"I will set no worthless
thing before my eyes"
(Psalm 101: 3, NASB)
For the past while now, I have been thinking a bit on how I use my time,
especially in the area of entertainment such as the amount of time I spend
watching TV and listening to music. It is to the point that I find the amount
of time I spend doing these things has affected my time in getting things that
matter done. I waste far too much time on such entertainments as TV and music,
when I could be using my time doing more productive things. My old
acquaintance, Sakurah had written a very interesting article that deals with TV
entertainment. What's even more interesting is the fact that she is not even a
Christian and yet she has come to the realization of how TV wastes precious
time that could be spent doing better things. She wrote the following:
“Lately I've been associating TV with laziness and just
general negativity. I feel like it creates temporary fake happiness and even
feelings of accomplishment to viewers because they are living through the
characters they are watching. It draws you in and enables you to forget
everything in your life and in reality. Finally you 'come to' and realize you
just spent hours of your of your life sitting/lying on the couch doing nothing
but looking straight ahead. This is not living life, is it? All of the
experiences you felt you had by watching that TV screen aren't yours. You
watched some one else fall in love, your watched someone else go on an amazing
adventure, you watched someone else's facial expression when a bright orange
fall leaf brushed past their cheek. Look at all the amazing experiences we
could've had in only a couple hours in our lives that would be truly ours. Our
own memories to look back on and enjoy. You could've had an enlightening
conversation with some interesting person at your local coffee shop. You
could've felt a rain drop fall slowly down over your face, while walking down
your favorite street in town. Lay in the grass with the sun on your skin, felt
a breeze in your hair, and imagined shapes in the clouds. You could feel the
scrunch of snow under your feet and become amazed by how beautiful it looks on
the trees, notice the little footprints left behind by all the animals we
scarcely see. Life is really happening around us all the time. Go out and take
notice!”[1]
The above comment written by Sakurah is quite revealing. For it was a known
truth taught in many evangelical Churches a number of years ago. Many Christians at one time even refused to have
TVs in their homes, because they well understood how distracting entertainment
can be, and how much time it wastes in their lives. They also knew the danger
it posed to their spiritual lives as well. They knew all too well how the TV
and Movie Theatre would fill their minds with the worldly entertainments and
filth that would stifle their fellowship with the Lord. However, many Christians
today, myself included have top of the line flat screen TV's where we watch our
favourite shows and waste precious time that could be better spent doing more
productive things as my friend Sakurah articulates so well in her above article. Author Craig
Cabaniss in a chapter entitled, "God, My Heart, and Media" taken from
the book "Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World"
made this insightful, but lengthy comment, which is well worth repeating here:
"Think about the power of video entertainment, for instance. Whether
viewed on computer, a portable player, or traditional TV set, television and
film are without peer in their cultural influence. Ken Myers, an astute
Christian observer of popular culture, notes that television is not only
"the dominant medium of popular culture" but also "the single
most significant shared reality in our entire society." He compares
television's impact to that of Christianity centuries ago, when
"Christendom" defined the Western world:
Not all citizens of Christendom were Christian, but all understood it, all
were influenced by its teaching...I can think of no entity today capable of
such a culturally unifying role except television. In television, we live and
move and have our being.
Similarly, pastor Kent Hughes offers this alarming appraisal:
Today the all-pervasive glow of the television set is the single most
potent influence and control in Western culture. Television has greater power
over the lives of most Americans than any educational system, government, or
church.
But it's not enough to acknowledge the dominant, nearly godlike authority
exercised over our culture by TV, the Internet, and the rest of the media. We
must evaluate the content of media messages and the consequences of their
influence....
Watching Unwatchingly
Many of us don't think about actively filtering our viewing. As long as we
avoid the obvious traps such as pornography, we don't consider deliberate
evaluation necessary. Though we may faithfully apply the Scriptures in other
areas of life, we may not consciously think about how God's Word applies to our
entertainment choices.
All too often, we think about neither what we watch nor how much. Our
watching is just inevitable. We watch by habit. We watch because we're bored.
We unwatchingly watch as the TV stays on for background noise.
We watch alone or with others. We gathers with friends on Friday night and
rent a DVD because there's nothing else to do.
We watch because others watch. Everyone at school or at work is talking
about a popular movie. It's a must see-- so we must see it. Without researching
its content, without thinking about its effect on our hearts, without comparing
an evening at the movies with other options, we go, and we watch.
Please don't misunderstand. I'm not saying it's wrong to watch television,
rent a DVD, surf the Internet, or spend an evening at the cinema. The hazard is
thoughtless watching. Glorifying God
is an intentional pursuit. We don't accidentally drift into holiness; rather,
we mature gradually and purposefully, one choice at a time. In the Christian
walk, we can't just step onto the right path and figure all is well. Christian
discipleship is a lifelong journey consisting of a series of countless steps.
Each step matters, and thus our viewing habits matter."[2]
The truth is, as believers in Christ, we should limit the amount of time
and be careful in what we select to watch on TV. Try mentioning this to fellow
believers in Churches today and they will label you as being legalistic. They
will perceive you as being out of touch with the present times. Actually, many
Churches today, particularly Seeker
Friendly Churches use entertainment, such as movies to draw people into
their congregations. Sadly, many of these so called movies have little to do
with exalting Christ and teaching the Word of God to young people. Another form
of entertainment the Church uses to draw young people is so called Christian
Rock Concerts that does more to appeal to the flesh than to exalt Christ.
Entertainment in Light of
the Scriptures.
So what does the Scriptures have to say about such forms of worldly
entertainments? Now the Bible doesn't specifically deal with the subject of the
television and movies, but it does speak about the content we should guard
against. In 1
Thessalonians 5 : 21Philippians 4 : 8
Effects that Entertainment
has on Us.
There are people both inside the Church and outside that will argue that
such entertainment as what we watch on TV and the cinema movies do not really effect
us. It's only a bit of harmless entertainment. Sure people who just watched a
movie that showed a bank robbery or someone who got shot and killed, may never
go out and personally rob a bank or kill someone. Many will argue this very
point I just made. However, what they fail to realize is that such an avenue of
entertainment plays havoc in one's subconscious. They may not steal or kill for fear they may
get caught, but they are usually guilty of less risky behaviours such as foul
language, adultery, drunkenness, lying, slandering, and petty violence. All
these things the media and entertainment contributes to. It's no wonder Paul commands
the Christians at Colosse, "But now
you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice,
slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since
you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new
self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Col.
No comments:
Post a Comment