In early July after deciding God wanted me to begin sharing the Gospel through short-term ministries in other Countries I knew some sacrifices would have to be made.
It’s really easy to forget just how blessed we are in the United States to have things people around the world don’t
- Like fast-food restaurants
- Or large stores like Walmart, and supermarkets everywhere
- Or highways, and roads that are kept in good condition
- Or our everyday lifestyle of convenience [1]
To be honest I’m able to sacrifice almost all of America’s conveniences, but the one thing I really struggle walking away from is television
Now I’m aware that you will find television almost everywhere in the world today. However it’s a far cry from the kind of television most of us experience in the US.
My parents house in West Virginia has only basic tv since we aren’t there much, which ends up offering about three different channels. It is of course possible to survive on three channels (four if the antenna works just right) but that’s hard when there are hundreds of channels (many of them High Definition) at home.
The real problem with sacrificing television though is for me it’s much more than just entertainment.
After a hard day of work people do different things to relax. For me relaxation has always involved crashing on my bed and or in a chair to watch television. In later years Netflix has replaced tv, but it’s the same general idea 🙂
Please understand I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with watching television as long as those programs glorify God. However the Lord recently started convicting me because stress or bad days almost always resulted in a Netflix binge.
This is where for me things crossed the line from entertainment into becoming a “coping mechanism” to the point where any distress would bring an almost immediate desire to watch television and “escape” the pain of that moment.
So in preparation for the mission field I’m sacrificing television. Oh I’ll probably still watch it a little bit every day, but it will become my third or fourth option after being stressed-out instead of the first thought that comes to my mind.
After reading Scripture
Or enjoying a good book
Or taking a walk and talking to God about my frustrations
Or even (Heaven forbid) talking to other people about what’s stressing me out so much!
Again there’s nothing necessarily wrong with crashing on the couch at the end of a long day. But when that’s our minds first response when encountering pain maybe it’s time for you to walk away too.
[1]: anything you need is just a ten or fifteen minute ride away
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