Entertainment

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever pure, whatever is lovely,  whatever is admirable -if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things."  Philippians 4:8

God has been dealing with me about something that goes on in our home.  Something that we need to get in check.  Let me say up front, I do not think tv altogether is bad, but I do think we need to be careful of what we watch and listen to.  The saying "garbage in = garbage out" comes to mind.

I have mentioned before that I am not a big tv watcher.  However, my kids are.  As much as my kids love playing outside they also love to flip on the tv to their favorite kid's channel and watch until their little hearts are content.  I try to be very strict about not letting them watch a show until I have seen it and can decide if it is acceptable, Some of the shows seem perfectly fine on the surface.  They target kids, they are funny, there are no curse words, and so on.  However, if you really pay close attention to them, they teach lessons that we may not want our kids learning.  For instance one of my kids favorite shows has a young lady who cares only about herself and money.  She buys what she wants when she wants.  She frequently buys her friends.  She does not like to help people and makes that clear.  Her character is pretty and funny, but not how I want my children to be.  Another character on the show is a young man who does not take school seriously.  He procrastinates on his school work or bribes his brother to do it.  He is lazy and always chasing girls.  More traits I do not want my kids to have. 

It is most definitely not just children's shows.  There is one show that I used to enjoy.  It made me laugh for thirty minutes straight!  However, this husband and wife were not always loving and kind to each other.  The husband would frequently do something behind his wife's back, though he always got caught.  The wife yelled and belittled her husband on a regular basis.  This is not how I want my marriage to be and not how God intends marriage to be. 

If we do not want the character traits or attitudes of people we see on tv, then why do we watch them?  Is entertainment so important to us that we set our morals aside for thirty minutes of laughter or enjoyment?  If we are not supposed to have a spirit of fear, then why are we watching scary shows?  If we should not be lustful of another man or woman, then why are we watching shows (and commercials these days) with half dressed bodies?  We can not justify tv by saying, "it's okay, it is just tv."  By watching these things, we are letting these immoral beliefs and traits into our home, minds and hearts. 

The Bible clearly tells us to think on true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praise worthy things.  I can honestly say that some things I have watched and allowed my children to watch have not been up to the Bible's standards.  I need to step back and rethink our entertainment habits.  Pray and ask God to bring to light the things that are unacceptable and make an effort to eliminate them in your home.  Believe me dear friends, I will be working along side you!