Apples of Gold
Radio Script for November 21, 2008
“MTV and Generation P”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Jeremy Delaplane works for MTV.
He spoke in Tallahassee last night about what MTV calls “Generation P,” which is basically the teens to 20-somethings
He said they thrive on being connected through their cell phones, laptops and other digital devices.
And then he said something that really struck me. He said, “They can’t ever feel like they are not doing something.”
Boy is that ever true. I have a house full of teenagers and I see that statement in action everyday.
Sunday I had three teenagers in the backseat for church, and at one point I was overwhelmed by clicking. I looked back and all three of them were furiously pounding out text messages on their cell phones. You’d think they were federal agents negotiating with the Kremlin.
The other day I was walking into a store and heard a bell ringing. I looked over and saw the Salvation Army kettle, and the young lady behind it, ringing the bell with one hand and, get this, texting with the other.
The kids come home and want to get online. “What for?” I ask. “To check my stuff,” they say. Their stuff being Facebook or MySpace or whatever the flavor of the month is. But whatever it is, it must be checked, immediately.
Generation P. They can’t ever feel like they are not doing something.
Here’s the word that comes to mind: frantic.
It’s frantic activity. My daughter will have five windows open on the computer screen. Chatting with one friend isn’t enough. She must have five chats going at once, while texting, listening to music, talking to whoever is in the room, eating, and…what? You’re doing homework?
I’d blame the kids, but the adults are about as bad with all of our multi-tasking. And what’s this about being so busy? Are you sick and tired of hearing people say how busy they are? Let’s just not say it anymore. It’s a given, like breathing. Everyone is busy.
I pulled up to a stop light the other day and told the homeless man I’d take him to McDonald’s for lunch. He was too busy, he said.
Just kidding, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
Now here’s the problem. We are so busy we don’t take time to think. We don’t evaluate our lives. What are we doing? Where are we heading?
Years ago I thought TV was a bad distraction. People would have the noisemaker on all the time. The house was never quiet, and they were never alone with their thoughts. Now it’s TV with hundreds of channels, the internet, the mobile devices, and on and on. Now we are covered up with layer upon layer of distraction.
They didn’t have all this stuff back in C.S. Lewis’ day, but he understood the power of distraction when he wrote The Screwtape Letters.
It’s a fictional account of a demon named Uncle Screwtape, and the letters are filled with demonly advice for his nephew.
Well at one point he writes about a man in a library. The man found himself relatively undistracted in the quiet of the library, and his thoughts turned to God and eternity and the big picture of life. This alarmed Uncle Screwtape because he certainly didn’t want this man, his “patient,” to think about God; so what did he do?
His strategy was to distract the man by getting him out of the quiet library. So he told the man he was hungry, and that he shouldn’t think about such important things on an empty stomach. The man stepped out of the library, into the noise of the street; and his bigger, deeper thoughts evaporated into the distractions of daily life.
You know, there’s a Bible story about like this. In Luke 10 we read about the sisters Mary and Martha. Jesus Himself comes over for a visit, and Martha is extremely distracted with all the preparations. Meanwhile, verse 39 says that Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.”
Martha finally burst in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?”
And Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better…”
And what did Mary choose? She chose to sit quietly at the feet of Jesus. She listened to what the Lord had to say.
And I think that’s an example we all need to follow. We need to take time to unplug and shut out the distractions. We need to draw near to the Lord and listen for His still, small voice – the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us.
And this especially applies to Generation P who “can’t ever feel like they are not doing something.”
Young people, please take time to turn off the cell phone, unplug the internet, power down the iPod and choose what is better; to sit quietly at the feet of Jesus.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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