I enjoy a good movie or TV show. After a long day of physical and mental work, it is sometimes nice to just sit down and “turn off my brain” and watch something. My challenge is that it is getting more and more difficult to find something to watch that does not have bad language or portray a lifestyle that goes against biblical teachings. Yet, I continue to watch. “It isn’t that bad.”
The band Casting Crowns has a song called “Slow Fade.” The song talks about how we often go through life making small concessions to our beliefs and what we know is right and it leads to larger problems. People find themselves in the middle of a bad situation and wonder how they got there. They find themselves financially in deep debt or even bankrupt. Maybe they find themselves in the middle of a divorce over an affair. We see the outcome and wonder, “How did I get here?” We don’t see it because it is a “slow fade.” People never crumble in a day.
We are where we are in life not because of a single decision. We are where we are because of a series of small decisions. Those with a strong faith are there because they decided to follow God every day. I am not as healthy as I want to be. I didn’t decide to be unhealthy. I decided to eat that extra piece of cake… oh you have ice cream, too! I decided that I didn’t feel like taking a walk or exercising today. Our lives are made up of thousands of small decisions that we make every day.
Proverbs 4: 22 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” What we allow into our minds and hearts matters. The movies we watch matter. The music we listen to matters. The books we read matter. The social media posts we read matter. Am I guarding my heart or am I in the middle of a “slow fade”?
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
Matthew 5: 27-30 (NIV)
Jesus, again, goes back to the Law and the heart. It is easy to say, “Don’t commit adultery”, but what is it that led to the adultery? It is a series of smaller decisions. It is that slow fade. The little look. The teasing comments. The “it’s just a cup of coffee.” And before all that, it’s the song we like that plants the seed. It’s the movie we watched that planted the seed. It’s the video we watched on our social media or the internet that planted the seed. Our moral failures do not happen overnight. People don’t crumble in a day. If your TV is causing you to sin, throw it away. If your phone is causing you to sin, get a simple flip phone with no internet connection. If your computer is causing you to sin, get rid of it. There is nothing more important than keeping ourselves on a path that leads to God.
“Above all else…” This is the most important thing you can do. “Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, for everything you do flows from it, and it will save you from hell.
