Benjamin Clark

I’ve been reading “Love and War” (a marriage book) by John and Stasi Eldredge.  Excellent read!  I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to hear what two authors who actually live and think like humans (and not some superhero “I’ve got it all figured out” kind of author) have to say about marriage.  It’s interesting because I’ve tried getting into a couple other John Eldredge books and his way of thinking and processing is hard for me to relate to usually.  But this book…grand slam in my opinion.  Maybe it’s his better half coming through.

My wife and I have liked “Love and War” so much, we actually decided to start a study on it with the home group that meets at our house.  It really is refreshing to listen to other couples, and personally hear their triumphs and struggles.  It’s a safe place for us to lean on other believers and to spur each other on in our human/spirit battle.

All this being said…God has really been speaking to me.  One of the questions brought up in group time was “What in your life needs to be cut out in order for you to be able to give your marriage all you can?”.  Almost immediately I felt God telling me to cut out alone time television watching.  Which might be no big deal to some…but my little artsy brain doesn’t seem to function at full capacity unless I have some total veg. time at some point in the day.  It doesn’t have to be long, but usually just time to watch other people in the daily grind (even if it is only acting) does the trick.  So naturally, I was reluctant.  But I made the decision to give it a try.

Anyways, during this time, God’s been revealing to me areas of my heart that have gone numb…or where I’ve become desensitized because of television. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I had thought about suggesting that we not watch shows like “Dancing with the Stars” when winding down at the end of a long hard day.  There once was a time in my life where I would refuse to watch anything with a woman so immodestly dressed.  Now it just seems like it’s a normal part of our society…even our Christian society…even my Christian home.

When I realized just how bad it had gotten, the thought came to mind “I wonder how many people have turned completely away from God, did something stupid like have an affair, and the root cause when traced back was something even more STUPID like television”.  I don’t want that to be me.  I want to feel the Holy Spirit nudging me.  I want my head to be clear…for my eyes to bounce when I see a woman (in real life or on television) who is even slightly immodest.  I heard a preacher once say, “Satan doesn’t show up on your doorstep with horns and a pitchfork.  He slowly lulls your senses to sleep with the normal things of life.”

TV certainly seems to be the loophole that Satan has been using to infiltrate my home to cause me to become numb.  It’s been 5 days since I’ve cut out television from my alone time.  IT HAS BEEN GREAT!!! God has not only given me the grace to survive it, but to feel a sense of freedom from it.  To feel like I can actually accomplish tasks during my day. To not feel an overwhelming sense of temptation to sin with my eyes all day everyday.  How odd…the one thing I thought was keeping me sane was really making me numb…insanely numb.