So here are all of my television posts in one place. Each title is a link to the original post should you want to read the comments and perhaps comment yourself! This series was originally posted from late January to early February 2006.
Well, I gotta tell you, my mind is consumed by a topic lately. I’ve been praying about it, and I really feel like God wants me to write about it. And it’s going to take awhile. And it’s not going to be fun. I don’t think I’ve ever been scared to write something before… And it’s not that I’m scared about how people are going to react, though I will probably get some disagreement. It’s that I’m afraid that by the time I’m done I’m going to have to live up to what I wrote, and that is not going to be easy.
The other problem is that I have so many things to say on this subject that I’m afraid I’ll end up being a little incoherent. There are so many directions I can go, and want to go… But I think if I take too much time to try to outline where I’m going, I’ll never write it at all… So, my friends, I beg your indulgence, I ask for your prayers, and I welcome your comments. But before I get started, let me say a few things more.
The last sermon I heard at our church in North Carolina was on a difficult subject. (I have to admit that at this moment I can’t remember what it was. Yikes!) Our pastor began with a thought provoking statement that went something like this:
Now I know you are all well-trained. If I give you a list of Do’s, you’ll say I’m preaching works. But if I give you a list of Don’ts, you’ll start crying Legalism!…
I’m kind of feeling the same way. Once I get going with what I’ve been thinking, I have a sneaking suspicion that Legalism! will be one of the first objections I get. So let me make one thing clear from the get go. I am not being legalistic. There are two definitions for legalism:
1. Strict, literal adherence to the law or to a particular code, as of religion or morality.
2. A legal word, expression, or rule.
Now by my understanding, in the Christian community the word would be extended to mean that a legalist is preaching a code of behavior which is required for salvation. Am I wrong about this? I welcome your thoughts. I am not going to make any laws. I am not saying everyone has to do as I say or do as I do. What I am about to do is embark on questioning some things and stepping on some toes. And trust me, the first toes I step on will be my own!
Okay! Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, are you curious? What is this big deal that blest is so worked up about?
Idolatry
Widespread, epidemic, rampant Idolatry. Specifically the little (or big) rectangular god that sits in a place of honor in our living rooms for the family to gather round multiple times a day to worship. We buy special furniture for it. We offer unto it accesories. We carve out blocks of time, sacred unviolable time, to sit before it and bask in its light. We shush our children so we can hear its words more clearly. We train them how to worship properly in attentive silence with their own child-geared services, starting when they are barely big enough to sit up. We pore over its parables and proclamations with our friends. We watch special ceremonies which anoint its prophets. We read about it. We write about it. We have literature that informs us daily about how to experience its riches… Yeah. I know you know what I’m talking about.
Television.
I really, truly believe that there is no bigger idol in America than the god of entertainment. And I’d like to say that I used to be one of its worshippers. But I don’t think I can claim total freedom yet. True, I don’t have outside tv anymore. No cable. No antenna (except for two days ago when we dug it out and plugged it in to watch the Carolina Panthers). But I do love my movies. I have my own carefully chosen and hoarded collection of beloved films and tv shows… So I’m still part of the cult, just in a less devout sect.
What do you think? Am I on the right track? Maybe, maybe not. I have a lot more to say… but I can’t see my kids from here so it will have to wait. I will leave you with this one question… One that I keep coming back to.
Have you ever noticed that acting is the only art form that is not mentioned in the Bible? There’s music - vocal and instrumental. There’s visual art. Prose and Poetry? Check! But no acting. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
So I wonder…(knowing that we will never really know the answer until we get to Heaven)
What does God think of acting?
American Idol ~ Is Acting Out?
Before I go any further, I want to make one thing absolutely clear. I am not telling you to give up your tv. It’s funny, my husband and I were talking all of this over last night and he said to me, “Well, what is your overall point?” And I said, “I have no idea!” He thought maybe I ought to figure that out before I wrote, and I said “If I have to do that, I’ll never get it written.” He was a little right, I was a little right. I still don’t quite know what my own conclusion will be by the time I’m done. But I do have a clearer purpose in mind now than when I started yesterday.
I want to think about what we’re doing when we turn on the tv. What are we doing to ourselves? What are we doing to our children? I want to question television’s place in our lives and our culture. I want to weigh the detriments and the benefits. I want to seriously consider the counsel of Scripture on the subject. And if we do end up deciding to keep the blasted thing, I want to come up with some Godly guidelines for when, why, what, and how to watch it. What do ya think? Sound good?
To get back to yesterday’s question, “What does God think of acting?”… Of course I don’t have an answer. As my brother pointed out, Scripture is silent on the matter. And yet, I do think that the silence may be significant. I was thinking more about it, about the art forms that are mentioned. Acting is not just an art form that isn’t mentioned, it’s an art form that God Himself does not do. God is obviously a visual artist. Creation is all the testimony to that fact that we need. The Bible tells us that God sings over us; God is a musician. And for instrumentals, God made musical animals! God was the first story-teller, His very Word created the story we are living now. And of course, Jesus told stories and spoke words of poetic beauty. But Jesus never played a part. He never pretended to be anyone other than who He was. Ultimate Reality. Isn’t that who God is? Ultimate Truth. There is no room for pretending in Him or before Him. And we are supposed to be becoming more like Christ, yes?
I can’t use that as an argument to condemn acting. But it makes me wonder…
And here’s one that made me sit bolt upright in church this past Sunday when it flashed through my mind… Who was the first actor?
Easy. None other than the aspiring superstar… Satan.
I’m serious. Satan was acting a part in the Garden. He was pretending to be Eve’s friend. He was pretending to desire her best. He was acting. Satan is the Father of Lies who can appear as an angel of light. He gives mind-blowing performances as something he is not.
Again. I can’t condemn acting outright because I just don’t know. But it makes me wonder all the more…
side note: I think I ought to confess that I’m actually a pretty good actress myself. But then, before I got saved I was a really good liar too.
American Idol ~ A Bunch of Fakes
sidenote: When I say television, I mean movies too. It’s just too cumbersome to keep typing “television and movies”.
Today I want to start off with a stunning pronouncement of the obvious kind…
Television. Is. Not. Real.
all together now… “Well Duh!!”
But as you might expect, I’m going somewhere with this. Stop and think about it carefully. Television is not real! We’ll start with the easy ones- the fiction shows. Comedies. Dramas. Mysteries. Here you have people wearing clothes they probably didn’t pick, and make-up by the bucket. If we’re lucky, they’re also wearing their original body parts… but let’s be honest - a lot of them aren’t. These people are pretending to be other people. They are in manufactured situations saying manufactured lines in manufactured relationships in manufactured locations. And the “reality” shows aren’t much better. The situations are still contrived. The scenes are edited such that we still don’t know what “really” happened. Fake. Fake. Fake. Got it? You know, even if the location is real, it’s not real. The people who live there are most likely being held out of the way by barriers and guards while the fake people do their fake thing. Check out this quote from Colin Firth (Ooh, Darcy!)
From a Fox411 Column…
But Firth told me on Saturday night at HBO’s star studded pre-Globes party that “Match Point,” much as he liked it, was not an accurate depiction of his country.
“That’s not a London I recognize,” he said. “You look at the scenes and know that just outside the frame there’s something else going on in real life. I’ve never seen that London before at all. Of course, Richard Curtis’s London” — the one Firth has populated in “Love Actually,” for example — “isn’t real either.”
As a result of all this fakery…
Television Generates Fake Emotions
Have you ever noticed how incredibly manipulative television is? Not only are the scenes and dialogue designed for maximum impact, but the music plays an important part. Real life doesn’t have emotion intensifying mood music playing in every scene. I don’t know about you, but when my husband proposed there were no violins swelling in the background. And when I’m walking down a quiet street, I don’t hear minor chord progressions to let me know I better watch my back.
Of course, the fictional shows are not the only ones which deliberately manipulate our emotions. How about the news? I haven’t watched in a long time, so I don’t remember how much music they use. But how about their creative use of sympathetic imagery and their even more creative use of the facts? What the news media leave out is every bit as important as what they leave in as they guide the viewer towards a certain emotional response. Whether it’s focusing on Cindy Sheehan as a grieving mother or presenting Tom DeLay as a villain (I repeat, I haven’t seen the news in quite a while, so I’m guessing with these examples) there is no such thing as unbiased journalism. (though I think Fox tries)
Working on our emotions is a big part of television’s appeal. We want certain feelings, be they romantic, touching, exciting, or funny. If we didn’t want to be played like violins, we wouldn’t turn it on. TV has to make us care so that we’ll keep coming back - which leads to my next point…
Television Encourages Fake Relationships
Women will be the first to confess to this, I expect. Why do women watch soap operas? Well, yes, the romance is interesting. But honestly, it’s because when you watch soap operas you begin to care about what happens to the characters. It’s like they’re your family. (and they’re so much less demanding than your family!) The same thing happens with Friends, or Frasier, or Lost, or 24. If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t watch. Reality shows rely on this effect too. It’s more than just idle curiosity that keeps people coming back to Survivor or The Bachelor or The Apprentice. Perhaps there’s a small amount of schadenfrude involved, but what hooks the viewers is emotional attachment of some kind to the characters.
Plus, we form attachments to the actors themselves. We can hardly help it. Some form of caring about their personal lives is shoved down our throats on a daily basis. You may think to yourself, I don’t care what happens to TomKat, or Bennifer 2.0, or Brad/Jennifer/Angelina… But you do know about them, don’t you? We can’t help but be connected somehow when we see them and hear about them all the time.
