{"id":1062,"date":"2024-10-01T00:00:04","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T05:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/?p=1062"},"modified":"2024-09-30T22:16:19","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T03:16:19","slug":"what-are-we-listening-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/what-are-we-listening-to\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are We Listening To?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Many have had this experience. We buy a bag of crisps, planning to eat a handful. But suddenly the whole package is gone and our body reminds us that a handful would have been better. Or maybe you prefer ice cream and you struggle to stop after one scoop.<\/p>\n

What we consume in our mouths, impacts our entire bodies. In the same way, what we consume with our eyes and ears changes the way we think, feel, and act. Because screens have become an important part of life, we want to learn to use them in a way that leads us closer to Christ.<\/p>\n

Two shifts in thinking can help us with this goal: Consume less content and consume better content.<\/p>\n

Consume less<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A typical internet user spends 6 hours and 40 minutes online every day. This is a lot of material filling our minds.<\/p>\n

The mere volume takes away time we could otherwise spend pursuing deep community, discipling our families, showing love to our neighbors, enjoying God\u2019s creation, or numerous other enriching activities. Consuming large amounts of screen content also shortens our attention spans so we lose our ability to focus and do deep, meaningful work.<\/p>\n

Setting a goal to consume less screen content, instantly opens up opportunities to pursue the abundant life God has for us.<\/p>\n

Consume better content<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A second way to be mindful of what we are listening to on our phones is to consume better content.<\/p>\n

The Bible instructs us to fill our minds with what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). Although Paul\u2019s listeners weren\u2019t struggling with addiction to their smartphones, we can use this verse to judge the content we are consuming.<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean that we can only consume Christian material. For some, watching a funny television show with family could be an important bonding experience. But we do want to be intentional about consuming things that lead us closer to the type of people we want to be.<\/p>\n

Consumers of God<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Finally, as endless as internet content seems – we have a God who is truly endless! He is unfathomable – too big for us to understand. He is incomprehensible – beyond our ability to fully know. Yet this amazing God makes Himself available to us. Those who seek Him will find. We could spend all of our lives consuming Him and never run out of mysteries to explore.<\/p>\n

Take a moment to review the following devotional and reflect on what we are listening to.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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