Let’s Admit It: the popular media present a steady stream of heart-snagging, attention-getting untruths about what ideal men and women should look and act like, what success and romance are all about, and how we should spend our money. Movies accept pre-marital sexual relationships or extra-marital relationships, or attractions, as normal behavior — and these things often act as the foundation for a show’s entire plot. Comedies thrive by taking these things and turning them into a series of jokes. Violence frequently poses as justice, courage or heroism, as long as the action is centered around a character that the audience is supposed to admire. Commercials feature immodesty and crude humor and we can add to this the blasphemy and suggestive talk that is so much a part of this world’s entertainment. Anyone who, like me, has watched television or frequented a movie theatre knows these things to be true, and more.
We live in a world where participating in media culture is one of the few things that unites almost everyone. In North America, at least, the vast majority of people watch what’s out there, and “what’s out there” often includes ungodliness presented in some of its most enticing forms. Living as young disciples of Christ, our participation in the media often doesn’t set us apart from our neighbors and co-workers. Even if we don’t make a habit of watching anything really really bad, many of us are not all that different in our media habits from a moderately conservative person in the world.
Is there a problem with this? Surely, a television set, which is really only a box with a bit of wiring, isn’t really sinful by itself. The main problem is undoubtedly our human nature, which inclines dramatically away from godliness and purity. Jesus said that from the heart of man come evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, and so on (Mark 7:21-23). Unfortunately, the media caters directly to this! For the most part, it is a direct vehicle for portraying the evil of the heart of man in a way that is often emphasized, uncensored, and even glorified.
Where should we stand?
According to Ephesians 4:22-24, those in Christ must “put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,” and put on the new man “in righteousness and true holiness.” It’s a process that starts in the mind, but needs to live in a person’s actions. In baptism, we commit to “walk in newness of life” instead of serving sin (Rom. 6:6), and from that point on, we also commit to doing constant battle to overcome our natural instincts, with Christ as our example. The question is worth considering: would I be watching this TV show or movie if Christ was in the same room? Would our righteous Saviour, who struggled to live a life of total blamelessness for our sakes (John 17:19), approve of even a hint of the immorality on the screen? Does what I choose to watch show that I am his disciple?
Romans 1 describes those who are of a “reprobate mind” in the following way:
Filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful…” (vv. 29-31).
Here is a list that summarizes how the nature of man is played out onscreen, and goes on to say that “they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (v. 32). It would be sinful for most of us to actually do many of the things seen on television, and most of us would avoid such situations in real life. But movies and television give us the means to spend hours watching these things take place — to seek to watch them as entertainment.
“But it doesn’t cause me to stumble,” is a protest I’ve heard from my own lips in the past. Does this really make sense? The objection ignores two things.
Firstly, can I really claim that watching immorality in any form does not affect me whatsoever? Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Our human nature never takes a holiday, not even when we’re deep in prayer or in the act of preaching the truth; I definitely can’t expect to watch things that do not glorify God and come out totally unaffected. It must affect me, and God knows this, which is why the Bible is full of instruction to flee ungodly influences!
Secondly, if I’m trying to adopt God’s standards for my day-to-day life, then perhaps I should be offended by what I see on TV The lack of sensitivity in my conscience doesn’t change the fact that the wickedness of this world is offensive to God. If I find that I’m indifferent about something that Almighty God condemns, someone’s attitude needs to change — and it certainly isn’t God’s. Maybe I should not be so accustomed to seeing certain types of commercials or hearing certain types of language that it doesn’t really bother me anymore. Should a disciple of Christ find relaxation and pleasure from watching these things in a theatre or at home? What God calls “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” the world thinks of as “entertainment.” It may take some real self-examination to see whether we are truly using God’s standards to measure the merit of what we’re watching.
“Flee youthful lusts…”
Speaking of the lusts of the eyes and flesh, this is where television and movies very often find their subject matter. Timothy, a young person striving to be a follower of Christ, was told by Paul to “flee youthful lusts” (II Tim. 2:22) — not just to limit his intake, but to turn around and run away from lust. Job, a married man whom God described as “perfect and upright” (Job 2:3), made a “covenant” with his eyes not to look upon a woman (Job 31 :1). His reason? “Doth He not see all my ways, and count all my steps?” God knows our minds, and wants us to focus on Him — so we should govern what we expose ourselves to, taking such care as not even to “look upon” someone lustfully (Matt. 5:27-28).
Our standard for sexual immorality is not “only a little”… according to Paul, it’s “not even a hint” (Eph. 5:3 NIV). All of these passages emphasize that to have the mind of Christ in this particular realm takes some serious commitment, some real mental and physical battling of our natures. However, the number of movies and television shows that ignore, or worse, directly oppose God’s standards of sexual purity, is shocking, and we know its intended effect. We know how attention-grabbing an appealing image or inappropriate scene can be, how a “romantic” story line or a portrayal of an ideal person can catch our emotions, and how these things can stay in our minds and affect our thinking, whether we want them to or not. We know how easily compromised our sinful nature is! This means that if we suspect that our choice of television or movies is doing anything to compromise our focus on God’s standards of purity, we have serious reason to alter our habits. The goal is to have a mind that is glorifying to Him, to spend our time and energy and mental powers in ways that serve Him and those around us.
David reminded Solomon that God “searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts” (I Chron. 28:9), and he prayed that Solomon and his people would keep God’s ways “in the imagination of the thoughts of their heart” (I Chron. 29:17-18). How carefully we need to check what we allow to enter into our minds, and strive not to hinder ourselves from having a clear picture of godly things — that which is pure and just and honest and of good report.
Our high calling
We are called to be dead to the sinful influences around us and within, and to have eyes only for Christ. We should be the kind of people who are willing to go to extremes to better serve God, and to put away the things that might impede us spiritually. Jesus said as much when he told believers to pluck out their own eyes or cut off their hands if these body parts caused them to stumble. Symbolically, this means crucifying the flesh to a point where it hurts. As children of God, the only thing we should not be willing to give up is obeying and glorifying Him; anything else is negotiable in comparison.
This type of thinking can be brought into any area of our lives. If something even takes up time that could be given to God, it is worth rethinking; how much more something that not only eats up my time but also sets a steady stream of ungodliness before my eyes?
With this in mind, we should be the type of people who are willing to walk out of a movie theatre rather than sit there and watch yet another one of those scenes, or avoid the theatre altogether, for that matter. It shouldn’t be the end of the world for us to turn off the television despite that little, nagging voice that whines, “but I have to know what happens in the end!” or to decide not to own a television at all. Would Jesus consider that our equivalent to the relinquishing of a hand or an eye for his service? It certainly wouldn’t be as painful, but it would take some discipline. It would mean being left out of some conversations, certainly, or choosing to miss out on the latest news about this sitcom or that celebrity. It would mean finding other things to do during our “spare time.” But more than that, it would mean giving up those hours spent each day or week sowing to the flesh, watching things that we know we could not honestly bow our heads and thank God for, and giving our minds even more completely to our Heavenly Father.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One