Of course then there’s the emotional involvement with sports… ( I wonder how many people are thinking “Don’t go there! It’s almost Super Bowl time!”?) Hey, don’t get me wrong. I like sports. I used to be a fanatical Braves fan. I still care what happens to the Carolina Panthers. And if I haven’t written myself out of it, I’ll be watching the playoff game on Sunday. But you’ve got to admit, there’s something strange about getting so worked about about which group of strangers moves a ball more times to a predetermined location than another group of strangers. But we do get worked up, because we do care, because somehow we’ve formed a relationship or connection between ourselves and “our” team.
Television Implants Fake Expectations
I touched on this a bit with my post about what I had learned in ten years of marriage when I said:
Hollywood is bad for your brain.
Confession time. When we were first married, I was hooked on ABC soap operas. (aaiiieeee! Bad Baptist! Bad Baptist!) Three solid hours a day of tawdry behavior and romance. I ate it up with a spoon. Funny thing… I became increasingly dissatisfied with my husband.
Some of you said you understood from experience what I was talking about. If it were just soaps that caused the problem this would be easy - No more soaps! But if we’re honest with ourselves, it isn’t just soap operas that can have this effect. Even our beloved British romances, or the cherished Meg Ryan comedies, or even just something simple and sweet like the BritCom As Time Goes By creates images and expectations of what a love life should be like. For starters, the men on television and in movies talk. It’s kind of essential. Even if they’re jerks, they know what to say. They always have a line. Women can dialogue with them. Okay, Darcy was rather taciturn at first, but when he finally started talking… Oh baby could he talk! I don’t know about your husbands, but mine is rather reserved. And not only does he not talk much, but when we are having a conversation, he frequently doesn’t know what to say. Did you ever notice that people on television never have that problem?
Now obviously, I’m not a man. So I can’t speak much to what television does to men in the expectations department. But I imagine at the very least it can distort your idea of what to expect from women in the looks department. Hey, it distorts women’s ideas of what to expect from women in the looks department!
I remember an article I read once in a National Geographic about beauty. One of the only points that stuck with me was the tale of some small remote island that had just gotten television in the last few years. They were receiving satellite broadcasts of American programs. Within a year, the occurence of eating disorders in young girls went through the roof.
And how about fake expectations for children? Television hardly shows parenting. Children come in to provide some comic relief or some cuteness or some emotional impact… then they disappear again. I remember on Everybody Loves Raymond, sometimes it seemed like they didn’t even have kids! And they had three! The daily grind of child-rearing is just not shown. (we don’t want to watch that, after all, we live it!) Raymond was big on another false expectation too. The expectation that men will be idiots and women will be in the know.
Television gives Fake Education/Experiences/Memories
When I was a girl, I was horse crazy like many a young female. I watched horse movies, I read horse books. I thought I knew all about horses until it was time to mount a flesh and blood animal. Television does that to us a lot. We think we know what England is like because we’ve watched Notting Hill and Love, Actually. Not just England, we think we know the English too! I’ve never been there, but I imagine that I’d be surprised at what English people are really like. (or Australian, or Irish…)
We think we know what’s going on Iraq. We think we know crime scene investigation… And yes, we’ve learned some real information. But not nearly as much as we think. And through television we feel that we have experienced what it’s like to do any number of things (getting dropped on an island comes to mind), but the reality would be starkly different.
And along with the fake education and experience comes the fake memories. I always loved this scene from Scrooged between Frank and the taxi-driving ghost of Christmas Past(ironic that I’m using a movie scene for my point, isn’t it!) …
Frank: Check the records. I did some stuff! I played baseball. One year, I hit the home-run that won the big game…
Ghost: That was the kid on The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father!
Frank: There was another time, though. I was on a hill covered with flowers and there was a beautiful girl with pigtails…
Ghost: You are so pathetic! That was Little House On The Prairie!
Yeah, it was funny. Funny because it’s not far from the truth. Has it ever happened to you? I know I’ve had moments like that. Moments where I’m thinking, “Now wait a minute… Did I do that or was it something I saw…?”
Television Directs Us to Fake Priorities
I mentioned before how the news media picks and chooses its items for certain reasons. One of those reasons is obviously to guide our attention to predetermined priorities. What are we missing while our eyes are riveted on Bird Flu and Osama? C.S. Lewis wrote in one of his letters during World War II that he wasn’t sure that radio news was such a good thing. We could now hear about the problems all around the world, and he wondered if it would distract us from caring about our actual neighbors. How many of us even know our actual neighbors anymore?! But we know about AIDS in Africa and women’s rights in Afghanistan. I’m not saying we shouldn’t care what is going on around the world, but is there not some validity to the idea that we have grown numb to our local concerns?
Television Creates A Fake Aristocracy
One of the many issues which has spurred me on in writing these posts is the flavor-of-the-month issue of homosexual activist Chad Allen in The End of the Spear. I’ve read some of the posts and the comment threads. It’s a difficult issue and I’ve seen interesting arguments on different sides. But one of the best points I’ve seen was made by Tim Challies in this post .
There are plenty of people who do care what Sean Penn believes about Iraqi insurgency, what Alec Baldwin thinks about the President’s legitimacy and what Tim Robbins thinks about civil liberties. The very fact that Taylor can list these people and the issues they stand for shows that people care! The names of Hollywood bigwigs are constantly polluting adorning newspapers, magazines and tabloids. Far too many people care what these celebrities believe. Many people allow their opinions to be formed by celebrities. […]
So here’s the rub: these Hollywood stars and starlets would not have a platform if we did not provide it to them. We provide them a platform when we support their films. The more popular a film becomes, the greater the platform we provide for the actors.
Every dollar we spend, every minute of attention we pay creates an atmosphere of affirmation for these professional pretenders. We have created an elite class of people whose main claims to fame or external beauty and the ability to deceive.
So what do you think? Did I miss anything? Can you think of anymore counterfeits provided by entertainment?
Pssst! I’m over here! No, not there. Down here, under the table! I’m hiding from myself!
No really. I’m about halfway through with this series, and I haven’t even brought out the big guns yet. And I’m really, really scared. You guys don’t know where I’m coming from on this! I was raised on television! (not blaming my parents, mind you) I was a socially inept, persecuted (gotta love that public school socialization), fantasy-livin’, latch-key kid. Television was my social life, my comforter, my escape, my friend, my mentor… Oh yeah, I had books too. But the beauty of A.D.D. is that I could read and watch tv at the same time! (and eat too! Multi-tasking at its finest!) I have hours and hours of warm comfortable memories built around television. And although I am now free, mostly, of the desire for main-stream T.V., I still have my movies. Beloved films, treasured series… My Pride and Prejudice, my Andy Griffith collection. Three sets of Looney Tunes… I see where my writing is headed, and inside I’m screaming, “But I don’t wanna go there!!!!” So if you think I’m writing from some pious and self-satisified spriritual mountain-top, I just want you to know you are so wrong.
And I’ll tell you too, that right now my boys are watching a Gaither video because I couldn’t think of any other way to get a shower and have my house still standing when I got out.
I have some random bits to throw out today before I write the big stuff.
Random Bit #1: Television makes you fat.
Now c’mon. This one is a no-brainer. (actually most of tv is a no-brainer. ba-du-bump swish!) Television is not what you would call an aerobic activity. And studies have shown repeatedly that people tend to eat on auto-pilot while they watch. And strangely enough, seeing all those “beautiful people” doesn’t motivate us to improve. Actually they’ve found that the negative feelings that we get about our own looks from watching all those bikini babes causes us to run to the fridge for comfort food. Of course, then there’s all those commercials for food and drink… and we’re not talking wheat germ and carrot juice. (nobody knows like Domino’s how I like pizza at home!)
Random Bit #2: Television makes you Tired.
I’m jumping the gun a little, but I imagine that one of the main arguments that I might hear for the preservation of television is that we all need rest and relaxation. I hate to break it to you, but television doesn’t really fill that need effectively. From a health website about insomnia:
People can try a number of things to relieve their insomnia. They should go to bed only when sleepy and use the bedroom only for sleep. Other activities, such as reading, watching television, or snacking, should take place in a different room. If they are unable to go to sleep, they should go into another room and do something relaxing, like reading. Watching television is usually not a relaxing activity as television programs often make people more excited.
And how about this one from an article about television and sleep disorders in children:
But new evidence suggests that even watching daytime TV causes loss of sleep. Jeffrey Johnson, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and research scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute has found a correlation between excessive daytime TV watching and insomnia in children.
A study, started in 1975, collected data from a group of 759 children and parents over a span of years. The study revealed that excessive daytime TV viewing caused difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting back to sleep after awakening during the night.
I read a study once where they analyzed people’s biological responses and emotional responses to television. The researchers were surprised to find that more than an hour or two of television left the viewers more anxious and physiologically stimulated than they were before watching. Honestly, think about what you watch. Think about all those fake emotions I mentioned yesterday. Television’s primary aim is not to soothe. If you come across something that is actually soothing, you probably change the channel because it’s boring. And then there is the effect mentioned by one of my commenters, David from BruggieTales:
Even if you choose carefully to watch only a certain show, and close your eyes and mute the sound during the ad breaks, the temptation at the end is to “let’s just see what else is on…”
Before you know it you have channel surfed drivel for an hour!
Alright, I want every head bowed and every eye closed. If you have ever stayed up later than you knew you should to watch television, raise your hand. I’ve seen article after article about how tired Americans are. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone pointing out that it’s because we repeatedly stay up by the light of the box.
Random Bit #3: Television is bad for your Brain, Literally.
I read an article a few years back, probably in Reader’s Digest since that’s where I get a lot of my more random knowledge, about changes in television over the years. Specifically they discussed how much faster the scene changes than it used to. Pick whatever modern show you want and pay attention to how many times the shot changes. Flick. Flick. Flick. It’s rapid fire!! What they found was that watching all those rapid jumps of focus causes changes in the neurological structure of the brain. Obviously, the youth are particularly susceptible due to the plasiticity of their still developing brains. Once the brain becomes accustomed to all that hyperactivity, guess what happens? Well, duh. It becomes harder and harder to have a prolonged attention span, especially to anything that is less stimulating. My conclusion: There is a plot to make the whole world A.D.D. (Changes to infant toys reinforce my opinion, by the way. It seems like you can’t buy anything anymore that doesn’t come with blinking lights and raucous sounds. ) These neurological changes also lead to craving for that same stimulation - increased television dependency.
