Buffering (Friday Devotional)

 

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

- 2 Timothy 3:1-5

There you are, enjoying the latest movie on Netflix after a long week. The story has swept you up, you’ve invested yourself in the characters’ lives, and you’re fully immersed in the experience.

Then, without warning, the story stops, the actor onscreen frozen in place. A circle appears in the middle of your screen, spinning around a percentage number—maybe 0%, maybe 25%, maybe 99%—that after a few seconds, doesn’t go up or down an iota. Whether for a moment or for the rest of the night, movie time is over.

Buffering—it really is one of the 21st century’s most annoying first-world problems. While usually only a momentary aggravation, it totally takes you out of the moment. It reminds you, in the most jarring way possible, that whatever you’re watching so rapturously is ultimately just a collection of digital images that can malfunction the moment the Wi-Fi starts to lag. Buffering brings the illusion to a screeching halt.

The Bible tells us that sin is a little like that. It seems fun for a while to indulge yourself, to do whatever brings you pleasure without regard for the consequences or morality of your actions. But before long, reality comes rushing in and, like the Prodigal Son longing for the pigs’ food, you are brought to a point you never thought you’d see.

For believers in Jesus, there is joy in knowing that your sin has been washed away by the Savior’s blood, that your punishment has been paid and glory awaits instead. But while sin has been ultimately defeated, its power in this world still endures, and so believers are called to be wary. Our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, and it is only by clinging tightly to the Word of God that he can be resisted.

 And resist we must—for sin’s illusory happiness is always revealed to be a fiction. True joy comes elsewhere—and when it finds you, there’s no buffering.