31 Day Writing Challenge Day 09 - To Binge, or Not To Binge

To binge or not to binge, this is the question.  I started this 500 word writing challenge knowing Netflix would be starting season two of their hit show Daredevil.  What I guess I didn’t realize was how hard it was going to be for me to stop watching television in order to write my 500 words each day.

As of right now, I only have three episodes left to watch and with enough time left before I have to go to work, it is really eating me up inside to sit here and write.  Perhaps it’s not helping I’ve got the television on, and the screen is primed and ready to start the next episode as soon as I finish with my writing.

My wife isn’t a huge Netflix fan because she doesn’t really like to watch TV as much as I do.  One thing I have always loved is stories, and now with the advent of streaming television, we don’t have to wait a week to see what happens next in the story.  It’s called binge watching, and while I agree it probably isn’t the best thing for us as a society to spend our time on, I do enjoy it from time to time.

What I really like about watching episode after episode is it almost feels as if it is in real time.  I guess this is because I don’t have to wait a week between episodes to see what is going to be revealed.  And especially now with some of the more well written shows intentionally placing things in each episode revealing hidden treasures about the characters and situations they are faced with.  It’s to the point now that you cannot miss an episode, or you are out of the loop.

I guess binge watching for me has brought story telling to a new level.  It’s like watching a movie in little parts, but unlike a movie lasting a couple of hours, this is like a super director’s cut which lasts ten to twenty hours.  It has made watching TV fun again.  When I say fun again, I mean I’m being entertained by something other than reality television; which I feel had its time and place, now it’s just drama for the sake of drama.  The newness of it has worn off for me; I just want to be entertained.  I can get enough drama in my own life, I don’t need to watch somebody else’s.

It probably doesn’t help the fact how I was a comic book nerd growing up and into my twenties.  In fact I still have a lot of my comics from back in the day.  Daredevil was a disaster on the big screen; Ben Affleck making it a joke in the super hero movie genre, and don’t get me started about him playing Batman now.  Daredevil was one of those conflicted super heroes I read back when I was reading comics, and Netflix has created a version of it which is very close to what I remember the comics being.

Marvel Comics has become a juggernaut in the entertainment industry, and for me it is like manna from Heaven.  All the comics I used to read are now either in movie form or are on television.  And I am so excited Netflix has joined the ranks of those who see the potential for super hero shows and want to help Marvel tell these stories.

As for me, I will continue binge watching despite the looks I get from my bride as I’m watching the various shows.  If you haven’t check into Netflix, perhaps you should.

Comfort Isn't The Goal

I've been reading a book written by Donald Miller called "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years", it's a good book, and this morning there was this part about how people in abusive relationships tend to go back to their abusers even if they have the opportunity to get free from them and stay with family or friends, because of the familiarity of their situation.  Even as bad as their life is there, they know and understand what to expect, and they get a sense of control from that.

The dictionary defines comfort as a state of ease and satisfaction of bodily wants, with freedom from pain and anxiety. Nobody wants to be or feel uncomfortable do they?  As human beings, we tend to seek out those things which will bring us comfort.  We work so that we can have the creature comforts of home.  We purchase things that will make our lives easier.  Take for instance, the remote control for your television.  How many of you actually remember the days when you were the remote control for the family?  Sitting there close to the t.v. (but not too close, it can damage your eyesight remember) turning the dial to each of your four channels in hopes of finding something to watch.

Life is not really made to be comfortable however.  If you actually enter into it, and work at it, you will find it to be messy and uncomfortable most of the time.  Think back for a moment to some of the times in your life that you cherish the most; those situations where you experienced the human condition to the max.  Were they comfortable?  Did you feel at the time you were loving what was going on?  Probably not.  But I know from my own personal experiences that those times in my life, when I reflect on them do give me a sense of accomplishment and knowledge that I am in a better place because I entered into the challenge and ignored my desire for comfort.

Thinking about comfort this morning, I remembered the Pixar movie "Wall-E".  Now, I'm not a big fan of this movie, mainly because of the underlying story of how wasteful we humans are, and that we are only concerned with ourselves.  (There is some truth to that, but I go to see movies to be entertained, not berated.)  Yet there is an interesting thing in the movie, and that is how the humans built their space ship to provide all the amenities and comforts that they could ever need.  It was so bad that the people had become so fat and lethargic from all of the comfort that they couldn't even walk on their own anymore.  It's a great picture of taking comfort too the extreme.  I wonder if that is the direction humanity is really taking?