Random Bit #4: Why is it called an Entertainment Center?
My kids were playing some little marching game this morning while I worked on my notes for my upcoming post about What the Bible has to say about Television. Daniel said “Now we have to touch the Entertainment Center” and it was as if I were hearing the words for the first time. The center of entertainment…. Oy. How many of you arranged your living room or den around where the television went? (I’ve got my hand up.) I don’t know about you, but I would much rather my family regarded the bookshelf or the game cabinet as the center of entertainment… Sigh. Which leads to…
Random Bit #5: Seems a Bit Obvious
Wonderful posts like these from:
The DeputyHeadMistress in The Common Room
Laura at In a Strange Land
and Cindy at Dominion Family
are all highlighting how so many people don’t read and how tragic it is. Gee, I wonder why people aren’t reading…?
American Idol ~ Land of the Free?
note: It was my intention to post all my Scripture stuff in one post… but I found it would be waaaayy too long for one post. So I again beg your patience as I post it in manageable chunks instead.
Freedom. We live in the land of the free, or at least we think we do. And as Christians, we are doubly free, right? We have Freedom in Christ! I see it proclaimed a lot. Mostly as a reason why it’s okay for Christian A to do something that Christian B is questioning. (would that make me Christian B?) The posts I’m about to write need some very fine line walking. As I said in my very first post in this series, it is not my intent to tell you what to do. I am not heading up to a wholesale ban on the box; I am not writing a new law. But what I am about to do is bring forth a lot of Scripture which, I firmly believe, demonstrates that television is not an innocent pastime or an issue on which Scripture does not speak.
As I studied what Scripture had to say on this matter, I knew that Freedom! would be the main counter to anything I might write. So let’s just deal with that first. What is Freedom, anyway? The reigning idea of freedom, especially in America, is that freedom is the ability to do what you want to do - Freedom means you can say “yes.” Sexual Freedom means being able to say yes whenever you want to whatever kind of behavior you want. Freedom of speech means being able to say anything you want. Freedom of religion means being able to worship anything you want. But I say unto you that Freedom is something else.
Freedom is the ability to say No.
Slaves have to say “Yes” to whatever they are told to do. Free people can say No.
With that said, let me say this:
My brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not free.
Romans 6:11-19 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and you members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin beacuse we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
We are all going to obey somebody. Before Christ set us free, we were slaves to sin, obeying its evil directives. We were not righteous, no not one. Now we have been set free! But free from what? Free to what? Free from sin. Free from the penalty of sin. Free from having to say “Yes” to sin. Now through Christ’s power, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, we can say No to sin. And saying No to sin is saying Yes to God. We are to be slaves to righteousness.
1 Peter 2:16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.
Look at that passage from Romans again. Check out this little bit… Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. Here’s another verse which goes along with that:
Colossians 3:5,6 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience.
Immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed…. Hm. Does that sound familiar? Pick a tv show, any tv show. Pick a commercial. Odds are you will see at least one of those qualities portrayed, maybe even all of them at once. But then, when we watch television, we’re not doing those things, we’re just watching them. But are we not then, at the very least, offering our eyes to unrighteousness? Isn’t the eye one of our members?
Proverbs 20:12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The LORD has made both of them.
What did Jesus say about just looking?
Matthew 5:28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin gouge it out and throw it away.
emphasis mine, of course
Jesus thought that what we looked on with our eyes was important. And I don’t think that this passage only applies to men, or only applies to sexual lust. To come back to a recurring theme, with my sincere apologies to myself and to all other P&P fans, when we ladies watch Pride and Prejudice over and over to ooh over Darcy… I have to think this Scripture applies. We may not be lusting physically, but whatever we are doing it is not 100% faithfulness to our husbands.
When we look on home makeovers, do we lust for them in our hearts? When we look on people winning fame and fortune, are we completely content with our portion? When we look on fictional people whose jobs, or romances, or bodies are so much more exciting than our own… Is there no sinful desire which flutters within our hearts? I can only speak for myself. Watching sin on television does not awaken within me pure thoughts and pure desires.
Did you ever notice that sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between an attack from Satan that is distracting you from doing what God wants you to do, or a move from the LORD to keep you from doing what you think He wants you to do?
Case in Point. I know that God wants me to write the series I’m writing. (though I can’t emphasize enough that I am not claiming Scripture-level inspiration/inerrancy for what I write!) I also know He wants me to be Mommy to my kids. Every time I have tried to sit down and write the post I think I’m supposed to write today, somebody starts fighting, crying, and/or getting injured…sometimes all at the same time! So… am I not supposed to write that post right now? Beats me! But I know I’m not supposed to ignore them… so today’s thoughts may have to wait awhile. (note - it’s easy to dash off a post like this one. The other’s take much more time and thought)
In the meantime, other conversations on the entertainment subject, some as responses or amplifications to my posts and some not, are popping up around the blogosphere.
The Deputy HeadMistress has a disturbing quote from Dr Karl Albrecht:
A number of investigations have shown that, after spending about 30 minutes or more staring into a television screen at typical programming material, a viewers’ brain is in a condition qualitatively similar to hypnosis… respiration and heartrate may decline…shifting attention to other events in the room requires an unwanted mental effort…
Plus more observations of her own about the box.
Spunky’s post for today offers some links to past posts she and her husband have written about the television. (plus other good links, as well!) I will be quoting her husband’s excellent article later in my series, but for now here’s an inspirational, motivational quote from Spunky’s article Don’t Control The Remote :
Now that my children have become young adults their time is so filled up with other things of greater interest and importance the TV is not even desired by them. They don’t rush to see the latest episode of some show. I don’t have to tell them NO you can’t watch that or no more TV today you’ve got to do your homework. The goals and desires that they have set for themselves have made TV a distraction not an attraction. The idea of wasting hours in front of the TV is ludicrous to them. They have higher standards to meet and higher goals to achieve.
Just this morning I had a comment from the MamaLion of ShadyBrook Acres. (I’m “meeting” so many great new-to-me blogs lately!) She clued me in on a conversation she and her girls recently had on entertainment. After providing a wonderful model for teaching discernment to her children, she had this to say:
Of course, some will argue that we have to live in this world and can not protect ourselves from seeing any evil. Of course, that is true. But I’m talking about what we choose to entertain ourselves with. This is about the choices we make. What do we want to fill our minds with?
All of these women are ones at whose feet I would happily sit. I can tell you that!
I’m sure there’s more. But I think I hear the magical sound of airborne crayons. I’ll be back later today, I hope, with my regularly scheduled programming.
As I’ve told you before, television and I used to have quite an intimate relationship. As a young Christian single with her own apartment, television was my ever-present roommate. I devoured reruns of sitcoms, and hung on every episode of the X-Files and NYPD Blue with baited breath. I once even hung up on my boyfriend (now husband, by the grace of God) because I had to watch Agent Fox Mulder doing his thing. “Why are you calling me now?!” I said to my sweetie, “Don’t you know it’s time for X-files? I’ll call you back in an hour!” After we got married, I was still hooked. Daytime soaps, night-time comedies… our marriage was a threesome of me, him, and the box. Then God told me point blank to quit watching soap operas. A few years after that, He zinged me with just a fraction of a verse.
Psalm 101:3a I will set no vile thing before my eyes…
Just nine words. Nine words which were sharper than a two-edged sword. To me, it seemed pretty clear. My husband and I started to steadily whittle down what we considered acceptable viewing. We tried, with imperfect success, not to watch anything that violated God’s Word. (Mostly we were left with Antiques Roadshow and sports) Sometimes we conveniently overlooked more infractions than others. But most of the time, that little snippet of a verse was our guideline. But what does vile mean? Perhaps it means different things to different people. Perhaps what is vile to me is not what is vile to you? Let’s take a look at it…
Vile, according to www.dictionary.com can mean:
Loathsome; disgusting
Unpleasant or objectionable
Contemptibly low in worth or account; second-rate.
Of mean or low condition.
Miserably poor and degrading;
Morally depraved; ignoble or wicked
Interesting. In the original Hebrew, the word was beliyaal, which means without profit, worthless, or wicked. It’s also connected with evil, naughty, and the ungodly.
Antonyms include words like admirable and pure.
So it seems to me that something which is vile is not pure.
We are called to purity, are we not?
1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart because they will see God.
How pure is pure enough? Is there such a thing as a little pure? I don’t know about you, but when I started working through these verses, a little voice inside me cried out, “But Lord, I don’t wanna be that pure!” (I don’t think that was the still small voice talking) Like it or not, Scripture is clear. God has called us to purity.
Titus 2:11, 12-14 For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and wordly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession zealous for good deeds.
James 1:21 Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted which is able to save your souls.
Denying ungodliness and wordly desires… Putting aside all filthiness… There isn’t much wiggle room there. But how about this one?
Ephesians 5:3,4 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
Ahem. So if I am to put no vile thing before my eyes, nor even name immorality… There’s not much left is there?
But as if that weren’t enough, just in the past year God showed me the second half of the verse. (I don’t know how I missed it the first time) The two of the one-two punch, you might say.
Psalm 101:3 I will set no vile thing before my eyes
I hate the work of those who fall away
It shall not fasten its grip on me.
Even if I can find a show which is not replete with impurities… Who made it? Do I really hate the work of those who fall away? Can I say with the Psalmist,
LORD, don’t I hate those who hate you and detest those who rebel against you?
