Hosea 7

Verses 8 and 9 of this chapter in Hosea cause me to pause and reflect introspectively at how I have acclimated to the culture around me.

"Ephraim mixes himself with the nations;

Ephraim has become a cake not turned.

Strangers devour his strength,

Yet he does not know it..."

Ephraim, in this context, refers to what was left of the Northern Kingdom after most of them had been taken into captivity by Assyria. The final destruction of the Northern Kingdom happened 10 years after the original captivity began. Thus, Ephraim could also read, "what's left of the 10 tribes of Israel that separated from Judah and Benjamin."

I find it interesting, that much later in the life of Jesus, He stops in what had been the capital of this Northern Kingdom, Samaria, and whets the appetite of the soul of a Samaritan woman with His invitation to Living Water. I've always been taught that devout Jews in the time of Jesus would walk all the way around Samaria to avoid it because they were a blended race of people.

As Hosea indicates, it must not have been merely a physical blending. Spiritual blending and worship of idols, sacrifice to false gods and what God calls "harlotry" were all part of what occurred.

So here's the question I must ask:

In what ways have I blended with the culture around me and how does doing so devour my strength?

It's interesting that discussing this passage on Tuesday morning with my friends happened the morning after the exact same topic was discussed at the 7 book club I'm in. This month at book club the topic was the excess of media in our lives. I know for myself and most of the people around me, we just fell headlong into this cultural media takeover and never even blinked, let alone stopped to ask if it was how God wanted us to live and spend the precious little time He has given us.

Media has always been a stronghold in my life and to be honest, I've had enough. I long to meet with people...real live people. I know when I am with others and engaged in conversation that is meaningful, I do not sit there wondering, "What's on TV that I'm missing?", or "I wonder if my Castleville crops are ready?" or "What can we watch on Netflix tonight?" Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to give up media so I can have a cleaner house, fix fancier dinners or start sewing all of my own clothes. But what if letting go of most of my engagement with media meant that I spent more quality time with my spouse, my children and my friends? I think that's how God wanted me living all along.

But see...we've "mixed" ourselves. 

And we never even stopped to ask if the "mixing" was healthy or not.

I am not even glancing the surface of the people who are treated like slaves to create the devices we covet and waste money and time on. That is an entirely different topic. (And one worthy of your google research!) 

No...I'm simply talking about this thing called time. While it is absolutely true that we all have different talents and different treasures...we all stand equal with the measuring rod of time. How much of it are we engaging in Kingdom living, Kingdom pursuit and King worship?

One of my major theological issues over the years with Americanized Christianity is that most pastors will readily pull out the 10% tithe from the Old Testament and rally (aka bully) his flock into submission on this point. But...I have yet to ever hear one soul cry out, "Why aren't you giving God 10% of your time too?"

10% is 2.4 hours a day. Now...not counting church unless you're serving, because otherwise that is all about fueling you...when was the last time you wholeheartedly sought God for 2.4 hours a day?

I think the New Testament point is this: It's all God's so every moment should be focused on Him. [I would argue the same point about our money.]

So here's my struggle and one of the many idols God is trying to pry from my fingers...

What areas of my life have I allowed to be "mixed" to the point that looking like the rest of the culture devours my strength?

The biggie for me is media. It has zapped my creativity and sometimes dulled my conscience. There is no condemnation here, but I think it is worthy of a few moments of your time to stop and ask the question.