A new year... a new perspective... on the media, anyway.
This year, the challenge is to avoid any media that takes your mind away from God or Godly things. Now most of time, I don't think that it's wise to take one verse from the Bible and try to apply it. Often times there is a lot of context that we miss... and without context, we may be just taking a verse and making it fit our desires, not God's. And that's dangerous...
That being said, I ran across a verse in 2 Corinthians 6:12, "You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections." Paul was writing to the Corinthian church and discussing their desires. The things that may be keeping them from growing in their relationship with God. Many of them were rich and had just about anything they needed or wanted. Later, he goes on to talk about their bodies being the temple of God (and one of the most misinterpreted verses in all the Bible... "do not be unequally yoked..."
Here's the issue... the media fast is not meant to be a limitation. It's designed to help you see how your choices (what you watch, listen to, or read) and actually limiting you. It's those very things that stir up your emotions, direct your thoughts and dreams, and take your time away from God. The church isn't designed to restrict you... but your own desires and choices do restrict you probably more than you realize.
So this year... it's not about "what I can and cannot do." It's about recognizing what is restricting you in your walk; what is restricting you in your relationships; and what is restricting your hopes and dreams. Right now... your affection is for your favorite band or TV show or book. Maybe your affection is your video games, Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Snapchat / Pintrest / whatever... if your affection is on something other than God, there's a pretty good chance that this affection is the real problem with you growing in your relationship to God.
Media Fast + Time with God - "Other-than-God" Affection = Gospel-centered Growth
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