Tonight I did something ridiculous. I watched an entire television season on Netflix. Yes. An entire season. Now, this may seem “normal” as Netflix is a common obsession among teens and college students these days. But, do you know what I did not do? I did not spend my daily time in the Word. Of course, this is not the first time I have neglected my quiet time because I am just not perfect – life gets busy. Nevertheless, I managed to watch 15 episodes of a television show. WHAT?!
As a college student, I have tons of classwork, group projects, extracurricular activities with my sorority, a job, friends that I enjoy doing things with, and many other leadership responsibilities on campus. I also like to sneak in time to sleep, eat, and have a little “me time,” which usually results in watching Fixer Upper on Netflix or re-watching many of the TV series I have already completed.
22 series to be exact.
We often times feel as though we have such a long “to-do list” or like we do not have enough hours in the day to fit in just a few minutes to spend time with God. This breaks my heart. Teens today have such busy schedules. My two younger cousins, ages 18 and 13, have dance, cheer, softball, and gymnastics practices constantly. During the school year they do not get to spend a single evening at home. Their parents are always on the go to make sure their children are where they are supposed to be each day which causes stress and exhaustion. This is true for many teens and parents today.
Let me just go ahead and say that watching Netflix is not a bad thing. Spending time with friends and family watching movies, having a little relaxing “me time” watching your favorite TV show – none of these are bad things. We all need a fun, little break every now and then. But hear me when I say this – NOTHING should take time away from spending time in the Word and walking with Jesus daily. Although life can get busy and we are exhausted at the end of a long day, we should still make our bible study a top priority. The Lord calls us to walk with him each and every day, every minute of every day.
Psalm 1:2 states, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Day and night, people. I often find myself rushing through my bible study, only to continue watching Netflix or doing something else that is on my mind. The world is full of distractions. Despite the many distractions of the world, we are to “fix our eyes on Jesus.” (Hebrews 12:2). Not only should we spend focused, quiet time in the Word, but we should also walk with God and talk to Him throughout the day. We should “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Christian teens, Christian moms, let us make our quiet time a number one priority each and every day. Let’s spend time with the Lord throughout the day, and begin and end each and every day thanking God for his blessings, grace and mercy. Let us watch Netflix and enjoy other fun activities, but let us all pray that we will never let those things get in the way of our bible study. Jesus is ALWAYS greater than Netflix.
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