I hate them with extreme hatred. Psalm 139:21,22
Or how about this word of wisdom from Proverbs?
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;
pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate.
Hate is almost a forbidden word anymore, isn’t it? A lot more forbidden than a lot of other words we hear on television. We’re supposed to hate the work of those who fall away, those who stand opposed to God’s word and God’s authority. And who makes up “those who fall away”?
Luke 11:23 He who is not with Me is against Me; and He who does not gather with Me scatters.
Do I hate the work of those who fall away? Or do I love it?
1 John 2:15,16 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world.
The lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life… Do I love it? How many times has the phrase, “Oh I love that show/movie!” come out of my mouth? Sigh. And if I don’t love it, do I perhaps envy it just a little? I mean really, that’s where the fun is - right? Friends may have been immoral, (may have been?!) but it was really, really funny. I love to laugh. (a post is fast forthcoming on that subject) Even after I gave it up… there was a wistful longing to partake. I wanted to be laughing along with everyone else.
Proverbs 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always.
Television is fun, there’s no denying it. But the fun is made by those who fall away and the happy pills are poisoned. (of course there are exceptions - like televised sermons for shut-ins. But I’m talking about the 99% that constitutes mainstream tv) Have you noticed that even the most innocuous of programs has a “Yeah But-” to it? Sesame Street, I learned my ABCs there. Yeah, Sesame Street is fun and happy and it has Elmo… But then it also has Rosie O’Donnell and Melissa Etheridge, and lots of lovely messages about how wonderful it is at daycare. And on the videos my kids learned little chants that involved gyrating their hips and singing about the “hot dog!”, and the wonders of meditation. (I am not kidding) Yeah, Between the Lions does a fabulous job of teaching phonics and it’s really cute, but it has Dr Ruth Westheimer. You can not tell me that these are innocent coincidences. These casting choices are the work of those who fall away and they have their reasons. Do I hate their work? Or do I just let my kids drink it in with that spoonful of puppet sugar?
Take a good hard look at your favorite shows. How much “Yeah-But”ing do you have to do? And are you doing it backwards? Yeah, I know it shows sex, and partial nudity, and graphic violence and all kinds of wickedness, But it is so exciting and the plot is really well done! Yeah, I know it has a lot of profanity, drunkenness, and disrespect for adult authority, but it’s so romantic and funny and no one had sex! (referring to one of my favorite movies 10 Things I Hate About You) Yeah, I know it shows a bunch of scantily clad women debasing themselves in order to catch the eligible guy, but it’s so romantic!
Yeah, television is funny, and exciting, and entertaining….
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Romans 13:14
American Idol~ Changing Channels
The DeputyHeadmistress over at the Common Room has been posting some pieces she wrote several years ago that dovetail beautifully with this series. Yesterday she wrote:
While staring at a television program or video, we *perceive* a continuously moving picture, like real life, but what’s really happening is thousands of tiny little squares are rearranging themselves to create the picture we think we see. One part of our brain actually recognizes this, but getting frustrated with the speed of the changes and the way they are made, actually just sort of turns itself off. Unfortunately, this is also the part we use when we are thinking critically, mulling something over before we accept it, and so we are left with the ‘emotional’ part of the thinking apparatus. I am *not* saying that we just blindly accept everything we see on television (although we all probably know somebody who does just this), but I am saying that we are more likely to be in a receptive mood to something portrayed on television, and the subtler the message, the more likely it finds its way into our minds and becomes part of our basic assumptions.
emphasis mine
Proverbs 26:22 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.
Television is a whisperer. Sometimes a really noisy one, but a whisperer nonetheless. As we sit in rapt attention, soothed by the flickering lights, amused by the clever writing, enthralled by the mysterious plot, what kind of messages are being whispered to our unguarded hearts and minds?
Oh, but we think we are protected. We had our quiet time in the morning, didn’t we? We read today’s chapter of Proverbs. And we have the Holy Spirit, right? And after all, we’re smart enough to recognize all the messages and not be affected by them, aren’t we?
Proverbs 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Scripture repeatedly exhorts us to be on our guard. Not just physically on guard, but spiritually and mentally on guard.
Proverbs 4:23-26 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious speech far from you.
Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
Watch the paths of your feet
And all your ways will be established.
Have you been guarding your spring? Is the water pure? What kind of speech have you been listening to? Where have you fixed your eyes? I know that, in days past, mine have not always been fixed on Jesus, not even most of the time. Perhaps that 15 minutes, or 30 minutes in the morning with my Bible… But what about the rest of the day? What about the evening hours when the kids are in bed and the dvds come out? Are my eyes fixed on Him then?
Hebrews 12:1b-2a …let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…
Have you been feeling encumbered? Weighed down? Entangled? I know I have. Like a lot of women, like a lot of people, I struggle with depression and feelings of failure and frustration. I know Romans 8:15 all too well…
For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
Now obviously, Paul didn’t have television. So I can’t blame all of that struggling on the box. Even without its influence, I will still be made of flesh. But… I have a suspicion that television is making things worse for many struggling saints.
The Bible teaches that the company we keep has an influence on our ability to discern truth. How many of us have diligently taught our children 1 Corinthians 15:33?
Do not be deceived, “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
Or how about this Proverb…
Proverbs 14:7 Leave the presence of a fool, or you will not discern knowledge.
How many television shows have us keeping bad company, or delighting in the speech of fools? Scripture says that “hanging out” with people such as these will harm our judgment. If we say that we are too wise to be affected, are we not already deceived? What whisperings are slipping past our weakened filters to mingle with the truths that we hold dear? What principles are we using for our day to day decision making that have not been imbibed from the pure water of Scripture, but rather steadily sipped from the tainted fount of entertainment?
Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
There is no denying that we are living in deceptive times. Many people, including myself, think that we are living in the last days…
1 Timothy 3:1-5 But realize this , that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
Here’s a little game for you. Go through the above passage and see if you can pick a show or genre to match each word. I’ll get you started: Lovers of self, how about all the makeover shows? Lovers of money, game shows and reality shows. Disobedient to parents, any show marketed to young people. You can find shows, and movies, and even performers to match each one… And how about this “holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power”? Just last night on Lost, a show which I’ve heard has spiritual themes(I’ve never seen it) this took place:
Tonight’s show had a strong baptism theme running through it. Unfortunately, Mr. Eko, the priest, launched into a discourse on baptism in which he claimed that John’s baptism cleansed Jesus “from all his sins”.
Denying Christ’s sinlessness definitely falls under the category of a form of godliness with no power, don’t you think?
But the part of that passage from Timothy which really struck me to the heart was not any fragment which I could use to condemn any particular tv show, it was the part which condemned me. Lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God. Oh how I love pleasure. I love fun. I love laughter. My live-in-person friends can testify, the word “kill-joy” is one that cannot be applied to me. I am the one who says, “Forget your housework - let’s have some fun!” I regularly call my local friends and say, “You need a break. Come play with me!!” If I didn’t love pleasure so much, you wouldn’t see post after post from me about my time management and housekeeping problems. I love pleasure. Why do I want to watch the same movies over and over again? Because I love pleasure. Why do I balk at turning off this brain-wave altering, world-view changing source of the world’s offerings? Because I love pleasure.
Now stay with me here, because this is where I think things get really exciting…
Look at the verses which come next in that passage…
2 Timothy 3:6,7 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
I always used to picture oily salesmen when I read this verse. But working through this series, I got popped between the eyes. We don’t have to let these people in through the front door anymore. They’re already in our living rooms, pouring steadily forth through that unblinking eye.
I’m going to be really honest here. That last phrase, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, has always made me nervous. I am always learning. I read and I read and I study and I study. People at church have complimented me on my knowledge - and I always squirmed because I knew that it was only head knowledge. If I really knew what I was talking about, I’d be more free. I wouldn’t be so weighed down by my personal pet sins, I’d be able to change… Philippians 4:13, right? And yet, I do have knowledge of the truth. I know my Bible and that’s truth. But a few days ago, I finally got it. There’s more than one meaning of the word know. There’s knowing truth intellectually, and then there’s knowing truth experientially.
John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
Remember a few days ago when I wrote about Freedom? Freedom to say No to sin and Freedom to say Yes to God? Could it be that the reason I don’t really experience that freedom, the reason I am so weak to obey Scripture and be zealous for good works is because I have been captivated by the electronic whisperer in my house?
What can God do with me, what will He do in me, if I give Him my full attention? It’s scary. But it’s kind of exciting too! I feel like I’ve been dreaming for a long time and I’m starting to wake up…
In the posts I have written, I have referred three times to the effects that television has on the brain. I referenced it here when I said:
I read an article a few years back, probably in Reader’s Digest since that’s where I get a lot of my more random knowledge, about changes in television over the years. Specifically they discussed how much faster the scene changes than it used to. Pick whatever modern show you want and pay attention to how many times the shot changes. Flick. Flick. Flick. It’s rapid fire!! What they found was that watching all those rapid jumps of focus causes changes in the neurological structure of the brain. Obviously, the youth are particularly susceptible due to the plasiticity of their still developing brains. Once the brain becomes accustomed to all that hyperactivity, guess what happens? Well, duh. It becomes harder and harder to have a prolonged attention span, especially to anything that is less stimulating.
I referenced it here when I linked to The Common Room and quoted this:
A number of investigations have shown that, after spending about 30 minutes or more staring into a television screen at typical programming material, a viewers’ brain is in a condition qualitatively similar to hypnosis… respiration and heartrate may decline…shifting attention to other events in the room requires an unwanted mental effort…- Dr. Karl Albrecht
And I referenced it here when I linked The Common Room again and quoted this:
…our brain actually recognizes this, but getting frustrated with the speed of the changes and the way they are made, actually just sort of turns itself off. Unfortunately, this is also the part we use when we are thinking critically, mulling something over before we accept it, and so we are left with the ‘emotional’ part of the thinking apparatus. I am *not* saying that we just blindly accept everything we see on television (although we all probably know somebody who does just this), but I am saying that we are more likely to be in a receptive mood to something portrayed on television, and the subtler the message, the more likely it finds its way into our minds and becomes part of our basic assumptions.
