Even though the six members of my family live in three different time zones we still love doing stuff and sharing our lives together. So when my brother decided he would start watching Lost this December all of us decided to come along with him. My parents watched episode by episode, usually one a day. My sister watched as she was able. In the time I began watching Lost the Lord saw fit to give me an unusually large amount of time off from work so I was able to burn through episodes, loving every minute of it.
For the people who don't know Lost is a show designed to mess with the audiences' head. As I watched the first two seasons questions built up in my head, questions numbering in the hundreds. By the final episode of the second season only about two of my questions were answers and I had at least another fifty. The show thrives on mystery and providing explanations for those mysteries in ways the audience could never expect.
In starting to watch Lost I was conscious of the fact that I was over six years behind the times. I was one of the few who hadn't been wrapped up in the Lost mania up to this point. Many people in my life loved the show and discussed it, but up to the point of me actually getting interested in the show it was all just useless ramblings. Then all of a sudden I was into the show and all that rambling had meaning and could unlock secrets I was not yet prepared for.
To truly appreciate the show as it was intended I had to keep myself from hearing spoilers about later episodes. I had to experience each twist and turn as the original audience did. I had to keep myself uncorrupted. But corruption was everywhere. Discussions on Lost were all over the internet. All my friends at work loved talking about television shows they were watching and Lost was one of the most commonly discussed. I had to do my best to keep myself from learning too much too soon, thus ruining the surprises waiting for me.
One day when my friend was trying to text me spoilers about the show because they were too excited about it to not share it with me I fought passionately against them, begging them not to ruin anything for me. I would get to the point they were at soon enough, and we could talk about it then, but if they reveal this bit to me now they would rob me of the shock and joy they were experiencing. After explaining that to them, and threatening to not be their friend anymore, they relented and left to experience Lost with fresh eyes.
With the crisis averted I let out a victory cry (yeah, sometimes I talk to myself) "A man has got to guard his heart! That's right!" Then that stupid statement got me thinking... I had watched three seasons of lost in so many weeks and had managed to keep myself from having one moment or surprise ruined. I got to watch three seasons with the same shock and surprise as a person who watched each original episode.
How did that happen? Because I worked my butt of to make sure nothing was ruined. I was conscious of conversations at work, being sure to steer clear of anything that might corrupt my innocence. I resisted the urge to click on websites that talked about Lost (no matter how much I wanted to read about their thoughts on Locke or the black smoke or anything else). I didn't even tell anyone I was watching the show so they wouldn't ask questions that would lead to spoilers. I made a conscious decision and kept to it.
All those thoughts flooded my mind in an instant and I was convicted. My heart got heavy. I put more work into keeping myself pure in regard to Lost than I do with the rest of my life. Proverbs 4:23 tells me to guard my heart for it is the wellspring of life. I need to protect it from the corrupting influence of sin. But I haven't been too diligent in that. I've allowed myself to see, hear, and touch things of this world I had no business being a part of. Curiosity and sin led me to seek out things I was not yet ready for, it made me go after pleasures that were forbidden. While I knew how important it was to keep myself from the corrupting influence of sin I did it all the same. Part of me had resigned itself to believing that it wasn't possible to live in this world without getting a substantial amount of its dirt on you. Then this whole Lost thing happen and I thought maybe it is possible to keep oneself uncorrupted from the world. But I have to want it.
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