Subscription Lists

Ever consider the effects of television on your home and family?

Before the content there is the medium. Studies indicate that children under the age of 3 are very likely to have ADHD by the age of 7 if they're exposed to the medium of television. Content doesn't matter. It's the screen, the images, the constant inundation of input. Try to compete with that in everyday life. They also find it stunts their brain growth during the time that they're learning basic functions like depth perception and hand-eye coordination. But the medium is also detrimental to adults. One study indicated that there is more brain activity when you are asleep than when you watch television. And doctors are concerned about the affects of staring at a screen for long periods of time. They believe it causes premature aging of the eyes by weakening their capacity to focus at different points. Without even considering the content, the medium itself is a problem.

Consider for a moment the mathematics. If a person watches two hours of TV a night (you know it is likely more, but we’ll just go with 2) and perhaps four hours on weekend days and evenings (again, most likely more, but we’ll go light here), how much TV do they watch in a year? A quick run of the math would put it at about 936 hours of TV. On the other hand, if they set aside an hour a day for prayer and Bible reading (Do you actually do that?), went to church Sunday morning and Wednesday night (How many actually go on Wednesday night anymore? But we’ll be generous here.), they would have spent approximately 573 hours in the Word, in church, and in dedicated prayer. This person would have spent 1½ times as much attention to the television as he did to God. That should really catch your attention. Almost sounds like idolatry, doesn’t it?

Setting aside the hours consumed in front of the television, what were they consumed with? Well, there are some very educational shows on PBS and Discovery Channel and the like. I have seen some incredible shows on things in God’s creation … but, of course, they aren’t presented as “God’s creation”. They’re presented as “evolution”. We’ll have to filter that part out. Then there’s those marvelous shows like CSI, Law and Order, and the like, that explain the very interesting ins and outs of crime solving … an entire hour spent viewing brutal murders (often revolving around sexual crimes) and how they would go about catching a killer. Yes, well, I guess we would need to filter out some of that, too. Oh, and then those popular “reality shows”. You know the ones. They show real people in real situations like being thrown onto an island to survive to win big money just like you and I have experienced … or not. Of course, we all know about the daytime soaps, endless stories of love, hate, sex, and betrayal. I guess there will need to be more filtering. Oh, but how about those ever lively “Jerry Springer” type shows, where talk show hosts bring out complete buffoons to explain how stupidly they are living in what even non-Christian America can recognize as “sin” and then defend it? Good, huh? Okay, so maybe the best filtering on those is to turn them off. Okay, how about MTV and VH1? Music videos. How bad can that be? And then there is “sports”! I mean, following football and baseball and basketball is of real value, isn’t it?

Every night most of us Christians invite total strangers into our homes to sell us things we don’t need and assure us that we deserve better – better cars, food, clothing, hair color, make-up, you name it. We invite them in to bombard us with a worldview that is diametrically opposed to God’s worldview. They tell us that love and sex are essentially the same, that it’s okay – nay, good – to be most concerned primarily about yourself. We are told that you have to like someone before you love them (while God commands us to love, never to like). We are told what to believe about our political candidates and we are given scandalously slanted news stories. We watch half-naked bodies dancing on MTV or, if we’re really high-minded, listen intently to the marvels of Evolution on PBS. We learn that the most valuable people in our society are the entertainers, people who act and play to amuse us. We do this willingly. We aren’t forced. We volunteer.

Over against this, we see Scripture.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:1-2).

And this delightful thought.

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes (Psalm 101:3).

And if you think "Well, that's all well and good, but I'm just not sure I can give up my sports/soaps/shows", consider this Scripture.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21).

You know, just a thought.

"Voice of Inspiration" from Andy Castro

Pretzel Love-Psalms 91:14