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my comfort.  I don't want my life to be disrupted by stress or anxiety, even though I know there are times when those things enter in.  Let me ask you this, how much time do we spend working to be comfortable, dodging the problems instead of just entering into them?  I know it's in the times I experience challenges that I learn and grow as a person.  I can't really remember any times where I actually grew while enjoying some type of comfort.  It may happen, but more often than not it doesn't.

And herein lies the point that I wanted to get across this morning, comfort isn't the goal.  If we are just trying to work more comfort into our lives, we have missed the point of what life is truly all about.  Jesus told us that in our lives we would have challenges to face, but not to be upset by that, but to be of good cheer, because He had overcome the world.  (John 16:33)  Or in the words of one of my new heroes Phil Robertson, be happy, happy, happy.

What I really like about this passage of Scripture is that Jesus doesn't sugarcoat it for the disciples.  He tells them just how it's going to be.  He says, "Listen fellas, you are going to have trouble, just don't let that bother you. I have overcome the world."  For years when I would read this passage of Scripture I would tell the Lord, "Yeah, well that's good for you Jesus, You're not here and I am."  But one day as I was meditating on this, I heard His voice in my heart say, "David, if you are in Me, then you too have overcome the world."  Wow!  That turned my world upside down.  That meant that as long as I stayed hooked up with Him, then I would be able to overcome anything the world threw at me and stay, happy, happy, happy.

What I hope that you have gotten from reading this, is that comfort, while a good thing, is not the goal.  We should enter into life, experience all that it has for us, using the challenges that we each face to learn and grow in the process and become better people.  Let's get out there and face the world today!  Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

Our 21st Century Colosseum

First off, I have watched none of the Casey Anthony trial, as a matter of fact I had to go look up the girl's name before I started writing this. I am not going to talk about whether she is guilty or not either. What I want to observe today is the people who are worked up over the verdict against her, and how it parallels to first century Rome's Colosseum. Here is a brief rundown about what the Colosseum is:

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, dramas based on classical mythology and the deaths of many early church Christians.

Our society here in the 21st century is truly not that far from where Rome was back in the first century. We live in a time now where we are ever drawn into the drama that unfolds on our television screens. Whether it is a movie, sitcom or reality show, the population of America hardly goes a day without watching something on t.v. We actually have three televisions in our house, not to mention computers too!

A few minutes after the verdict was read in the Casey Anthony trial, Facebook literally blew up with posts about it. (And I'm not going to go into that here, just the fact of all the posts on Facebook.) In just under one hour I counted 59 posts about this trial. That's just on my Facebook account, and there are now millions and millions on Facebook, so I think that it is fair to say that this trial has been watched by many, many people.

We no longer crowd into the Colosseum to watch the blood sports which distracted that first century populace. They weren't aware that their leaders were trying to seize more control. You see, if you are in power and can effectively divert people's gaze onto something other than what you are doing, then before the people realize it, they have lost a little bit more of their freedom.

The interesting thing about the television (And don't get me wrong, I love to watch t.v.) is that it has enslaved more people than any of the Caesars ever thought about. Willing slaves too, who allow themselves to be shackled, and more often than not lock those same shackles with their very own hands.

I think what has bothered me the most about this trial, is the fact that all it has really done is work men and women up, and put money into the pockets of the owners of the news media outlets. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but have any of these news shows reporting on this case done so without commercials? I don't think so. The news people see something here that will capture the hearts of the population in a way that will force them to come back time and again to see what the latest information is. I saw one person post on Facebook, "I'm on the road, please let me know what the jury says."

Whether this is a travesty or not is not the real story in my opinion. The real story is how the media has once again worked up something to such a fevered pitch that they can sell advertising space and get a premium dollar for it. That's what the news media is really about after all, money. Oh the reporters may in fact have gone to school with a desire to report the truth, but if you've watched any news lately it is all about the dollar. And the news stories are just the vehicle to get you to their true purpose...the advertisements, which line the owner's pockets with cash.

The Bible tells us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16) Don't be fooled into thinking that the media is presenting this national court case because they think we need to know about it. They are doing it because their bosses want more money in the bank. This is the same reason that we have the never ending election cycle now, but that is a whole different story.