Over the weekend, Justin Taylor posted a comment another man (Jared Wilson) made a while ago about how to approach media. Though the issue has already been discussed a number of times, I believe the topic of media use in a believer’s life is an important one. Wilson’s comment, which caused the initial stir, is stated below:
Yes, people watch too much TV and play too many video games and spend too much time on the Internet and what-have-you. But the proper response to our media over-saturation is not a rigorous attention to the explicitly “spiritual” in every margin of life. Be a Christian, not an ascetic. Don’t be lazy, but realize that Jesus Christ did not die and rise for you so that you would stress out about whether you’re being spiritual enough. So take a nap. Watch some television. The gospel frees you to chill the heck out.
A number of people fired comments back and forth on Justin Taylor’s blog in response to the quote. As expected, Kevin DeYoung offered his own wisdom in response to this discussion:
Those who are wise understand that when it comes to moral exhortation, one size doesn’t always fit all. The same piece of advice can be good or bad depending on the person and the situation.
Think, for example, how best to respond to belligerent nonsense. On the one hand, you should ignore fools full of such folly. If you try to answer them you’ll just end up looking foolish too (Proverbs 26:4). But on the other hand, go ahead and answer a fool. Otherwise he’ll continue in his smug stupidity (Proverbs 26:5). Sometimes fools should be ignored. Other times they should be answered. The wise man can discern which response fits each situation.
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Read the full post here.
