Challenging words from Pete Greig: “Inevitably the media I consume starts to consume me. It realigns my neural pathways, amplifies my prejudices, and embeds unhealthy dependencies. The culture in which I swim inevitably shapes my most fundamental perception of reality.” His words challenge because we all ‘swim’ as he said, in a media-saturated world. Living with a Biblical and Kingdom worldview, in tune with Jesus’ teachings and the Apostle Paul’s Spirit-inspired exhortations, demands a great deal of rigorous discernment.
I’m particularly struck by his message as it pertains to a time of casual conversation which is sponsored each Wednesday afternoon by the shared office management company where I have my office. Each week, the topic and tone of the conversation is largely shaped by who is in attendance, and who begins the conversation. If the first ‘speaker’ is happy, positive, encouraging, telling funny stories, etc., there’s a strong chance that the shared time will continue along that vein. If the first speaker begins griping and complaining, an entire Pandora’s box of pent-up woes is opened and out they spill. Attempts to redirect usually get steamrolled, such is the accumulation of grievances of everything from the price of marshmallows to the ‘idiots’ who travel our local roadways (those present, of course, being the exception).
It’s astonishing to me how much of what is spoken is media-laced. From stark, end-of-the-world pronouncements, to mudslinging the ones we love to hate, to rendering scathing judgments, to the other end of the spectrum with inane homemade videos (proof that some people have way too much idle time on their hands). I feel like this is akin to Paul’s warning about being squeezed into the world’s mold. Without consciously intending to ‘go there’ our attitudes and speech morph into that of the world, the world to which we no longer belong. And we, tragically, become indistinguishable from it. I hear echoes of Peter exhorting the church: “But you are a chosen people, set aside to be a royal order of priests, a holy nation, God’s own; so that you may proclaim the wondrous acts of the One who called you out of inky darkness into shimmering light.” 1 Peter 2:9, VOICE. All these descriptors destine us to be less like Emperor penguins and more like the white peacock (yes, that’s a real thing – I read about them online!) in a field of iridescent splendor. Looking forward to seeing God’s people tomorrow when the Lancaster’s will be ministering. 10 AM, 3 PM UK, 4 PM FR, ES. PD
