My Loudest Inputs
The other day at work, I was listening to a “fireside chat” between one of the executives where I work and an author. The author was sharing some interesting statistics that his think tank had pulled on the surprising similarities of priorities between political parties in the United States, even though most of us would feel as though the divide has never been greater. He ended up sharing that this is because humans apparently are notoriously bad at determining what the majority of people believe, and this is typically due to the inputs that are in our lives. We base many of our views around what others believe on the loudest and most frequent inputs in our lives. His application was to question the audience on what the loudest and most frequent inputs in their lives are – social media? the news? etc.? He then questioned if any of those inputs may have ulterior motives.
It was a fascinating conversation in general, but it really started me thinking about the loudest and most frequent inputs in my life. Is it those things he mentioned, or is it God? Because honestly, anything other than God is going to immediately skew my worldview, and not in a good way. No matter our political opinions, our socio-economic status, our education level, or our region in the world – the inputs outside of God and His word have an ulterior motive. I need not only carefully and thoughtfully to process what those motives may be, but I also most likely need to LIMIT their influence in my life.
In a book I would highly recommend to anyone called Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, he makes the following observation around news: “How often does it occur that information provided you on the morning radio or television, or in the morning newspaper, causes you to alter your plans for the day, or to take some action you would not otherwise have taken, or provides some insight into some problem you are required to solve?” Keep in mind this book was written in 1985, so the actual technology of delivering this news may have changed some – but the questions still hold true. How much of what you are ingesting can actually be USED in your everyday life? Can you solve any of these things you are stewing over after reading? Can they aid you in your day-to-day decisions? In some cases, maybe, but if we are honest, not much of it can be used for productive purposes and typically will only lead to anxiety or worry. However, the same cannot be said of God and His word – these inputs will always lead us to a better place if we allow them to do so and apply them correctly.
Let me get a little blunter about this (mainly to myself). Much of what I ingest as an input has a lot to do with wanting to feed my own biases. Xenophanes, a Greek Philosopher who lived from 570 to 478 BC, is quoted as saying “men always make their gods in their own image.” He was definitely spot on when thinking of the Greek gods and those that he was criticizing, but is our culture any better? Who or what makes up our idols? Who do you follow on social media, and what voices are they sharing? What news stations do you trust? In Isaiah 44:9-20, Isaiah describes the foolishness of men building up idols and putting their trust in them. We as a society sometimes seem shocked when the latest politician, sports figure, or even big-name evangelist is found to have some major flaw. You see, when we make people or social media or television or sports or any other thing other than God an idol, we will be disappointed. They are made in our image, and let’s face it, we, as all mankind, FAIL. These things will leave a God sized hole in our souls - searching for something else to fill it that will never satisfy. Our souls will be like the cisterns Jeremiah describes in Jeremiah 2:13 – they can’t hold water.
Proverbs has some guidance for us on this topic. In Proverbs 3:5, it states, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. Then in chapter 14 verse 12, the writer states, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Wisdom is calling to us and imploring us to understand that our loudest and most frequent inputs must be from the Lord. Ladies, we must look to the source of living water. As Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4:13-14, we must look to him as our source of satiety.
So – what are your loudest and most frequent inputs? Are they providing the peace that passes understanding and making you a better neighbor, daughter, mother, wife, and/or friend? Or are they causing distress, worry, anger, and frustration? I pray that we would all throw out the idols made in our images and look to the true source of life to help guide our daily walk.
