Mental Renewal is the Do-or-die Issue of the Christian Life

 

Blog Series:

Renew Your Mind ~ Transform Your Life

  We saw last week that if we take care of our mind, our mind will take care of us. And, as we move more deeply into the 21st century, it is becoming clear that mental renewal is the make-or-break, sink-or-swim, do-or-die issue of life for the Christian. We all tend to conform to culture around us. This is the way we were created. It helps us tremendously if the culture around us is positive. It hurts us tremendously if the culture around us is negative. When I grew up, if you conformed to culture around you, you didn’t violate any of the 10 Commandments. Now, if you conform to culture around you, you violate most of the 10 Commandments. Because everything that affects culture also affects the Christians living in that culture, this retrogression is having its effect on the church in America. Polls by Lifeway and the Barna Group are showing a dramatic decline in younger Christians’ commitment to historic Christian beliefs as well as biblical lifestyle. We must learn new ways of standing against this downward trend if we are not to be neutralized by a mind meld with modern culture. Because of the presence, power and corruption of modern media, it may be generally more difficult to live the Christian life in the 21^st Century than at any other time in history. From music in elevators to monitors in gas pumps to smart phones, tablets, computers, electronic games, smart watches, to televisions everywhere in restaurants and televisions in our homes that often go on first thing in the morning and stay on until the last thing at night, our minds are awash in input from electronic media. And because we become what we behold, we are dramatically impacted by the pervasive presence of electronic media. The power of media creates three serious problems. First, it gives the mind no down time, no solitude, no time for reflection, planning, evaluating, thinking. It keeps us from thinking about the higher things of life. The result is that it is very difficult to conceive of higher things, to rise above where we are at the moment. We get trapped in the present with little hope for the future because we give no thought to it. Second, the input that we receive through media is often godless. By godless, we mean two things. On the one hand, it may be an affront to the moral standards of God. The input may include violence, hatred, greed, and sexual immorality. On the other hand, even if the input is not an obvious affront to God, media typically represents life and values that do not include God or accurately reflect Him. So, even if a given program on television is not morally reprehensible, it still tends to teach us to think and live without God because an accurate and authentic relationship with God is virtually never modeled. All we ever learn by example is how to live without Him. Third, electronic media is more powerful than other media. It impacts the mind more than spoken or written communication. Have you ever tried to read a book while the television is on? You usually end up watching television. The power of electronic media takes over the mind. That is why it is so powerful. Therefore,

• because electronic media keeps us from thinking about the higher things of life,
• because much of the input is godless, and
• because electronic media has a greater power over the mind than spoken or written communication,

the typical mind in Western culture is held captive by electronic media. As a result, it is held captive to secular values and thinking. Unfortunately, this is true of the Christian mind as well as the non-Christian mind. A dramatic example of the power of media In a dramatic instance of the impact of electronic media, I was presenting workshops at a discipleship conference in England a number of years ago. Delegates were there from all over the world. In one of my workshops, there was a delegation from central Africa, and after the session was over, we sat around talking about discipleship issues. This delegation said that their mission was to try to reach the rural villages in central Africa with the Gospel before the village got electricity because before a village got electricity, their interest in spiritual things was very high. After a village got electricity, however, their interest in spiritual things dried up almost overnight… because electricity brought, not only light bulbs and refrigeration, but also television, movies, music, and the internet. These things captured the minds of the villagers and made them almost impervious to the Gospel. Like trying to save people from a coming tsunami, this delegation was trying to save rural central Africans from the coming tsunami of electrification. That’s the power of media! And, media shapes our culture. Conclusion We now live in a culture that has been deeply corrupted from what it once was, and this coarsened culture has its automatic effect on us, whether we want it to or not. Every moment of every day, something in our soul is being fed and something is being starved. Because we live in a media-dominated world, and because much of what comes through media is an assault on biblical values, then in the course of living everyday life, the soul of the Christian is being power fed the things of the world while the things of the spirit are starved. As a result, Christians are being swept out to sea by the riptide of modern culture. Therefore, devising a strategy for mental renewal, for power feeding the soul the things of the spirit sufficient to offset the things of the world, is a do-or-die issue for Christians. In the weeks ahead, we will explore specific ways we can do so. I look forward to taking this journey with you. If you're just joining us on this journey, see the note below to find the beginning of this "mind renewal" series.   In case you're new here This blog post is part of a series titled "Renew Your Mind, Transform Your Life", introduced on January 5, 2021. As the series continues, each succeeding post will be added to and available in the blog archives at www.maxanders.com. If you know anyone who you think might enjoy joining us in this study, please forward this blog to them and encourage them to go to my web site (www.maxanders.com) and sign up for the free video, “Master the Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You”, available there on the home page. This will put them on my regular mailing list and they’ll receive my weekly blogs on this subject. In addition, I am creating a new online membership site, The Change Zone, that will provide information, strategies and resources to help motivated Christians renew their mind and transform their lives. If you would like to learn more about this and get updates to know when The Change Zone will be available, click here. I look forward to going through this life-changing journey with you.

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