Life is Short: Use Filters.

I was blessed over the Christmas holiday. Not only did I enjoy time with the family, but also time with the Lord. We enjoyed Christmas music, some Christmas movies, and Shari and I shared some advent devotionals. This post isn’t about Christmas, though. It’s about filters.

We are so inundated with garbage in this world. It’s nothing new, but technology has cranked up the volume. Every once in a while, over Christmas, I check out the “common” Christmas songs, streaming Christmas movies, and so on – and they are simply every year more Christ-less and immoral. Actually, I’ve been amazed to see more than one Christmas movie carefully rewriting the story even of Santa Claus, to make sure there’s no connection at all with the historic Christian! Like seriously, we have to get all remnants of anything holy out of our holidays!

But this post isn’t about Christmas.

I realize that we can’t be completely separate from the world while we live in it. And I recognize the value of being aware of what’s going on in the culture around us. But that doesn’t mean you have to only watch the movies on Netflix, only listen to the music on the radio, and only read books on the best seller list. You don’t have to get all your news from news sources that have proven themselves to be untrustworthy. Life is short!

I make lots of bad choices, but I like to choose what I listen to. I like to choose where I get my news from. And by the way, I intentionally do listen to / read some news that comes from anti-Christian sources. I like to play a game called, “Find the spin”. “Spin” is, of course, sharing a news story in a biased way to make it fit a certain narrative. Sometimes it’s a matter of lies, sometimes a matter of emphasis, sometimes a matter of leaving something out. It’s a fun game to play when you watch the news. Try it with your family. But that doesn’t have to be my whole news diet.

So here are some ways you might want to filter out some of the bad, and bring in some of the good:

• Use an ad-blocker for the internet.
• Consider a content filter. These are often used by parents to filter their children’s internet, but parents could certainly use one too!
• Why are you using that app? Where does it come from? How secure is it?
• Use an rss reader. This is slightly technical, but it’s one of the best things I’ve done regarding news. You can quickly check news from sources you trust. (This article reminded me of this. They recommend some readers – I use Inoreader.)
• There are many music streaming services that allow you to at least block certain songs and certain artists (and yes, there are “Christian” artists I block).
• Make collections! Playlists are great. Get some movies that you’ll watch more than once – movies that are wholesome and do not have an anti-Christian worldview. Collect books.
• Consider getting away from all-digital and streaming, and purchase quality. Yes, ebooks can be recalled or even changed. That physical book is yours (at least until they break the door down and confiscate it).
• For things to listen to, consider a podcast app. It will only download what you tell it to. Start collecting quality podcasts to listen to while you’re in line, brushing your teeth or doing physical work. (Sermons, audio books, and audio Bibles are also great.)
• Scroll less. And when you do, think about who/what you’re following. There are ways to filter social media, and you can also change settings so you see certain things more often. If it’s not edifying, why are you spending an hour on there? Wait, two hours a day? Three? Is that time building you up in the Lord?

Do you have other ideas?

I bet you use a search engine, don’t you? Maybe sometimes you watch something that just “pops up” on YouTube? Guess what. In most cases, it was not a Christian who designed those algorithms in order to help you grow in the Lord. Surprise! And that AI was programmed by someone to respond in a certain way. Be aware! There are other search engines that may be better. There are other social media apps. And there are some ways in which you can control what you see.

These are not things that you can do in an hour on a Saturday. They are things that you can gradually implement. No one can (or even should?) avoid everything that is slightly objectionable. But you don’t have to be a slave to the latest music, the latest app, the popular movies. Life is short – maybe we should be less concerned about those friends that are shocked that we haven’t yet seen that movie, or that we don’t know that song. How many hours do we spend simply so that we can say we did? What would happen if we spent those hours differently?

No, don’t hide yourself in a cave like a hermit. Don’t ignore everyone and everything that offends you. You don’t want to be sheltered from every other point of view!

But don’t just open yourself to everything everywhere. You don’t put everything you see in your mouth, like an infant. You filter! You don’t try to spend time with everyone in your community. You filter! Why not put that skill to use in your media consumption?

Those are just a few things to think about. Collect, filter, and limit mindless scrolling. Just something to think about.

Holy Week is coming up – what will your focus be? I can just imagine what the world will be thinking about…