Desensitized to REsensitized!
For the past few weeks, the word “desensitized” has been replaying in my mind frequently. I couldn’t shake this feeling that God was speaking to me, so I began to study the definition. “Desensitization means to cause someone to be less affected by something. It also means to make emotionally insensitive or calloused.” As I read this definition, what God was speaking to me became clear, and the word began to convict my heart. I have become desensitized.
In a world where the media and entertainment industries run rampant with fornication, explicit language, raging violence, nudity, drugs, adultery, and homosexuality, it’s a challenge to keep yourself from seeing these things on a regular basis. But when I started meditating on what God was saying, so many questions began to arise from within me. Just how much can we control what we see? How many times do we willingly expose our spirits to things that the Lord detests? And how has being desensitized had a negative impact on my walk with Christ?
The word is so clear: we are to hate what God hates, and love what God loves. Psalm 97:10 says, “Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.” Then again in Romans 12:9 it says, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Psalm 34:14 says it this way, “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” These are just a few examples, the Bible says it again in Proverbs 8:13, Amos 5:15, & Psalm 34:14. (Feel free to look into it more on your own.) The word “hate” in the Greek is “apostygeō”, it literally translates as “to dislike, to abhor, and to have a horror of.” When we become Christ-like we should literally feel disgusted and be filled with horror at the thought of sin. Why then, do I not feel that way when I see these sins in my entertainment?
I don’t know about you, but when I have time off, my entertainment of choice is watching television & movies. In fact, I have been known to binge watch for hours on my day off! It’s a great way to relax because you don’t have to think or be concerned about anything, but keeping your eyes open. It’s also a way of escape. Sometimes life can be difficult and times can be trying & unpredictable. It’s nice to sit back and enjoy a fairy tale where everything goes as planned, for once. Clearly, I’m not the only one who thinks this way, because in 2012, the movie theater box offices made over $10 billion in ticket sales! That’s a lot of money for a leisure activity that adds nothing to you, except for a fictitious story.
Think about it! We sit in theaters and we watch movies for about two hours at a time. We mindlessly gaze at a screen and allow whoever wrote the script to etch whatever they feel into a piece of our minds forever. Once it is seen, it cannot be unseen. Once it is heard, it cannot be unheard. I’ve always been so careful about who I let speak into my life, because I know that “The power of life and death are in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).” I never want to give someone the power to speak something into my life that isn’t God’s will. But when it comes to media, I give my full, undivided attention to the writer, without so much as checking up on their background and values! How does that make any logical sense? God has opened my eyes to just how much filth and sin I have opened a door to, by watching these things. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a balance to everything. Not all TV shows and movies are sinful, but we have to ask ourselves, “How is my spirit being affected by the content of these shows?”
The process of desensitization works much like the process of erosion. When a rock is continually exposed to rough waters, little by little, the water carries away pieces of it, until it eventually becomes worn down into tiny bits. Every time that we expose ourselves to the filth of sin, we give up a piece of our spirits awareness of God’s heart. We become less and less reactive to sin, until eventually, we are watching a television show and we are so caught up in the “moment” that we find ourselves hoping that one person will make love to another, without ever acknowledging the fact that they are not married and it is sin. In John 14:16-17 it says, “And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever- the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” The part of this scripture that stood out to me was “the world cannot receive the Spirit.” Because of this exact principle, wherever the spirit of the world abides, the Spirit of God will not abide. The more of the world you allow in your life, the more you are shutting out the Spirit of God.
Jesus teaches in the New Testament that we are to be “in the world, but not of it.” In John 17:13-16 as Jesus is ascending to Heaven, He says this to the Father, “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them (the disciples) because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” The differentiating word here is “of”. In the Greek, the word “of” means “the point when action and motion proceeds”, while the word “world” means “the ungodly multitude, those alienated from God.” So what Jesus is literally saying when He says I am not “OF THE WORLD” is “I will not let my actions proceed from an origin of ungodliness! I refuse to let the world make my decisions for me by way of desensitization!” Instead, Jesus spoke about being of God’s Word! He let the Word of God be the origin of His actions!
