My Name is Paige & I Hate TV
25 October, 2015
I have been a Christian for three years, and since then I have felt God telling me to let certain things go. I remember writing in a journal just a few days after accepting Christ asking God to take away the desire to go to parties.
At that point, I was caught up in wanting to go out and have a good time. I was living in LA, I was young, I was a little too thin (but that's for another day) and I wanted to make the most of my time.
I was dating someone that had bought tickets for us to see Avicii and had arranged a limo to take us there.
But, after journaling that prayer, I didn't feel right about drinking too much and being in the party environment. Needless to say, our relationship fizzled quickly when I cancelled on the show just a few days beforehand.
Today, I will occassionally 'go out,' but it's much different than before. In fact, I recently went out in Milwaukee with some friends, and we listened to K LOVE and said a prayer on the way up. It actually ended up being a very calm night with very limited alcohol and good company.
Three years ago, I felt very convicted about going out. Today, when I 'go out,' it's a major rarity that is much less spiritually draining because I equip myself beforehand and trust that God's Truth is guiding me.
Recently, I have felt convicted about something different. It's a little goofy, considering it's not usually portrayed as a blatant personal harm, but I absolutely know when God is giving me the NO sign.
Here goes... watching TV.
Yeah, yeah, you're probably scoffing. "You feel bad about watching TV? Take a chill pill, Paigey!"
I was never a big TV watcher until literally about a month ago! I have been getting home from work and the gym and collapsing on the couch only to watch... crap.
Million Dollar Listing, House of DVF, etc, etc.
It's no more than an hour a day, but for some reason I'll walk away from the TV feeling completely drained. I feel empty, like I had just taken an emotional xanax.
Tonight, after getting home from a great night with some awesome women and talking to two great friends on the phone (shout out to Carolin & Joe!), I remembered House of DVF was on (a fashion show highlighting cattiness, to be blunt) and wanted to see who would get voted out!
It hit me, "do I really want to waste this hour turning my mind into mush? After spending time and building relationships, do I really want to spend the next hour 'zoning out' and watching women fight over nothingness?"
You guessed it - I watched it anyways. And you guessed it - I felt gross afterwards.
We are the bosses of our own lives. We are in charge of our decisions and our time. Yet, if we are going to ignore the convictions God puts in our hearts, we will waste that time by allowing the world's smoke and mirror circus to morph our brains into what God never intended.
When we watch TV, we allow others to conquer our imagination. Trashy TV dims our lives, our creativity, our uniqueness, and our relationship with God. I have found that TV strips my life of charm, replacing it with dullness and monotony. It leads to moral paralysis, yet our culture is obsessive about it.
By giving Christ complete reign over who we see, what we do, what we read, and what we watch, our lives will create REAL color.
This life is a passing wind. Do we really want to waste it?
Let's make the most of our days, trusting our God to lead us in the right direction, even when the world tries to pull us in the wrong one.
Is there something God is telling you to replace in your life?
^ This isn't meant to be a Christian song, but I love it. God wants all of you, honey, just like He gave all of Himself. Trust Him... He won't let you down. You are so precious to Him!
