Blue

During my final year in Pensacola, my family and I were walking on Pensacola Beach during a impending storm.  The clouds were low and threatening.  As we watched the wind pick up over the sea, we saw the clouds above us begin circling.  We were looking into the inception of a whirlwind.  It was a magical moment for our family, only spoiled by the inappropriate comments of a fellow beachcomber.  As we stared in awe at the wonders of creation, this man looked up and said, "Whoa! It's like virtual reality!"

In the beginning, man's first sin arose from his adoption of the virtual reality of Satan instead of the reality God created.  Since that day, Satan has repeatedly enticed mankind into any virtual reality other than the one God created.  Whether we are drawn into a reality created by the internet, television, romance novels, sci-fi movies, or video game, whenever we begin to use the human replacement for creation as the baseline for reality, we have insulated ourselves against the beauty of God's creation.  The more we indulge in absorption of man's false narrative, the more we are drawn away from God's truth.

This does not allow us to create a legalistic rule against any of these forms of media.  Instead, it requires discernment and moderation.  It requires discernment not to fall into the structure of thought the world preaches.  We must understand the message of the world and the gospel response to it.  There is value to exercising this type of discernment.  Even the world can speak truth at times.  Moderation prevents us from becoming so inundated with worldly thought patterns that we accept something unintentionally.  Limiting our exposure to worldly influences can prevent our falling into error.  In discernment and moderation, we can be in the world but not of the world.  We remain faithful to the sole reality of God's creation.