I’m repeating it because I can’t think of one commenter who responded to these particular points.
Stop and Think About This For A Minute or Two.
Television. Alters. Your. Brain. Waves.
Doesn’t that seem somewhat important to anyone besides me? There have been plenty of studies. There are books you can get if you’re interested, the DHM at The Common Room gives the titles both on her site and in the comment thread here.
Now listen to me, because I really think I’m on to something here. A.D.D. is on the rise. Autism, on the rise. Depression is a huge problem…. All of America spends hours and hours staring at a device which impacts the brain waves. Doesn’t anyone think there might, just might, be a connection???
Well obviously, I do.
I’m not a scientist. I don’t have empirical proof. But something happened yesterday which makes me cry every time I tell anyone about it. Something which has made friends and family gasp and say “Really?!”
Yesterday, my son Andrew told me something which had happened in the past for the very first time. He told me about falling down at AWANA on Wednesday night and getting hurt and that his daddy had comforted him.
Big deal. Right?
Very, very big deal. I’ve picked up a lot of new readers lately, so you don’t know about Andrew. Andrew has Asperger Syndrome, which is a mild form of autism. It mainly impacts his communication skills and his emotions. He is very smart. He is very gifted. But don’t try to have a real conversation with him or you’re going to get confused. (you can read more about his issues here and here if you’re interested) Normally, if you ask him “What did you do at church today?” or “What did we do today, Andrew?” you’ll get an answer that makes no sense whatsoever. Something like, “I like LarryBoy. Ummm. I like to drum” Or the conversational equivalent of “The chicken flies at midnight, banana banana.”
We’ve tried speech therapy. It didn’t go well, though we may try again some other time. We’ve had it insinuated that his real problem was a lack of socialization - translation= put him in school right now!. (an interesting article about Aspergers and Socialization can be found here) Nobody ever suggested turning off the brainwave-changing television.
Perhaps it’s only a coincidence that he had this gigantic breakthrough during a week when the box was almost completely shut down. But what if it isn’t? What if I just accidentally discovered a way to help kids with these issues?! So many people with A.D.D. kids use television and video games as the reward to motivate the kids for staying on task. (do your work, get check marks, earn time on the box!) What if they’re unknowingly giving their children more hair of the dog that bit?!
Doesn’t it kind of make sense that something which can alter the brain’s function and even change its wiring just might not be the best thing for children? (or adults either for that matter. Or are you already as smart and able to concentrate as you want to be?)
Oh - and I meant to tell you a little hand-of-God story. That Reader’s Digest article I mentioned above… I read that when Andrew was a baby. Right after that we went to the store to buy him a baby gym. Babies need their workouts, don’tcha know. There weren’t many choices, and all of them were interactive. (such a good sounding word, isn’t it?) Not realizing that I had the gift of prophecy(joke!), I picked the one which looked like a piano. We brought it home and started to assemble it… And then I took a closer look at this appealingly colored electronic monstrosity. Flashing lights adorned every possible surface. When the baby moved a piece, lively pieces of synthesized music would bathe his tiny ears. It was a stimulation smorgasbord! And I thought back to that article I had read. I thought about this little baby and his developing brain. I thought that if all that flickering on a television screen could alter how our brains process, what would all those flashing lights do to my two month old?! We took it back. Since you can’t buy a baby gym without all that ummm- stuff anymore, I picked an old one up at a yard sale for less than a buck. No lights. No sounds. He liked it just fine. I can’t help but wonder how much worse Andrew’s handicaps might be had God not led me to that article and that thought at that time.
American Idol ~ Thirst Quencher
When I was younger, I was a serious Diet Pepsi freak. I guzzled the stuff! I had always been hooked on Pepsi, but of course calories were an issue. So I worked really hard to cultivate a taste for the guilt-free equivalent. I don’t remember how many a day I would drink, but I’m sure it was more than one or two. Then came that fateful day in Psych 101. The teacher told us an interesting story about Nutrasweet. Nutrasweet, she said, is similar in chemical make-up to the precursor for the neurotransmitter serotonin. Consume too much Nutrasweet, and your body is fooled into thinking that you have enough serotonin and stops making it, which can lead to depression, insomnia and other problems. I struggled with depression and insomnia, so I quit drinking diet sodas immediately. I figured real sugar was the lesser of two evils!
sidenote: this info may be true, may be urban legend. I googled it and it was hard to tell. But the analogy holds, so stick with me!
The facts about soda, diet or not, are undeniable. It has little to no nutritional value, and significant potential for harm to the body (bad for teeth, bad for weight, loaded with chemicals, not hydrating…) But it tastes good! We drink it anyway.
Soda will give the illusion of refreshment, but not only does it not satisfy your thirst, in many cases it contributes to dehydration! “But there’s water in soda!” some might say in defense of this tasty treat. Yup. There is some water in there. But it is so laden down with other things that it has lost almost all its power to nourish. Most of us know that if you’re really thirsty, you don’t need soda - you need water.
Television is a lot like a soda. We know it’s loaded with things that may harm us. We know it’s replete with immoralities, deceptions, anti-Christian philosophies, and useless frivolities… But it tastes good!! And after all, there’s some good in those shows somewhere, right? A heroic character here, a fragment of spirituality there, some good laughs… Yeah, television might not be the best refreshment for the soul, but there’s some water in there somewhere, right?
Right.
All truth comes from God. Anything in this world, no matter how wicked, can still have a shred of truth in it somewhere. I’d even go so far as to say it’s impossible to make something that is 100% devoid of truth. If you look really hard, you can glean a lesson or make a moral out of any situation. And starving people can make a meal out of cardboard and boiled shoe-leather too, but it doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
During this series, I’ve frequently been asked to deal with the “redemptive themes” in television and movies. Alrighty then. Let’s deal with them.
First of all, what does the word redemptive mean? Well, of course it’s an adjective relating to redemption. So let’s look at redemption.
re·demp·tion n.
-The act of redeeming or the condition of having been redeemed.
-Recovery of something pawned or mortgaged.
-The payment of an obligation, as a government’s payment of the value of its bonds.
-Deliverance upon payment of ransom; rescue.
-Christianity. Salvation from sin through Jesus’s sacrifice.
Redemption in this sense is total. Therefore for a movie or television to have a “redemptive theme”, the message would have to completely justify whatever content was used in the story-telling. Or to put it another way, the end completely and totally justifies the means. I submit that there is no piece of modern mainstream film-making that meets this definition of redemptive.
But I suspect that when people speak of a show having a redemptive theme, what they really mean is that there are redeeming qualities. Of the nine definitions for redeem listed on dictionary.com, most are still in terms of total redemption. But there is one, #8, which can somewhat apply.
Redeem: to make up for
Another word might be offset. If we can learn something new about humanity, something which carries over to our ability to relate to people or our ability to evangelize, does this offset the detriments of the film we watched to gain said knowledge? Totally offset? I say No. Slightly offset? Maybe. Just like the water in a soda may slightly offset all the health hazards of drinking it.
Some might use, have used, Philippians 4:8 in this manner.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
To me, using this verse in that manner about television is like saying “I’m going to eat mega-sized Whopper meals from Burger King, but I’m only going to keep the vitamins.” I can say it…I can dwell on it…but check my waistline and see if it works! If you gain knowledge from television, experiential knowledge as one commenter has said, then you can’t cherry-pick what knowledge you are gaining. Yes, you may get a few tidbits about human nature or modern thought, but you also are gaining more and more knowledge of sin itself. Knowledge we are entreated in Scripture to avoid.
1 Corinthians 14:20 Brethren do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
And there is another danger of drinking from the world’s soda fountain. Just like soda, television falsely satisfies a legitimate craving. When we are thirsty, the body is signalling a need; We need water to function properly. We have other needs too - legitimate needs for relationships, for rest and relaxation, for education. God has given us a thirst for these things. But television is nothing but a numbing cheat. Just like the Nutrasweet analogy, when we turn to television for our needs, we get something which fools us into thinking we don’t have a need anymore. We get something which tastes great(if you’re accustomed to it, that is), but is not filling at all. We are lonely, and television is there for us. But we are only anesthetized, not satisfied. We need rest, but television is not restful. We need knowledge, but the knowledge from film is scanty and spoiled. Like junk food, like soda, television is tasty and dulls our appetite for real food and drink.
Television reminds me of another beverage too….
Proverbs 23:31-35 Don’t gaze at wine when it is red, when it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly, In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say absurd things. You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast. “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I didn’t know it! When will I wake up? I’ll look for another drink.”
We experience things when we watch television. That’s why we like it! Let me once again point out that television affects our brain waves. The data shows that when watching television, the brain enters a state similar to being drugged or hypnotized. Back in this post, I talked about all the fakeries of television. The manipulative impacts of visual imagery, well-acted dialogue, and affecting music combine to give us powerful vicarious experiences. We don’t feel the violence. We don’t feel the s*x. We don’t feel the romance. And yet in a way, we do. That’s why we watch. We leave our ordinary day-to-day for a virtual vacation in a more interesting life.
Jesus came to give us life…abundant life. But we don’t think that the life we’ve been given is enough do we? Have you noticed that we’ve become allergic to boredom? Boredom is a built in part of life… It’s kind of like pain. Pain is a motivator. Pain shows you that something has gone wrong - either phyiscally or emotionally - and you need to take steps to fix it. Boredom does that too. Boredom can motivate you to action, mental and physical. My mom was telling me that she and her brother used to get soooooo bored in the summer. They couldn’t wait for school to start! Sometimes they would even get so bored they would go and work just to have something to do! (unthinkable!) But you see, they didn’t have a television. She knew people who did though. And she thought the children in those houses were weird because they didn’t ever want to do anything but watch television. Sound familiar?
