THE INESCAPABILITY OF POP CULTURE

On one of the Basement Tapes from the Highland Study Center, I think Lawrence declares that he gauges his sanctification by whether he recognizes who's on the covers of the supermarket tabloids.  When I first heard him say that I was immediately convicted of my own secret affair of the heart with pop culture.  See, I grew up in the 80s, the world of Atari and Rick Springfield, Sixteen Candles and Duran Duran, "Who Shot J.R.?" and leg warmers.  I didn't give a second thought to my involvement in the latest and greatest that pop culture had to offer.  It was as routine as brushing my teeth.  Gotta find out who's on the Top 40.  Gotta see the new episode of Dallas or whatever show was hot at that moment.  It's only been recently that I've seen how pervasive my love of pop culture has been.  It's also been extremely difficult for me to wrench myself free of its grip.   I know it sounds stupid.  But somehow I keep on believing Satan's lie that if I don't know what's going on with the latest celebrity couple or any other thing going on in pop culture, I must be missing out on something tremedously important.  "You see," Satan lies, " your life really is pretty boring without these things.  What in the world would you do with yourself if you didn't have 'Survivor' to keep you company on Thursdays and Trading Spaces to entertain you every day at 4pm?"  Let's not underestimate the intelligence of our enemy.  He really knows our weaknesses and what it's going to take to make us ineffective soldiers of Christ.  He tries to draw my affections away Christ and towards the world.  One way that always succeeds is in my idle times.  Unfortunately this week I've been in a lot of waiting rooms, either at the doctor's or somewhere else like the barber shop waiting for my boys to get done with their haircuts.  There's always a magazine lying around and there's always a People magazine lying around it seems.  This sounds silly, but it's always a challenge to not read those rags of pop culture.  Why am I drawn to them?  Like I said before, part of me really believes that I'll be missing something if I don't read them.  Another part of me ironically feels superior to read about these people and their vacuous lives.  So that feeds the other weakness Satan knows and exploits, my pride.  Oh man, I feel like reciting the end of Romans 7 right now.  Again, many would read this and think I'm overreacting, going way too far in my introspection.  All I can say is that as I am working out my salvation, I'm finding attitudes and mindsets that are more worldly and characteristic of the 'old man' instead of the new creation my Lord had made me into.  Think on what Peter has said in his first epistle -

                                       "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the
                                        passions of your former ignorance, but as He who
                                        called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
                                        since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'"
                                                                 1 Peter 1:14-16

I think I'll be meditating on this for a while.  More later.