As for me and my House
One of the greatest blessings in being here these past two years is my dependence on television and entertainment has dramatically diminished.
Until I watched some playoff basketball games last week, it had been more than a month since I had watched something on television. At one point last year, it had been nearly six months.
It got to where watching television didn’t even cross my mind…and it felt the same exact way as it does when you don’t drink as much soda, but drink more water and orange juice and healthier things…and how nasty a Coke or Dr. Pepper looks not long after.
We would all think that such a long gap from television would be difficult and that we would go nuts, right? Not at all. I've never been so refreshed in all my life.
It truly saddens me to see so many Christians in the Church who claim that they would read the Bible each day, but they just don’t have enough time in their busy day. Yet for 2-5 hours a day, you’ll find the same people sitting in front of a television or doing something to entertain themselves.
In other words, the statement may as well be, “I would read the Bible each day, but I would rather watch tv and do other things,” right?
I am convinced that through entertainment and things of its ilk, we have grown to prefer what is temporary and what can often cause us to sin over that which is eternal and what can bless us.
But what saddens me most of all is some of the things that professing Christians watch or listen to. Some of the things that I have watched or listened to at one point in my life.
Tonight, I decided to sit down and watch a show.
In less than 30 seconds - as soon as I sat down, God’s name was taken in vain. And in less than 5 seconds after it was said, I was on my feet leaving the room.
Those who are in harmony with this reaction may be few in number, but it has gotten to the point where if I hear God or Jesus’ name abused or taken in vain, I’m not going to watch another second.
In the past year I have gotten rid of whole stacks of movies and have decided once and for all, that for me, it is absolutely impossible to serve the Lord in my house with things that curse His name and make a mockery of Him.
We have come up with every excuse in the world to justify watching certain movies and shows. How it’s just a portrayal of true life and that it gets us ready to face the world when we hear people blasting Christ or using uninhibited profanity or whatever else it may be.
Many Christians personally have no problem with watching movies with language (even heavy language) and nudity and everything else and claim it doesn’t cause them to sin.
But in my personal case, it does tempt me. It does violate my conscience. The only times I ever swore in my life were times when several years ago, I was watching movies with filthy language and I heard it so much, the next thing I knew, I was saying it myself.
Whether this is right or wrong, it seems to me that when we laugh at movies or shows that have profanity or that take God’s name in vain, we are in essence, showing our approval to those things and we are also in essence, conforming to the world.
Please do not misunderstand me.
Just like anything else, this is a balance. I'm not saying that we should sell every single thing we own and move out to the wilderness and completely remove ourselves from the world and from society.
I’m not against television or movies. I don’t believe that every movie or show is bad - there are good things to watch that don’t have those things.
I’m against placing those things above our time in God’s Word and in prayer daily. I’m against trying to justify there’s nothing wrong with willingly inflicting ourselves with the venom of the world we see and hear round about us every single day.
Why would we voluntarily want to hear and see even more of that? As if we didn’t hear enough foul language today. As if we didn’t see enough sensuality everywhere we turned.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
We quote it as if we actually lived it in our lives. It’s words hang on our walls and it feels so good rolling off our tongue.
But can we really serve the Lord when we watch things that curse the holy and awesome name of God to our faces and we just sit there letting it go in one ear and out the other, with a smile on our face?
Can we really serve the Lord when every other word we hear is an obscenity?
Can we really serve the Lord in our homes when we are filling our minds and entertaining ourselves with the very sin that Jesus died for?
You don’t have to agree with my solution, but I am ready to turn off the tv and open the Word of God more.
I'm ready to spend less time with others watching a show and spending more time sitting with others with Bibles opened and with hands together in prayer.
I’m ready to sell even more movies and sell even more cd’s and replace all the noise with silence and quiet time before the Lord.
I’m ready to smash the bronze serpent that has become the idol and god of too many homes and too many lives.
As for me and my house…we will serve the Lord.
