I am Kyle's self-indulgence

I think God's trying to tell me something. I don't consider myself to be an expert at listening to God and discerning His will, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that if I get the same message from multiple sources in a single day, I'd better start paying attention. I think I've just had one of those experiences.

...

It started at church yesterday. Mike, our new pastor, gave a message about making Christ preeminent in the church and in our lives. He gave his own personal testimony and related how, as a new Christian, he fell into the trap of following particular Christian leaders or churches, and how he was left hanging when they failed him. He stressed that we need to place our focus on Christ alone.

Last night, I was reading in Matthew 22-23. Several passages resonated with the theme of refocusing on Christ. Matthew 22:15-22, in which Jesus says, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's," has always been in my mind a justification for the separation of Church and state. Yet as I read it last night, it struck me with a much more important meaning: we shouldn't mix matters of religion with politics because, ultimately, such political issues are insignificant. Again, what we need to be focused on is Christ. This message seemed to emerge throughout chapter 23 as well. Starting in verse 23, Jesus unleashes a series of rebukes against the Pharisees and teachers of the law, whose vision was so obstructed by petty traditions and practices that they lost sight of what truly matters.

As these passages were weighing on my mind, I was reminded of a comment I made in Gringo's blog just a few minutes earlier: "In a society that has interlaced Christianity with politics, I have a difficult time keeping my own views straight. I have to constantly remind myself that I am not a follower of Christianity, the religion. I am a follower of Christ, the person." Although I endorsed this kind of focus, I realized I have not been very good at it lately. I have felt for a while that I am too focused on politics, but I have come to realize that this obsession is taking its toll on my spiritual life. Political thought has found its way into every corner of my life, even Sunday worship. It's hard for me to even take my focus off temporary issues long enough to receive the eternal truth of God's Word.

In light of all this, I have realized the only thing for me to do is to begin a fast--not from food, but from news media. For at least a couple of weeks (or a month, if I need it), I am not going to read, watch, or listen to any kind of national news. No more NPR. No more Daily Show. No more blogs that discuss political issues (I'm afraid this includes you, Honzo, Dave, and Gringo). In the absence of these things, I am going to spend more time on reading, meditation, and prayer, to ensure that my beliefs and attitudes are in line with the Truth.

I don't think this will be easy. I have become so dependent on daily news to satisfy my obsession with political issues, and it's difficult to be online, posting on my blog, and not checking for updates. But that's exactly why I'm convinced I need to do it. I hope to continue posting on my blog consistently, but it will be more difficult to find topics to write about each day. It will be good for me to make an effort to think about subjects other than politics.