People used to sit outside on their front porches in the evenings, or go for walks. Where have all the front porches gone? We don’t need them anymore. We don’t need our neighbors anymore. Our need for human contact has disappeared; we’re satisfying it with the much more interesting people on the box.
God made us with needs. God made sources for those needs to be satisfied. He wanted us to be active and productive and interested in life and in Him and in each other. But we’ve become dull and listless, semi-satiated and drunk with the false experiences from the plug-in drug. Why aren’t we satisfied with the good things which come from His hand? Because we’ve acquired a taste for strange food and drink.
Proverbs 30:7-9 Two things I ask of You;
don’t deny them to me before I die:
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.
Otherwise, I might have too much and deny You, saying “Who is the Lord?”
John 4:13,14 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
Those of you who have just started reading my blog in the last two weeks may be surprised to find out that I am supposed to be rather amusing. No really! I am! I write loony poetry. I love puns. I make my friends laugh, and I laugh a lot at myself and my friends! (I don’t think they mind) If you don’t believe me, read this, or this, or this. Laughter is really important to me. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the hardest things about foregoing mainstream television (and most movies) was giving up all the laughs. I thought Friends was funny. I thought Ally McBeal was funny. I thought Wayne’s World was really funny and used to own a copy. I can recite entire passages of Monty Python… Yup. I stand convicted. To laughter, I’m addicted.
I know I’m not alone.
And I know that for a lot of people, the main argument that forms in their minds at the thought of not watching television and movies is some permutation of “But I need to laugh sometimes! God wants us to have fun, doesn’t He?” Am I wrong about that? Am I the only one who put television in the category of rest and relaxation and called it a blessing?
Of course, there are some problems with that. First of all, I’ve already written here that television isn’t actually all that restful. If you really need rest, you’re better off sleeping. If you need relaxation… how about reading Psalms? 
Doesn’t sound like fun, though, does it? I’ll deal with the concept of fun more later… But for now, I just want to look at laughter.
To prepare for this post, I first checked my concordance for all the verses on laughter. There are about forty. Forty is a teeny, tiny percentage of the Bible. Of those forty, only nine were remotely positive. By positive, I mean referring to laughter in a positive way. Verses like Sarah naming her child of the promise “Laughter” and exulting,
God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me. Genesis 21:6
The other thirty-one verses about laughter were more along the lines of “Turn your laughter into mourning”, “I will laugh when your calamity comes upon you”, and words from Christ like this:
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Luke 6:21
Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep Luke 6:25
Yikes! Doesn’t exactly sound like we’re supposed to be spending our days at the comedy club, does it? Now stay with me, because this is a hard post to write. But I’ve been thinking a lot about laughter, and as much as I love it, and as much as it is an integral part of my character, I think perhaps we place too much stock in it. Scripture has much to say about our being filled with joy, but it really doesn’t say much about our being amused. I’ve heard people speculate before about whether or not Jesus laughed. The Bible tells us He wept, but it never says He laughed. I want to believe that He did, perhaps when talking with small children… But we really don’t know, do we? There is one assertion, however, that I can make with one hundred percent confidence: Jesus never laughed at sin. I just can’t believe that He ever would find sin humorous, can you? The Bible shows God (in all forms of the Trinity) being grieved at sin,and angered by sin, but never shows us God amused by sin. It’s inconceivable.
Sin is too serious a subject for laughter. Sin brings death and destruction. Sin brings pain and suffering. Sin broke fellowship between God and His created people. Sin was paid for by Jesus’s suffering on the cross. Sin is ugly and corrosive and enslaving and repulsive and vile… Or at least it ought to be. But on television, sin is just so fun, isn’t it? The pain and destruction of sinful behavior is rarely shown, and if it is, somehow it’s still comical - as long as it’s written well.
Laughter has a peculiar power to break down barriers. In his classic, The Screwtape Letters (correspondence from a senior demon to a junior about strategies for tempting and misdirecting humans) C.S. Lewis wrote about a young Christian man who had started spending time with non-Christian friends. Uncle Screwtape asks,
Did he commit himself deeply? I don’t mean in words. There is a subtle play of looks and tones and laughs by which a mortal can imply that he is of the same party as those to whom he is speaking. That is the kind of betrayal you should specially encourage, because the man does not fully realize it himself; and by the time he does you will have made withdrawal difficult.
A betrayal. Think about that. We are betraying God when we laugh at immorality. Why? Because laughter in some way, constitutes approval. I’ve always loved that line from Rich Mullins’ song We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are:
And if you make me laugh
I know I could make you like me
‘Cause when I laugh I can be a lot of fun
When people don’t find me funny, I get really nervous because, to me, that means they don’t like me. When someone says, “You’re hysterical!” or “You’re crazy!” with a chuckle, I breathe an inner sigh of relief. And it’s not just being funny that makes us likable, it’s laughing with others. Have you ever experienced the awful pressure of knowing you shouldn’t laugh, knowing you should even perhaps call someone on their tasteless jokes, and hating the thought of being called a kill-joy, or a prude, or a stick-in-the-mud? I have. To be thought to have a deficient sense of humor… Oh! It’s a horrible thought! (it’s actually made this series very hard for me to write- because it’s NOT funny)
In another letter to Wormwood, Screwtape delves more fully into the different types of laughter and their uses…
The real use of Jokes or Humour is in quite a different direction, and it is specially promising among the English who take their “sense of humour” so seriously that a deficiency in this sense is almost the only deficiency at which they feel shame. Humour is for them the all-consoling and (mark this) the all-excusing, grace of life. Hence it is invaluable as a means of destroying shame. […] Mere cowardice is shameful; cowardice boasted of with humourous exaggerations and grotesque gestures can be passed off as funny. Cruelty is shameful - unless the cruel man can represent it as a practical joke. […] But flippancy is the best of all. In the first place it is very economical. Only a clever human can make a real Joke about virtue, or indeed about anything else; any of them can be trained to talk as if virtue were funny.
I find much in this passage about which to hang my head. I am one of those people to whom humor is one of the highest attainable virtues. And I am also one of those people who has learned to make my flaws funny. One of my dear friends has a quote from me written down, she thought it was hysterical. In the midst of a conversation, I said, “I don’t mean to sound snobby - but I am!” She laughed, I laughed, and I went on with whatever I was yammering about. We have been well-trained that to be funny is to be well-liked and that to be virtuous and content is not funny. I find this one phrase, it is invaluable as a means of destroying shame, particularly telling. As my favorite pastor says, we have become a nation of unblushables. Why would we blush at sin anymore? We see it and laugh at it all the time. Laughter doesn’t just constitute approval… it diminishes importance. What do we mean when we say something is “no laughing matter”? We mean it’s important, of course!
I’m not saying we should be dull and humorless, far from it! But if our hearts are broken by the things which break the heart of God, we will not laugh at sin and we won’t find it entertaining. But what kind of laughter will we have? The laughter which comes from rejoicing in the good gifts we’ve been given. The kind of laughter which carries no sour aftertaste of dirtiness or guilt. The laughter which bubbles up from a heart full of joy!
Screwtape had this to say about the laughter of joy…
You will see the first among friends and lovers reunited on the eve of a holiday. Among adults some pretext in the way of Jokes is usually provided, but the facility with which the smallest witticisms produce laughter at such a time shows that they are not the real cause.[…] Laughter of this kind does us no good and should always be discouraged.
I don’t know about you, but the best laughs I’ve ever had were never at a television screen. The best laughs I’ve ever had were in the company of my family and friends. I can laugh myself sick when talking with my brother. My husband and I routinely crack each other up with goofy stuff that no one understands but us. And if you can’t find something to laugh about with your kids (or someone else’s), you’ve got a real problem. Kids are really funny!
We do get to laugh while we’re here on this Earth. But there aren’t nearly as many things to laugh at as we think there are. We’re in the middle of a war here. We’re surrounded by suffering people in a world which groans from sin. There are a lot of things to be heart-broken about. Instead of diffusing the pain by laughing at things which are not funny to a holy God, we need to allow our brokenness to drive us to Him in prayer -and to the world in service. It doesn’t sound like much fun, I’ll grant you. But this world is not our home, we’re just passing through. We will have an eternity with Christ to be filled with joy unimaginable… or as we are promised in Job 8:20-22:
Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity,
Nor will He support the evildoers.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
And your lips with shouting.
Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
And the tent of the wicked will be no longer.
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art -
Thou my best thought, by day or by night.
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Psalm 63:1-2 God, You are my God;
I earnestly seek You.
I thirst for You;
my body faints for You
in a land that is dry, desolate,
and without water,
So I gaze on You in the sanctuary to see
Your strength and Your glory.
Where is your gaze? Where do you long to set your eyes? When trouble comes upon you where do you run? When there’s cause to celebrate, what do you do? When you’re tired and fretful, or bored and forgetful, what do you choose to look upon?
We want to have fun. We think we’re entitled to fun. Pain and boredom are just not the American way! So what do we do? Up until these last few weeks, I know what I did… And by now you know exactly what I’m going to say. I turned on the television.
The children gone to bed, my husband and I would look at each other and do the whole “Whadya wanna do?” thing. More often than not, the answer would be a light sigh and “Oh, let’s watch something” and on would go our favorite DVD’s. (I’ve listed them before, don’t need to do it again) I could be sick, and tired, and feeling sorry for myself. Solution? Pull out a Jane Austen movie and be comforted. Time for a happy moment? We want to “have some fun”? Best answer… Rent a movie and get some junk food! Lonely because my husband has gone off to do what Marines do? It’s chick flick time, baby!! Once again, perhaps I’m the only one who has been conditioned this way… But I doubt it. Television is making too much money for it to be just me.
