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| That's
Entertainment? |
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| Bubba
Garner |
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A lady heard “angry, accented” voices
coming from her living room. She knew immediately that her
husband was being interrogated by terrorists. She hid in the
bathroom closet and dialed 911, pleading with the dispatcher to
send someone before her husband was killed. State troopers
surrounded the house and entered with weapons drawn only to find
a frightened man sitting alone in his recliner—watching
television. The lady was obviously embarrassed, but she was
actually pretty close to the truth. Television does hold a lot
of people hostage.
There’s no way to measure how many souls the devil has taken
captive through T.V., his most captivating device. He has used
it as a way to enter every home, to influence every life. Even
those who can’t pay the rent or can’t afford groceries
somehow find room in the budget for their cable hookup or
satellite dish. And Satan has turned what could have been used
as an instrument for great good in spreading the gospel into a
channel of slavery for his own kingdom.
I’m not suggesting that all forms of television are evil. But
we must recognize its potential to jeopardize our relationship
with God and our family, to rob us of opportunities to serve,
and to dull our senses that we can no longer distinguish what is
real and what is reality T.V. So, please don’t tune me out,
but honestly answer these questions about your viewing habits.
What’s on your mind? Whenever I tried to convince my mother to
let me watch something I had no business watching, I would
always say, “It doesn’t affect me.” My argument was that
the bad language, the sexual situations, and the violence just
went right through me and had no lasting power of influence. But
is that really something to brag about? Have we become so
desensitized to sin that it doesn’t bother us anymore? That
alone ought to bother us.
Actually, it does affect you. Recent studies conducted at
Stanford University revealed that “what we watch does have an
effect on our imaginations, our learning patterns, and our
behaviors.” We are exposed to them, then we acquire them, and
then we adopt them as our own. If a thirty-second commercial can
sell you on a product, what makes you think a thirty-minute
sitcom can’t sell you on a lifestyle. If you allow it into
your living room, what will keep you from allowing it into your
life?
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, honorable, right, pure,
lovely, of good repute, let your mind dwell on these things”
(Phil. 4:). How many of your favorite programs would make that
list?
Who are you teaching? Are you teaching your children? What are
you teaching them? In the comic strip Family Circle, one of the
kids ran up to the mother to tattle on her little brother. She
said, “Mommy, Jeffy just said a television word.” We’re
naive if we thing the only place they’re learning these things
are at school. And whoever came up with the idea that it’s
alright to watch a bad show so long as you send the kids out of
the room first? The disclaimer warns: ‘This program may not be
suitable for children.’ Please tell me, who is it suitable
for?
When we can’t even enjoy a meal together unless it’s in
front of the television, the only lesson we’re teaching our
children is that’s it more important for the family to be
entertained than intertwined. And think of the damage to our
credibility when we tell our neighbors and friends that we ought
to abstain from every form of evil and then make such things the
object of our amusement. Remember that television is not the
only thing people are watching. They’re watching you.
Who’s in control of your time?
My problem with television is not just what it dispenses, but
what it takes away. Statistics show that the average American
would gain 30 hours a week by utilizing the off button on the
remote control. Actually, time is not the only thing you would
gain by doing that.
Leisure time often leads to neglect. We all need moments to
relax and unwind. But it becomes dangerous when we must
constantly have our attention diverted and distracted from
serious things onto things which are not so lasting and
important. We will be held accountable for much more than that.
“Redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:6) involves recognizing where
our energies have been misspent in the past and rededicating and
refocusing them onto eternal matters in the time that we have
left. The best way to make the most of your opportunities is to
start watching out for your souls and for the souls of other
people.
David said long ago, “I well set no worthless thing before my
eyes” (Psalm 101:3). That eliminates most of the T.V. guide.
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Copyright (C)
2008
Southside Church of Christ
All rights reserved.
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