I have been listening to an annoying ad the last few weeks on the radio. The announcer tells how he has just had a delightful lunch with his favorite actor. It was great entertainment and he didn’t have to pay for his “companion’s” lunch. He will soon be heading off to a boring meeting where he is trying to decide if wants to watch the next episode or tune into a crime show with an attractive, not the words he used, actress.
This is annoying because this person is more interested in being entertained than spending time with people. Or even just sitting an enjoying a lunch with peace and quiet. He needs to be entertained, distracted, or pleasantly redirected instead of focusing on reality. Now I value entertainment, even that which involves watching television, but I think it should have a limited amount of our time.
When my youngest daughter was home this past Christmas she told me how I could watch one of my former favorite shows, “Bones,” on the computer. I was able to watch a few episodes and again found the need to monitor my time in front of the computer being “distracted.” It is easy to get sucked in to spending a large amount of time being entertained on the computer, whether it be Facebook, Youtube, Sports clips, or chess games.
So perhaps the reason the ad was so annoying is that it touched on of the more difficult temptations to overcome. We have a vast variety of electronics in this country and it so easily becomes our “companion” that we need to be reminded that relationships are what we were created for. God created us so we could have a relationship with him. He gave us his son so we don’t have to earn the right for that relationship, but so we could receive the opportunity to have a relationship with the Creator of the universe as a free gift. There is a bonus in that relationship because he also helps us in our relationship with each other.
I hope in this New Year we can all make sure we spend time with God and with others. There is nothing wrong with being entertained unless it is sapping away our energy, desire, or commitment to have a relationship with God and others. Let us be mindful of our time this year and make sure we have plenty of time with those relationships which are the very essence of our humanity.
Peace to you,
Pastor Randy
