What Feeding Your Brain Looks Like
8:08 AM
It was a new concept for me, something I'd thought lightly about but not taken so seriously. I was sitting there last night journaling about my Pinterest and facebook feed, when it suddenly hit me. My social media feeds are actually feeding my brain. They're food for thought. They're what keeps me on the internet when I should be doing college work. I laugh at pastor kid memes, read quotes from C.S Lewis, consider song lyrics, and read about famous folk. I pin pictures of the Sherlock fandom, scoll down pictures of selfies and weight loss tips. I'm distracted by youtube videos and googling different bands.
But is this food for my brain helping me or killing me? I'm not saying any of this is bad...or is some of it?
Food keeps our bodies going. You're not going to feed your body poison because you know you'll die. You're not going to go without drinking water because you know you'll die. You feed your body what it needs, you feed your body when you're hungry. When your stomach rumbles you're careful that the expiration date on the salsa you're dipping your chips in is good. You won't eat moldy bread unless you have nothing else.
BUT, feeding your brain is pretty identical to the body, but we're less careful because the consequences appear less harmful. What we read, watch, and listen to doesn't seem to have any side-effects like swallowing poison does...
but it can still kill you.
Maybe not physically, but mentally, spiritually. It can stunt you growth with your Savior.
As I was contemplating all this I remembered watching the following scene in BBC's Sherlock (even if you've never watched the show, this little scene is something anyone needs to think about)....
 |
| For all the fellow fans of the show, I realize that the quotes do not match the scene in the above picture |
Sherlock: Look, it doesn’t matter to me who’s Prime Minister or who’s sleeping with who.
Watson: Whether the Earth goes around the sun.
Sherlock: Oh, that again. It’s not important!
Watson: Not important? It’s primary school stuff. How can you not know that?
Sherlock: Well If I ever did I deleted it.
Watson: Deleted it?
Sherlock: Listen. This is my hard drive and it only makes sense to put things in there that are useful. Really useful. Ordinary people fill their heads with all kinds of rubbish. And that makes it hard to get at the stuff that matters. Do you see?
Watson: But it’s the solar system!
Sherlock: Oh! How? What does that matter? So we go ’round the sun. If we went ’round the moon or round and round the garden like a teddy bear it wouldn’t make any difference.
I love, love this scene (as well as Sherlock himself!) and it applies so much for us today. In my college worldview class I'm learning that we read more information in a day than a man living in early America had in a single year.
Let that sink in.
Sherlock's right, some stuff isn't important and if you continue to always consume the useless, flighty, fluffy stuff that doesn't make a bit of difference in the world, we're not leaving room for the things of real importance, namely a close relationship with our Savior and King. Sherlock may not have been 'deleting' the kind of stuff from his mind I'm talking about, but it still remains true.
Is your brain food keeping you from your heavenly Father?
Recently I've seen people I know go from going about life as strong Christians but eventually one decision led to another on what they 'ate up' online and they suddenly felt lost. They wondered why emptiness surrounded their hearts, why they didn't feel God... yet what they consumed (brain wise) remained the same.
They didn't realize that it was their social media feed that was slowly effecting them.
Of course I'm not trying to blame the internet and saying those people aren't wrong. They alone decide to consume, but at the root of every sickness is a cause. Sometimes that means looking at what we're consuming, whether that's what we're eating physically or mentally.
What do we need to delete from our hard-drive?
That's a question you alone can answer, and it takes a lot of prayer and learning discretion. The choice is up to you - what will you consume?
Note: Sherlock Holmes isn't someone you normally want to take after and he usually shows us how not to live, but I think this is a beautiful concept whether he meant it to be or not. Food for thought is more important then you realize.
4 of your thoughts
"Sherlock Holmes is not someone you normally want to take after... <-- I don't know why that made me giggle so much, but it did. xD
ReplyDeleteAh, I love this. I've been thinking about it a bit, too. There's SO. MUCH. on social media, and unlimited information. But often I feel like it's very shallow, and not filling our souls like a conversation with a friend or reading the Bible would. I've been trying to decrease my time on social media, just because of this, but I'm finding it hard. Unfortunately. -.-
katie grace
a writer's faith
Hey Katie Grace!
DeleteThere is so much on social media and I too have been trying to limit how much time I spend on it, and I agree that it's hard! Keep it up though - it's so worth it and you will feel yourself growing refreshed.
Let's fight the good fight together and if you ever need an accountability partner, feel free to send me an e-mail. <3
Kara, I needed to be reminded of this. I decided in the spring that I was going to have a relaxed, focused summer... but I've realized how time can be eaten up - especially by the internet! It's so important to make sure that the time we have is spent for God's glory instead of our pleasure. But so often I remember that too late. Thus, this was a timely post, and I appreciate you sharing it. =) Keep living for Him!
ReplyDeleteYes, I know what you mean! It's going to be a hard summer for me and I need Jesus to just fill me up!
DeleteThank you for commenting!!! <3
Comments make me smile, lift my spirits and give me the motivation to continue writing. In return I'll comment on your blog, because you're awesome and deserve it.