Are you Plugged in?

Have you ever seen the science fiction movie series “The Matrix”? If not, please don’t waste over six hours of your life! Let me give you a summary instead (since I have already wasted the time!).
Several hundred years in the future the A.I. that man created has rebelled and conquered the human race which it now uses for its sole energy source. Almost every person on the planet is unaware that they are slaves to the machines because their minds are engaged in living out normal lives in a virtual reality world that the machines created to keep the humans convinced that they are still free, and therefore passive. Of course there are rebels who are free and are trying to free the rest of humanity by “jacking in” to the matrix (virtual reality world) and convincing others to join the revolution. You get the picture.
Without trying to glorify the movie, there are several obvious parallels that could be drawn.
Our Christian lives are supposed to be radically different than that of the world. But how often do we get drawn in to the reality that Satan has designed for us instead of living victoriously and separating ourselves for the purpose of glorifying God? And I’m not just talking about all of the television and electronic distractions available. So many times I find myself doing things just because that is what everyone does or because that is what is expected of me or the way we have always done it.
We buy our children piles of presents at Christmas. Why? And don’t give me the excuse that we do it because the wise men gave gifts to Jesus. Why do we decorate our houses with lights? Why do we have a Christmas tree? Once again, the excuse that it represents the cross doesn’t hold since it was the Druids that started the tradition. Easter egg hunts and chocolate bunnies, costumes on Halloween, staying up until midnight on New Year’s Eve and many more holiday traditions have become suspect to me (and why do so many of them involve candy?!).
And holidays don’t hold the only culprits. Why do pastors feel the need to cut sermons short on Super Bowl Sunday? What is the purpose of the AWANA Grand Prix? How many of our daily and weekly habits are done just by Rote? How many of even our religious practices make Satan pleased because they are so much less than they should be?
Maybe I’m just in a mood or going through a phase, but I doubt it. I foresee some radical change in our future. I want to unplug from the Matrix!!

*originally written 4/18/06