00:11:27] brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,

[00:11:34] whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy,

[00:11:40] think about such things so that your life can be marked by the holiness of God that brings abiding

[00:11:47] happiness. Candid is a podcast from leading the way with Dr. Michael Yusef. Don't forget to connect

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