We want to have fun. Work is work. Bible study is work. Reading serious books is work. Television is play. And oh how we love to play.
But here’s a shocker for you… God’s Word is supposed to be fun! Check this out:
Proverbs 2:10 For wisdom will enter your mind and knowledge will delight your heart.
Psalm 1:1-2 How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers; Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.
Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.
emphasis mine, of course
God’s word is supposed to be yummy!! Sweet like honey and filling to the tummy! But do we really delight in it? Or is it just a breakfast of dry toast that we methodically gnaw on until we can get on with the fun stuff of life? (or is it a vitamin we only get on Sundays?) Can we honestly say with the Psalmist,
How I love your teaching!
It is my meditation all day long. Psalm 119:97
I couldn’t always say that. And I’m sure I will slip back down into the valley at some point and again feel like God’s Word is dry bread… Oh I hate that! But right now, I can honestly tell you that I am finding God’s Word really fun! I have had a blast preparing for these posts…. Even when I was finding verses that were convicting, even when I was listening to a sermon that made me weep at my own sin and the sin of my country, even when I have been sorely missing my movies… I have been having good, clean fun!! Studying God’s Word is amazingly, surprisingly, delightfully FUN.
Ah yes, Blestwithsons, you might say, but you have always loved reading and learning. Truthfully BWS, you are a nerd. (funny that we have lots of negative words for people who like to learn, isn’t it? We don’t have nearly as many calumnies for those who love pleasure) Yup. There’s no denying it. I am, indeed, a nerd. But show me in God’s word where there are distinctions of who is and who is not supposed to enjoy learning the law?
Early last month I wrote this post about all the benefits which come from memorizing Scripture. Go read it if you missed it, or read it again if you saw it and didn’t get excited. Or better yet, don’t read it and just read Psalm 19 and Psalm 119! God’s word is a source - the source- of light and wisdom and joy and solace and rest and life and, and, and….
With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are to be training our brains to heavenly wisdom.
Colossians 3:1-2 Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.
1 Timothy 2:15-16 Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness.
James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
Look, we can quibble all day long about whether or not there are grains of truth in television shows and movies. But can any one argue that we’re not better off getting our brain food and soul food from the bread which comes from above?
Matthew 4:4 But He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
(You know, I’m convinced that one of the reasons God made us with the need to eat is because it yields so many good analogies!)
A few years ago, I completely removed sugar from diet. No small thing for a Pepsi junkie, I assure you. I was scrupulous about it - even down to scrutinizing the labels on ketchup and canned soup. (they put sugar in everything, did you know that?) After a few weeks, I found that I didn’t even want it anymore. I felt better, weight was falling off of me. (and no - I wasn’t doing the low carb thing - just no sugar) My taste for wholesome foods was growing apace. But eventually I caved for some stupid reason. I let the sodas and the occasional piece of chocolate creep back in… I didn’t want to be that “good” anymore. Of course, I had to reacquire my ability to devour the stuff. When you bring back junk after you’ve been avoiding it, it makes you feel just sick.
The same happens with worldly entertainment. If we remove it from our diets, will we not feel better, see more clearly, and begin to crave more wholesome fare?
Anecdote… As I said before, my husband and I decided a few years back to try to avoid any show or movie which went against God’s Word. Well, back in the Fall we made an exception. My husband had never seen A Fish Called Wanda, and that movie has such a fond place in my family’s memories as being hysterically funny, that we sat him down and made him watch it. I remembered some of the profanities. I remembered some of the s*xual situations… But I did not remember exactly how replete with filth that movie is. Yes, some of the lines still caused me to chuckle… but most of the time I was squirming and focusing my attention on my jewelry making. My husband did not laugh once. He had no fond memories to cling to, you see. His vision was totally clear. He did not find it amusing. (and he has a great sense of humor, by the way) Had we watched it several years ago, before we had “purified our vision” so to speak… He probably would have found it much funnier.
You see, it’s all about cultivating a taste. Am I hungry for God’s word? Do I love to be with God’s people? Can I discuss the latest truth I found in Scripture with as much vigor as the liberties taken in the newPride and Prejudice movie or the heinous errors made by Peter Jackson in The Lord of the Rings? (Feel free to substitute the titles of your favorite show, of course)
Where is my vision? What am I looking at? Am I more likely to become more Christ-like by gazing upon Him and His Word? (He is the Word, remember?) Or will I be transformed by gazing upon what the world has to offer?
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of His glory and grace
You know what’s wrong with most movies and television anymore? It’s all the same. Same plots, same characters, same resolutions… In many cases it’s even the same name - just a different city! We all know it. Anytime there is a successful show, Behold the March of the Derivatives! Every once in awhile there will be something fresh, something different… and if it’s good, the viewers will come in droves. (and so will another flock of copycats)
You know what’s wrong with most people and, indeed, most Christians today? We’re all the same. Same ideas, same lives, same hobbies, same speech, same problems, same solutions… We’re all so afraid of offending anyone. So afraid of being pointed at or mocked. So afraid of being weird.
I’ve heard that in comments about homeschooling. Aren’t you afraid your children will be weird? About not watching television. Kids who don’t watch tv are weird. It even crops up in discussions of evangelism… I keep thinking of the phrase “Engage the Culture” which seems to me to mean “Be as much like the unsaved as possible so they won’t be freaked out.” Or rather, so they won’t think Christians are weird.
I have to tell you, my brothers and sisters, we are called to be weird. Call it different, call it unique, call it special… Pick whatever word makes you comfortable, just as long as you understand that we Christians are not supposed to be like everybody else. Personally, I like the word in this verse…
Deuteronomy 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
Peculiar. It has a neat ring to it, doesn’t it? In the Hebrew the word literally meant “to shut up” as in to enclose. The analogy is to a special jewel that is set apart, enclosed and protected. Immediately my mind jumps to this quote from C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength:
for when a thing is enclosed, the mind does not willingly regard it as common
We are not to be a common people.
Sometimes I think that the modern Christian, instead of being a completely new creation, is more like Carnal Man 2.0 - now enhanced with Salvation Special Features! We don’t want to be different. We don’t want to tell anyone they need to be different. After all, that might offend. But we were actually told by Jesus that we would offend, indeed that we should offend:
Matthew 5:11 Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
One of the arguments I have seen for our need for television is that watching the current entertainment offerings will enhance our ability to evangelize. We can “speak the language”, so to speak, of the people around us. (note - I haven’t seen that said here so much as in discussions on other sites) “Jesus walked and ate with sinners!” is something of a rallying cry for this point of view. And yes, Jesus did walk and eat with sinners. But I went and looked at the Gospels again, and I saw something I had never noticed before. Jesus ate with the sinners who came to Him. He didn’t go, uninvited, to where they were and pull a chair up at their tables. Look at this:
Matthew 9:9-12 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.
The tax collectors and sinners came to Jesus. He didn’t go hang out with them while they sinned and gaze at them lovingly until they said, “Hey, why are you so nice?” He was Himself. He was dramatically different. And that difference drew people who wanted to be different.
It was difference that drew me. When I came to know Christ, I wasn’t in such a bad place, or at least I didn’t think I was. I was working in a decent job, I had a boyfriend, I had an apartment, and I had cable television and a VCR… What more could a 21 year old want? But at my job I was literally surrounded by Christians. These ladies were not aggressive. They were not harsh with me or what you would call “judgmental”. But they were definitely different. They didn’t agree with the choices I was making and they lovingly entreated me to choose differently. I didn’t listen, of course. But one summer’s day, the co-worker who was near my age (the others were nearer my mom’s age) asked me if I wanted to go tubing with her church singles’ group. I didn’t want anything to do with church, but I loved tubing! So I agreed to go. I remember the day. I remember floating down the river and enjoying the sunshine flickering through the trees. And mostly, I remember how much fun those people were! I don’t remember being “witnessed to” or preached at. I honestly don’t think it came up. These young men and women were just out to have some good wholesome fun and I was welcome to have fun with them. And of course, they talked of the things of the Lord amongst themselves, neither excluding me, nor forcing me to join. It was all very normal and natural. The whole day just had a cleanness and a sparkle that was wonderfully refreshing. What I walked away thinking, more than anything else, was that these people were different and I wanted what they had.
If you think about it, that is how Jesus was. I’ve heard people say that if Jesus were here now He would be down in the bars or the clubs reaching out to people… I don’t think He would be. I think He’d be outside, in the fresh air, away from the noise and flickering images that make it so hard to hear and to think and to feel for yourself. I think He would be busy being Himself and, like a magnet, would draw those who wanted something different.
What would Christians be like if we were not afraid to be different? What if we did turn off our televisions and toss away our cinema schedules and go outside in the sunshine? What if your family was the one that people could point to and say “Boy, they sure know how to have fun!” What if, when someone asked you “Oh man! Did you see last night’s ______?!” You could smile and say, “Oh no, I was busy playing Monopoly with my kids. We had such a great time!” Wouldn’t that make people wonder? What if you missed the big game because you were having so much fun with your church family at a park? What if you were just too busy enjoying life to go see the latest hot movie? What if you missed the series finale because you were wooing your husband or wife? Do you really think that would turn non-believers off? Or would it make them think you were weird…and perhaps start envying your weirdness?
What does it mean to be salty? It means to be something other that the reigning flavor. When your soup is bland, you don’t toss in more of the same - more blandness. You add salt. We’ve lost our saltiness. We want to be the same as the world - just the sanctified version. We do the same stuff and we watch the same stuff. We’re even trying to make the same stuff, but just clean it up a little. ”You can still have all that,” is our message, “but you can add Jesus to it and won’t that be better?” The world, quite rightly, shrugs it’s shoulders. Why go to the trouble of getting up early on Sunday morning if there’s no real difference? What is there in us that is so different that anyone would be driven to discover its cause?
