It’s intoxicating. I’m not talking about alcohol or drugs, I’m referring to the TV drama “24″. I’m sure you’ve seen or heard about it. It is what I call the “cocaine” of TV shows. It’s addicting for sure. Once you’ve seen an episode, you’re hooked. If you had the DVD set of the first season like I did….you couldn’t just take one episode in a single sitting. I found myself popping DVD’s to get another quick fix of Jack’s heroic adventures. I became engulfed in the world of Jack and the other characters trying to eradicate the world of terrorism, especially in L.A.. It was as though I living the life of a federal agent alongside Jack, which was precisely why they filmed it in real-time.

From start to finish it was unbelievable gut-wrenching drama that had you on the edge of your seat wondering what would happen next. Jack even executed a co-worker to satisfy the demands of a terrorist so he wouldn’t blow LA to smithereens. When I was done I felt like I had gone through emotional boot camp. I had done so many emotional push-ups I was exhausted. Up-Down-Up-Down-Up-Down and I had nothing to show for it but a false sense of reality.

I have never been the same since I watched 24. I have to admit, I watched more than just the first season. It took something out of me. I found myself desensitized by Jack’s philosophy of doing wrong for the greater good of mankind. It went against everything I had been taught, and sad to say, everything I stood for all my life. The emotional highs took me so to places I had never experienced, not once, but many times over and over again. The emotional lows took me to such depths I never dreamed I would ever encounter. In real life I was hurting from situations in my life and 24 was a great alterior reality. I could push away the hurting I was feeling, and get my emotional high from watching Jack so I didn’ t have to feel the depression of my situation. My point is, Jack Bauer killed my sensitivity to reality, and I let him.

Honestly, I have not been the same person since watching 24. My emotional norm was completely redefined. Emotions that would move me were no longer engaged by children crying or old people holding hands. Now, it had to be extreme situations (not normally seen in real life) that touched me and moved me. I was hard and callused inside. I couldn’t preach with the passion I used to preach with. I couldn’t minister and feel what people were feeling and be moved by it. It was scary, really scary.

I’m finally getting to the place now that I can start ‘feeling’ again like I used to. I still need some softening in areas, but I think with the help of the Lord, we’ve done a good job fixing it. What about you? What media have you become so involved in that it has sucked the life out of your soul? What false reality have you engaged in your mind 24/7 to escape reality?

The devil’s purpose is to tax your emotional, mental, and spiritual resources with the false-realities of the world, so that you have nothing left to give to God. Evaluate your life and the entertainment you are digesting everyday. Does it live up to holiness and godliness? Are you growing closer to God, or just getting farther away? Is your sensitivity to God and to people around you getting more keen or callused by the material you feed your mind?

Finally, what really ended the whole charade for me was the bonus DVD which showed how 24 was made. My whole world I had created in my head was crushed when I saw the concrete was not even real, it was FOAM. The crashes, the explosions, EVERYTHING was fake. And the movie stars, including me (role-playing invisible character off camera in all shots) were fake too.

With all said, use your energy for God. Emotions are not drugs. Stop trippin’, get back to reality, and do great things for God.