You have probably heard it said before, “we are a spirit that governs a soul, and lives in a body.” You spirit is the part of you that can communicate with God; the part of you that has a relationship with the Holy Spirit. Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions, and your body is the physical, outer shell. Throughout your life there is a constant battle between our soul and our spirit. Paul said it this way in Romans 7:19, “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing.” When I think about this battle, I am reminded of the cartoons I watched when I was little. When a character was faced with a decision to do right or wrong, a demonic version and an angelic version of themselves would pop up and would do their best to persuade the character of which decision to make. This a a picture of how our spirit and soul battle within us. It is no secret that we, as humans, are imperfect, but there is a key to winning the battle over your soul! The secret is this: whichever part of you gets “fed” the most, will be the part that has the strength to overpower the other in your decisions. If you “feed” your soul by watching worldly things, and listening to secular music; all the while “starving” your spirit, you will begin to make decisions based on your faulty mind and your unstable emotions. However, if you “feed” your spirit by constantly reading your word, worshiping God, praying, & fellowshipping with believers, while “starving” your soul by fasting media and entertainment, you will have the strength to make righteous decisions founded in your communication with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is so crucial to the believer, because He is the one that convicts us and keeps us on track will God’s plan. Without the Holy Spirit, we are numb to sin, completely desensitized to it. Hebrews 3:12-13 says, “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of your will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.” The word for hardened in the Greek is “skleryno” which means to render obstinate, and to become stubborn and hard. This passage is all about staying alert, aware and conscience at all times, so that we do not allow our consciences to be seared by exposure to sin.
The question still remains: “Is it possible to become REsensitized? Is there a way to change our hearts to hate what God hates, and love what God loves, once we have been desensitized? The answer is yes!
8 step process for REsensitization:
1. REpent
Luke 13:3 says, “But I tell you, unless you repent you will likewise perish.” In the Greek, Repent means “to change one’s mind for the better.” It involves turning with contrition, the state of feeling sorry for bad behavior, from sin to God. A lifestyle of repentance, will lead to a lifestyle of demonstrating God’s power! In fact, in Acts 2:38, on the day of pentecost when the people asked how to receive the Holy Spirit, “Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” In order to be sensitive, you have to have the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And in order to receive the the Holy Spirit, you must first repent! David knew the importance of repentance. He committed many horrible sins, and yet he was considered a man after God’s own heart. This is because he learned how to shake off the dust and get back up. Proverbs 24:16 says, “For though the righteous man fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
2. REnew
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is God’s will- his good, pleasing and perfect will.” The word “conform” in the Greek, means “to fashion oneself according to, and to hold possession of the mind.” The word “renew” means “a complete renovation, or to cause to grow up.” Paul was really saying don’t allow this world and it’s habits to hold possession of your mind, instead renovate your mind to think on things that will mature you and grow fruit.
3. Rethink
It’s important to think about the reasons why God hates sin. God wants life to be enjoyable, but every sin comes with a consequence. He hates sin, because it hurts His children. When you are exposed to something sinful, be aware and conscience of the consequences at all times, and then change your thoughts to the things of God. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” Reroute your thought process to continually meditate on righteousness.
4. REmove
Do your best to remove every area of exposure to sin in your life. David knew the important of asking God to remove sin when he said, “remove from me the way of lying, and grant me your law graciously.” Jesus even taught on the importance of removing these things from your life, especially before trying to minister to others. He said, “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? “Hypocrite! First remove the plank in your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” The word for “remove”, in the Greek, means to cast out or to extract by cutting it out. It was the same word that Jesus used when he spoke of violently casting out demons! Just like you would want to be free of possession and bondage, you should want to be free of worldly influence and sin.
5. REward
Realize that God will reward you for every sacrifice you make on earth. When you lay down sin, he showers you with favor, peace, opportunities, & prosperity, just like a proud Father would do for a child he loves. These rewards go so far beyond earthly things. 2 John 1:8 says, “Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward!” The word for reward, in this passage, is referring to an hourly wages paid for services rendered. For every decision you make that glorifies God, he will repay you in Heaven. There is not a single sacrifice you could make on earth, that could compare to the greatness of the gifts that God can give. He knows our hearts and desires even better than we know ourselves, these gifts will be immeasurably perfect.
6. REplace
Replace the time you spent being desensitized to things (watching tv, movies, going to bars & clubs etc..) with life-enriching activities that will produce fruit! Mark 8:36-37 says, “For what will it profit a man if he gain the whole world but loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” What you do with your time, directly correlates with how much you value your soul. Every moment that passes by is a moment that you can never get back. Time is the most precious resource that we have, how will you use it? The best investment of time is building the Kingdom of God, because only He can increase your days by giving you an infinite return on your investment through eternal life.
7. REtain
Retain your sensitivity by inviting the Holy Spirit to convict you every time you support or enjoy something that God hates. Proverbs 4:4 says, “… Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments and live.” Retain means to grasp hold of, or attain. Grasp the words of God and put them into action in your life.
8. REpeat
Repeat this process daily! Be aware and conscience so that you will not slip into being desensitized once again.
In psychology, there is a behavioral process called conditioning. In this process, a response becomes more frequent or more predictable in a given environment as a result of reinforcement. Just as you must condition your body to run in a marathon, you must condition your mind to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit at all times. Practice it daily, and make it a habit, and eventually listening to the Spirit will become like muscle memory to you. In no time, facing temptation will become easier, because the pleasure of sin is no match of the reward of righteousness!
