You are being manipulated

You are being manipulated

1 Timothy 1:5 mentions that we are to have pure heart, from a good conscience.

1 Timothy 1:5 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,

So, how do we maintain a pure heart and a good conscience in a world so full of corrupting and lewd media? Big question

For decades, most Christians have simply drifted into the embrace of the patterns of the world in the way we spend our evenings and our weekends, with the exception of a couple of hours for church on Sunday. At first this drift seemed harmless because there was such an overlap between the supposedly Christian worldview and the products of the media and entertainment empires.

“The church that regularly makes the world the source of its relaxation and enjoyment must become a worldly church.”
That overlap was not as great as we thought it was — at least, I think I really blew it as a kid and didn’t see it. It was superficially Christian in that many taboos in the culture were still shared with Christians, but God was absent. And we scarcely noticed, let alone were heartsick or offended. But now that superficial overlap of media culture and Christian culture is very small. And the vast majority of programs and movies are through and through void, not only of God and Christ and any worthy advocates for his greatness or his righteousness, but also increasingly void of any restraints on the celebration of sin. Sin is consistently destigmatized and normalized in what Christians watch with pleasure.

And yet, even though these changes have happened, most Christians have not altered their pattern of immersion in that entertainment culture for their own enjoyment. Therefore, millions of Christians find themselves pleased with God-omitting, Christ-neglecting, man-centered, ego-exalting, sexually titillating, sin-normalizing entertainment, night after night. The effect of this is a church that more and more absorbs the intuitions, the instincts, the reflexes, the preferences, the desires of the world.

The church that regularly makes the world the source of its relaxation and enjoyment must become a worldly church. And a worldly church is a powerless church. It will not experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and boldness in prayer, and courage in witness, and readiness to sacrifice for the salvation of lost people and for the exaltation of Christ. You cannot feel brokenhearted over lost people when you enjoy, night after night, being entertained by them in their lostness.

This is why I said that to be a real Christian in the days ahead will require a kind of radical recovery of the ancient early-church commitment to being more intentionally detached from the patterns of the world, especially the patterns of entertainment.

I believe now is the time for all of us (myself included) to begin intentionally detached from the patterns of the world, especially the patterns of entertainment and social media

Text taken from an article entitled Interview with John Piper Founder & Teacher, Desiring God
https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/living-pure-in-a-corrupting-screen-age