Are you living a life of stimulation and titillation?

We live such stimulated lives we no longer wait on brewing our coffee anymore. Instead, we buy the coffee maker that can be programmed to make that first pot of coffee prior to our waking in the morning.

So we walk from the bed to the coffee pot and begin loading in the day’s stimulation.

We turn on the TV to get the news as we eat a sugar-laden breakfast and check our text messages, sending our first round of texts for the day …

…. before getting dressed for work, we squeeze in that after-meal cigarette, even though we’re already running late …

… as we move from the house to the car, we take a travel cup of coffee and switch on the radio …

… we check and respond to texts at each red light, and even a few green ones …

… when we get to work, we top off our coffee cup and switch on our computers, checking our social media sites before transitioning to our email …

… we later run outside for a cigarette, grabbing a soda on our way, and catch up on the latest workplace gossip while puffing and texting …

… over a junk food lunch, we read the gossip tabloids until joined by co-workers and the conversation turns to real gossip over more text messages …

… the afternoon is broken up between work, checking social media sites, a switch to Red Bull for some afternoon energy, a couple more cigarettes and a final round of gossip …

… on the way out the door, you grab a soda for the commute home, then have a quick smoke before hopping in the car, where you place another soda in the cup holder and immediately turn on the radio …

…. once home, you grab a beer, switch on the tabloid programs on the television, and start swapping stories about your day, especially the ones with gossip …

… at dinner you switch to wine and include the kids in the story-telling, they have their own gossip to contribute …

… after loading the dishwasher, it’s time for an after-meal cigarette with another glass of wine, then time to boot up the laptop for catching up on social media …

… you finally tell the kids goodnight, and make a little time for sex before falling asleep.

It’s been another day filled with stimulation and titillation. You managed to keep your mind and body stimulated all day long. It makes you feel alive!

There’s no time for silence. No time for contemplation. No take for organic functioning.

We saturate our lives with things that stimulate and titillate.

Living this way is why so many of our relationships are hollow at best; why we’re bored with spiritual things; why quiet moments are avoided like the plague; and why we have so little interest in God. It’s a far cry from the life the Apostle Paul challenges us to live:

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks to everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Ephesians 5:15-20.

Do you feel like you have to fill your mind and body with stimulants or titillation to feel alive? To enjoy the moment? Can you sit still and enjoy the silence? Can you hear the voice of God? Is being filled with the Holy Spirit enough for you?

“Be still and know that I am God …” Psalm 46:10a.

Scotty