One of the greatest blessings in being here these past two years is my dependence on television and entertainment has dramatically diminished.
Until I watched some playoff basketball games last week, it had been more than a month since I had watched something on television. At one point last year, it had been nearly six months.
It got to where watching television didn’t even cross my mind…and it felt the same exact way as it does when you don’t drink as much soda, but drink more water and orange juice and healthier things…and how nasty a Coke or Dr. Pepper looks not long after.
We would all think that such a long gap from television would be difficult and that we would go nuts, right? Not at all. I've never been so refreshed in all my life.
It truly saddens me to see so many Christians in the Church who claim that they would read the Bible each day, but they just don’t have enough time in their busy day. Yet for 2-5 hours a day, you’ll find the same people sitting in front of a television or doing something to entertain themselves.
In other words, the statement may as well be, “I would read the Bible each day, but I would rather watch tv and do other things,” right?
I am convinced that through entertainment and things of its ilk, we have grown to prefer what is temporary and what can often cause us to sin over that which is eternal and what can bless us.
But what saddens me most of all is some of the things that professing Christians watch or listen to. Some of the things that I have watched or listened to at one point in my life.
Tonight, I decided to sit down and watch a show.
In less than 30 seconds - as soon as I sat down, God’s name was taken in vain. And in less than 5 seconds after it was said, I was on my feet leaving the room.
Those who are in harmony with this reaction may be few in number, but it has gotten to the point where if I hear God or Jesus’ name abused or taken in vain, I’m not going to watch another second.
In the past year I have gotten rid of whole stacks of movies and have decided once and for all, that for me, it is absolutely impossible to serve the Lord in my house with things that curse His name and make a mockery of Him.
We have come up with every excuse in the world to justify watching certain movies and shows. How it’s just a portrayal of true life and that it gets us ready to face the world when we hear people blasting Christ or using uninhibited profanity or whatever else it may be.
Many Christians personally have no problem with watching movies with language (even heavy language) and nudity and everything else and claim it doesn’t cause them to sin.
But in my personal case, it does tempt me. It does violate my conscience. The only times I ever swore in my life were times when several years ago, I was watching movies with filthy language and I heard it so much, the next thing I knew, I was saying it myself.
Whether this is right or wrong, it seems to me that when we laugh at movies or shows that have profanity or that take God’s name in vain, we are in essence, showing our approval to those things and we are also in essence, conforming to the world.
Please do not misunderstand me.
Just like anything else, this is a balance. I'm not saying that we should sell every single thing we own and move out to the wilderness and completely remove ourselves from the world and from society.
I’m not against television or movies. I don’t believe that every movie or show is bad - there are good things to watch that don’t have those things.
I’m against placing those things above our time in God’s Word and in prayer daily. I’m against trying to justify there’s nothing wrong with willingly inflicting ourselves with the venom of the world we see and hear round about us every single day.
Why would we voluntarily want to hear and see even more of that? As if we didn’t hear enough foul language today. As if we didn’t see enough sensuality everywhere we turned.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
We quote it as if we actually lived it in our lives. It’s words hang on our walls and it feels so good rolling off our tongue.
But can we really serve the Lord when we watch things that curse the holy and awesome name of God to our faces and we just sit there letting it go in one ear and out the other, with a smile on our face?
Can we really serve the Lord when every other word we hear is an obscenity?
Can we really serve the Lord in our homes when we are filling our minds and entertaining ourselves with the very sin that Jesus died for?
You don’t have to agree with my solution, but I am ready to turn off the tv and open the Word of God more.
I'm ready to spend less time with others watching a show and spending more time sitting with others with Bibles opened and with hands together in prayer.
I’m ready to sell even more movies and sell even more cd’s and replace all the noise with silence and quiet time before the Lord.
I’m ready to smash the bronze serpent that has become the idol and god of too many homes and too many lives.
As for me and my house…we will serve the Lord.
posted by david creek @ 6:07 PM
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