Perhaps no other region of modern life is less scrupulously evaluated by Christians than their media choices. You may be a faithful churchgoer. Your kids may be getting a Christian education. You may read a Bible verse or two after supper. But many Christians apply next to zero discernment regarding their entertainment choices.
Any suggestion that we should rein it in is often met with accusations of legalism. But, your Netflix history, the Spotify playlists your children listen to, their internet access, the sort of online multiplayer video games played are not indifferent moral choices.
Watching smut movies to find the redemptive arc is like drinking raw sewage to refine your palate. Neglecting to keep track of your family’s technology and media consumption is like leaving your wallet full of cash on the car dashboard in downtown Philly.
The movies you watch, the music you listen to, the video games you play, the books on the shelf, the access to the internet you allow are the companions you choose for yourself and your family. What companions have you chosen? Wise counselors, leading to righteousness and truth? Or fools, seducers, traitors, sluggards leading you into compromise, bloodshed, and ignorance?
The selection of godly friendships requires diligence, wisdom, and discernment. Don’t build a tall wall around the castle of your home, and forget to shut the gate. This means resisting the magnetic pull of hype behind the latest blockbuster hit or the most popular tune. The world of media is hell-bent to entice you to join them in their flood of depravity.
This means vigilance and discipline. It means being renewed by the Sabbath rest the Lord gives, instead of the sluggards rest which Netflix gives. It means missing out on the trinkets, in order to retain the treasure of a clear conscience.
God’s Word calls us to set Him apart as Lord in our hearts. Yet, we often set Him aside, instead being pleased to be fancied and tantalized by the vain thoughts of the world. God promises perfect peace to him whose mind is stayed on Him, and it is no wonder when our minds and hearts are a tangled mess of anxiety, fear, lust, pride, and folly when we mindlessly give our attention to whatever message the latest movie, song, or show has for us. All too often we view entertainment as harmless, when it is more often than not a pack of hyenas determined to devour and destroy us and our families. May the Lord forgive us for leaving the gate of our mind unlocked in this matter, and grant us fortitude to wisely sift through the media which is allowed into our homes.
We often think that forsaking such sinful companions means forsaking fun and enjoyment. This just shows the weakness of our faith in God’s promise that in His presence is the fullness of joy. Never forget that when you forsake your sin and sinful companions, you are forsaking misery. This allows us to come and drink from the eternal fountain of Gospel joy.
Leave a Reply