Through the ins and outs of everyday life in the Krajci household, my parents have made it their mission to teach me and my siblings godly principles, and always try to make a point to spend time with each of us in some way. One-on-one experiences are rare, making it a special treat when it does happen, but my parents do their best to spend time to do things or talk with us.
One of the things that is really depressing about today is
how much time people spend on their phones, computers, movies, TV shows, the
internet, etc. They don’t spend time together as a family. I’ve met a few
people who hear that my family eats dinner together every night and they say, “Wow,
that’s really cool. Our family’s idea of a meal together is pizza and a movie,
but even that rarely happens. Everyone just eats whenever they feel like it.”
For a person who grew up eating every meal at the table with
my parents and siblings, that is very different and almost sad. I don’t
necessarily mean that in an accusing, derogatory way; families operate
differently. But I think media takes a lot away from the family today, and here’s
why.
Media promotes self-indulgence. Everything is about me,
myself and I. Whether it’s choosing to surf the web at all hours of the day
instead of playing a game with siblings, watching the news after work instead of
talking to the wife or blaring the surround sound to drown out the kids, we
have grown quite accustomed to our media and heaven forbid someone interrupts
our time with the cable box.
Putting our media over family is an idol, whether that is a
sports game, Fox News, The Late Night Show with David Letterman, Pinterest, or
a video game.
Have you ever heard or read that sappy quote “you never know
what you have til it’s gone”? Well it’s true. The Lord says in James 4:14, “…you do not
know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that
appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
Our days on earth are numbered. We cannot guarantee how much time
we have with our loved ones, so we need to spend it wisely.
This reminds me of a scene in the Sherwood Film called Courageous.
In the beginning the father doesn’t give much attention to his family—after
work he watches television or reads instead of spending quality time with his
family. He even blows off his young daughter a couple of times.
Later in the film, she is killed in a tragic car accident. The man
is left in shambles, wishing he had taken time into account, taken his daughter’s
life into account. In the midst of tragedy, he proceeded to learn how to be a
godly husband and father to his son.
Our lives are like an hourglass. Only so much sand remains in the
upper dial before it will run out, and when it does, there’s no bringing it
back. We need to place our family and relationships with loved ones over the
trivial things in life, such as media.
So play a board game with your little brother or draw with chalk
on the sidewalk with your sister. Tell your parents you love them and how
appreciative you are of how much they’ve done for you. Pay your grandparents a
visit; they would love that.
There is no better way to tell someone you love them than putting
the iPod down or snapping shut the lid to the laptop, and spending time with them.
So as we college students near Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, how will you
spend your time at home?
No comments:
Post a Comment