Man in the Mirror Chapter 1, Questions 4 and 5
Posted by gshstudy on August 10, 2006
4) It appears that many men have been lulled into mental and spiritual complacency. How has consumerism and the media impacted your own values and the way you spend your time and money?
Prior to last October, consumerism and the media had a far bigger impact on me then they do now. I was more interested in getting the next upgrade to my computer or the latest tech gadget I saw on TV. However, now I am more comitted to focusing on God’s glory. It doesn’t mean there aren’t still things that I want or that the latest tech gadgets aren’t cool, I just have other things that are more important and I desire to spend my time and energy on those.
5) Madison Avenue works hard to define for us who and what we are, usually in terms of the beautiful, wrinkle-free life. What practical steps can you take to unloose yourself from its influence?
Part of it for me is focusing on my writing. On a typical night, I find myself glancing at the clock and I am surprised to notice it is 2am. I just get completely lost in it. And it doesn’t matter if it a short story, poetry, brainstorming ideas or just emailing for information for a news story.
Writing is a blessing from God that lets me give something back.
Other steps that I take are focusing on Gods Word and on Prayer. Both of these are uplifting and help keep me stay focused on what is important. They are both similar in feel to chatting with an old friend and yet I gain something new from every discussion that helps me grow.
Reflections in Christ 
Ed said
4) I think I tend to be pretty stubborn about my values, and I can’t tell if that’s a good or a bad thing. Though, I don’t know how consumerism could really affect my values? Media certainly has influence, though it’s probably worked more to ruin my ability to construct a healthy diet than destroyed my moral fiber. Most of the media I consume is either about food or aimed at kids, and I know that I have no impulse to go out there and buy the latest Polly Pocket or whatever-hot-toy. I am much more likely to see something on the Food Network and want to try making it. I think this is because I value experiences over “having.” Having is great and all, but have I learned anything? Experienced anything new? Challenged myself? If the answers to those questions are no, then I probably just wasted some time and money (though, sometimes wasting time and money can be fun, and we all need a little fun from time to time.)
5) I think the most practical step was ceasing to be an adolecent who was obsessed with what other people thought about me. That attitude adjustment kind of put me in a bitter place, so since then I have been trying to kick the bitter habits. To that end, I think daily meditation would help, along with feeding myself with the roots of Love, Compassion, and Wisdom. That latter part is difficult, especially when most of the people I come into daily contact with don’t think that way, so another practical step would be to surround myself with like minded people at least once a week with the focus on contemplating the good roots and weeding out the bad roots (Hate, Greed, and Delusion).