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;
Dull as dirt,
You can’t assert,
The kind of light that might persuade a strict dictator to retire,
Fire the army, teach the poor origami.
The truth is in,
The proof is when,
You hear your heart start asking,
“What’s my motivation?”Try as you may,
There isn’t a way,
To explain the kind of change,
That would make an Eskimo renounce fur,
That would make a vegetarian barbecue hamster.
Unless you can trace this about-face,
To a certain sign…Shine,
Make ‘em wonder what you’ve got,
Make ‘em wish that they were not,
On the outside looking bored!
Shine
Let it shine before all men,
Let ‘em see good works, and then,
Let ‘em glorify the Lord!Out of the shaker and onto the plate,
It isn’t Karma,
It sure ain’t fate,
That would make a Deadhead sell his van,
That would make a schizophrenic turn in his crayons.
Oprah freaks,
And science seeks a rationale,
That shall excuse this strange behavior.When you let it shine,
You will inspire,
The kind of entire turn around,
That would make a bouncer take ballet,
(Even bouncers who aren’t happy)…
But out of the glare,
With nowhere to turn,
You ain’t gonna learn it on “What’s My Line?”..…SHINE…. -The Newsboys
I’ve been thinking all weekend about how I wanted to wrap up this whole American Idol Series… Actually, I’ve been thinking about how to end it since I began it. I have so much left to say, but I really feel it’s time to wrap it up. (though I don’t promise not to revisit it sometime!)
I promised over and over again that I wasn’t leading up to telling everyone to smash their televisions. And I’m really not, though it isn’t such a bad idea. But my brother keeps telling me that, although I refuse to say it, I’m certainly implying that television watching is a big whopping no-no. (my words - not his) So what do I really think about television. How do I bottom line it all?
Well. I think that television is the mouthpiece, the flapping garrulous tongue, of our culture. And like all tongues, it is a restless evil full of deadly poison. I think it’s poison. I really do. Or at least a dangerous intoxicant. I think that television (or rather, our love of television) is responsible, fully or partly, for more problems than we can even imagine. I think that it may have started out somewhat innocently as a purveyor of information and wholesome entertainment… but has degenerated past reclamation.
Let’s put it this way. I’m the prosecutor and television is on trial. Some of you have wanted to be the defense attorneys, but I’m asking you to step back and be on the jury. Here is my summation:
I allege that television:
Is not value neutral. The makers of most, if not all, shows have an agenda which is antithetical to Christianity. They aim to shape our values and thought patterns by constant exposure to sinful behavior as if it were harmless, normal, funny, and even beneficial. Not only is the content potentially harmful to believers, but much more so to unbelievers who do not have the Word or the Spirit of God. When we give television votes of approval via our time and our money, we are encouraging more of the same.
Is mostly composed of material which ranges from vapid to vile. (I said mostly)
Is altering and potentially damaging to the brain. It alters our brain waves, causing shorter attention spans. It accustoms us to an unnatural degree of visual, audible, and emotional stimulation. It contributes to sleep problems. It fills up time which could be spent on more educational pursuits.
Is damaging to the body as we sit on our bums and do nothing.
Is damaging to our spiritual appetite. The escape of television allows us to avoid our problems, not feel our loneliness or pain, and deadens our desire for the less “exciting” things of God. It also encourages complacency both because of our numbness and because we can point at the people on the box and feel smug that we aren’t all that bad by comparison.
Is damaging to our relationships. Time spent side by side staring at the same flickering images is not nearly as relationship enhancing as discussing our days, our thoughts, or God’s Word. Time spent watching television with our spouse is time taken away from talking together, walking together, learning together, or (blush) enjoying God’s gift of intimacy. Time spent watching television with our children is time taken away from physical play, board game play, tickle fights, book reading, prayer and Bible teaching, or a host of other more positive activities. And that’s if you’re watching together. How many families now have a television in each room so that everyone can watch the show of their choice? Our relationships with those outside our family are damaged as well. We don’t have as much time to gather together. We can’t meet our neighbors because they won’t come outside. We mean to invite people over, but we’re too tired and the television encourages us to put it off yet another day…
Is a tremendous waste of time. Do I really need to expound on this one?
Is encouraging us to waste our emotional and mental energy on people who are not real. I keep coming back to this one. You know, one thing I may actually plug in my antenna to see is the upcoming Olympic championship for Women’s Figure Skating. Why? Because Michelle Kwan is skating. I want her to win. I want to see it if she does. I have cried over the last two Olympics when she did not win. (though I was happy for Sarah Hughes, mind you) And I have to ask myself, Why do I care?! I don’t know her. I feel like I do - but I don’t. Why did you care who won the Super Bowl? Why do you care what happened to the people on Lost? Why do we discuss these things with tremendous analysis and enthusiasm? They are not important! How much energy are we wasting on these people and situations that we could spend on our loved ones and our neighbors? How much time do we spend pumped up, brought down, or tied up in knots when we could be experiencing peace?
I could go on…. but the jury is starting to zone out on me. (short attention span, maybe? )
What is your verdict? Is there a reasonable doubt that television is not guilty as charged?
If you do find it guilty, what sentence will you impose? You see, I am not the judge for you. I am not the jury. You will not have to stand before me and give an accounting for your decision. You have to make your own decision, of course. And ultimately you have to answer to God.
I liked the way Steve Braun put it in this article:
“I would like to ask the Christian viewing public, particularly the men, this one question about their TV habits: Can you justify your consumption of this entertainment (even the clean stuff) by standing before God and explaining to Him that you, in fact, have been reading your Bible, meditating on Scripture, memorizing Scripture, and praying as much as is possible — that you have devoted more than enough time to your family, to serving in your church or community — that you have been over-exerting yourself to win the lost?
If you can’t answer “yes,” then you have no business being in front of the tube. I’ll bet more Christians can recall specific lines from long-ago sitcoms better than they can recall Bible verses. It’s a fact we’ll not be very proud of when we answer to God for every thought, every word, and every deed.” emphasis mine
In the beginning of this series, I called television “Widespread, epidemic, rampant Idolatry.” I truly believe that idolatry is the best word for it. An idol is something that takes the place of God. Do you run to your television for education, for comfort, for celebration, for rest? Do you lead your children to it for the same? Do you spend more time with it than with God? Do you sacrifice family time to it? Do you sacrifice prayer and study to it? Do you sacrifice sleep to it?
If it’s not an idol, why is it EVERYWHERE? Do something for me. The next time you’re in Wal-Mart, open your eyes wide and take a good look at the products. Don’t try and count everything you see that features a television or movie character, you’ll be there til next Tuesday! It’s absolutely inescapable! Toys, books, clothes, music, sports equipment, furniture, toiletries, medicines, food…
And how about spending an hour browsing Toys R Us. We’ve got two birthdays coming up this month. Do you know how hard it is to buy a toy that isn’t related to a movie or show?! Especially if you also want it to not have noises and flashing lights?! Tell me it isn’t a plot to capture our children?! Color me paranoid, but I can NOT believe that this is coincidence. There is someone out there who does not want our kids to be able to pay attention and to think straight. Someone who wants our kids to be media dependent. Someone who wants them to be so hyped up that we can’t help but medicate them so they can function.
Why are many Christians Biblically illiterate?
Why do we wink at sin?
Why don’t we reach out more to our neighbors?
Why do we forsake assembling together?
Why don’t people want to read books?
Why is the idea of unplugging so unthinkable?
Why don’t you ask these questions and more?
I’ve been thinking about some of these things for quite some time. But what really got me going was the whole End of the Spear kerfuffle. I mean really, for starters, look how much energy and debate and argument have been poured out over a two hour piece of film! It’s sadly amusing. But that’s not my point. Here’s what really got my attention. Over and over in the comment threads discussing the whys and ifs of the casting decision, I kept seeing people say things like:”Well if we’re only gonna watch movies made by sinless people than we can’t watch movies anymore.”
“Well, if you’re gonna boycott this one because it features a homosexual, than you have to boycott them all. They all have sinners in ‘em”
What got me was that these were supposed to be decisive arguments. After all, we just can’t give up movies, right? We have to be able to watch them, right? The idea that you could live life without movies and television, why that’s crazy talk!
If you think it’s unthinkable, you better check yourself.
Am I telling you to give it up? No. I have no authority to do so. Am I asking you to give it up? No. I don’t think it’s my place. What I am asking you to do is count the cost. Measure the moments. Don’t just take it for granted that it’s okay because everyone is doing it or because it has always been a part of your life. Understand the times in which you live. Question your motives. Question the motives of the makers of the movies. Question what you’re teaching your children and how you are training yourself every time you choose a show or movie or every other alternative. Those are the questions I will be asking myself anytime I consider whether watching a movie is really what we want and need to do. I’m not saying that the answer will always be no. I think the television used extremely wisely, can be a useful tool. But used unwisely it can quickly become a frivolous toy or a fanatical tyrant.
The only other thing I would suggest is considering a television fast. There is a TV Turn Off week in April, but honestly a week is not enough. It takes a least two weeks to start new habits. (I don’t know how long it takes for withdrawal symptoms to go away) Take a few weeks and quit cold turkey, just to give your mind a chance to detox. I think you’ll be surprised at all the time you’ll have, all the sleep you’ll get, all the reading you can do, all the fun times you can have with your family… Just try it. You might like it! And if anyone does decide to make adjustments in their viewing habits, anything from cutting back to cutting off, do me a favor and keep a little record of the changes you see in yourself, your kids, and your life. I’m going to have a little Unplugged Carnival in a few weeks, I’ll be eager to hear what you have to say!