For many who have grown up in church, we often heard the passage “Gaurd your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” In my experience, this passage was interpreted as having to do with morality and purity. This communicated to my young heart to not “give” it away too soon to any man and keep myself pure. This meant getting rid of my secular CDs and only listening to Christian music. This meant being mindful of my friends and only staying close to those who love Jesus. Guard, in other words, meant hiding away from the world in order to keep myself pure. Yet, when we read this passage within the full context of Proverbs 4, it isn’t talking about morality or even purity but gaining and preserving wisdom. Though this chapter addresses the faithful and the wicked, it is always within the perimeters of wisdom. Morality is an outcome of wisdom and not the other way around. We cannot moralize ourselves to wisdom, we seek wisdom first. The word guard in Hebrew literally means to keep watch, like a guard at the entrance of a palace would keep watch.
Wisdom asks us to pay attention.
Starting next Monday, I invite you to join me here for a full-week break from social media. The reason I am doing this for myself is that I need to practice paying attention. Social media can be a welcomed distraction from our stressful lives and I see the benefits of being on different platforms. I have even made friends through these spaces but wisdom calls me to step back, and pay attention. How is social media affecting me? What are the reasons I use social media? What boundaries do I have or need?
Social media isn’t wicked or foolish within itself. It is simply a tool. But it can be used with wisdom or foolishly. Mostly, it has the potential to take our watchful eyes off our hearts and make us vulnerable to an attack. What I mean by an attack is whatever can harm your soul at the deepest level. Do you struggle with envy? Self-esteem? Anger? Doubt? There are a thousand different ways these platforms can affect your well-being. There is definitely encouragement to be found but there are also opportunities for discord, with one another and within ourselves. Especially with the mid-term elections coming up, I believe this is an opportune time to step back, reflect, make the necessary adjustments and reenter the world of mass communication with stronger, more intentional boundaries.
Here are a few things to know about the upcoming Social Break.
You can take this invitation any way you want or need. There are no specific parameters. If social media isn’t an issue for you, then perhaps find something else that takes your attention away, like Netflix or the news. For myself, I am specifically taking a break from Instagram but may remain active on Twitter.
Schedule and daily discussions for the week:
Monday - What are you looking forward to most on your media break? How has media been a distraction for you?
Tuesday - Discussion on uur love/hate relationship with media. What do you love and what erks you the most?
Wednesday - What boundaries do you find most helpful around media? What new boundaries would you like to implement?
Thursday - To follow or not to follow? Who is most inspiring to you? Why do you follow them?
Friday - How can media help us in our callings and life? How can it hinder us?
Hello Saturday! What have you learned from taking a full week off media? Was it hard or refreshing?
Sunday - How will you reenter the world of media tomorrow? What will you do differently, if anything?
I am looking forward to our conversations and how we can encourage one another. I am also looking forward to the quiet and taking the time to pay attention. May we all gain and preserve the wisdom that comes when we practice watchfulness.