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The Problem Of Noise

We are bombarded with noise every day.

I’m not just talking about the kids whooping and hollering around the house about this and that and the unfairness of it all. I’m talking about stress factors in general.

In the case of children, the noise is aural. It impacts the ears. Other noise we introduce to ears is music and talk radio. TV impacts the ears and the eyes.  We have to leave the radio and TV off at dinner time so that we can listen to each other.

There’s another kind of noise that impacts the mind. It comes from email telling us that we need to accept money from a Nigerian foreign minister. It comes from 24-hour news. Dare I say, it also comes from Twitter and Facebook conversations.

Every time we introduce these things to our minds we are presented choices. What do I do with this information? Chuck it or store it? Where do I store it? What do I do with all of this stuff I stored?

We don’t realize just how much noise we are taking in. If we’re not careful we will lose the ability to listen to ourselves, to remember where our true passions exist, to remember the things God has called us to do.  We will grow deaf to His whispers.

Jesus showed us how he handled this problem:

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”  (Mark 1:35, NIV)

So my challenge to us today is this: unplug from the noise. Go somewhere quiet where there are no inputs except those generated by nature itself. Breathe. Relax. Pray. Listen.

Then come back here and share your experience.

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Comments

  • Dan Miller says:
    June 22, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    John,

    Hey we were on the same wave length! This is a growing problem that is sapping the life energy of lots of people. They are information giants and widsom midgets.