The third in a series. (Browse
titles for other installments.)
My previous
installment in this series discussed some of the physical components of
responsible TV watching. This time I want to get more cerebral and spiritual.
Probably the best thing anyone could do would be to disable the cable and dump
the dish. No one really needs TV in the same way one needs food and shelter,
yet it has become such an integral part of life in this age that going without
it is so rare as to be surprising when someone admits it. Eyebrows rise and
jaws drop when someone says there is no TV in the house. I frankly admire that person.
However, most of us are going to keep the box babbling away,
so I have some suggestions for fine tuning TV watching so that it more closely
follows the Scriptural injunctions I mentioned last time: setting
our minds on things above and making
good use of our time. The first suggestion is so obvious that I shouldn’t
have to say it, but experience teaches that it must be said: don’t watch the
filthy stuff. I am not referring to the so called adult programming some
providers offer; that is obviously unhealthy. I am thinking of certain dramas
and sitcoms that present blatantly unwholesome situations as standard fare, and
which do nothing to indicate that the behaviors and situations are anything but
normal. We should not find lying, cheating, promiscuity and adultery
entertaining. WWJD? Change channels.
I am not suggesting that any presentation of inappropriate
behavior is cause to bolt. Certainly education and entertainment have always
been a part of watching other people mess up. The criterion for judging whether
bad behavior is good entertainment is the outcome presented by the drama. If we
see a marriage fall apart because of one spouse’s infidelity or a student lose
an opportunity as a result of being caught cheating, we learn an important
lesson. Even when we don’t see immediate consequences for bad behavior, if we
are thinking Christianly, we will realize that although the wicked do often
seem to prosper, a day of reckoning is ahead of us all. Do
not envy the wicked, the Proverbs warn; their day is coming.
Besides using TV time to adjust our moral compasses, we can
also use it to prompt prayer. My sister once told me that every time she heard
a siren she would stop and say a short prayer over the situation. It should be
a natural reaction to a news bulletin regarding a house fire to pray for the
family: their immediate well-being; their physical needs for replacement
housing and material goods; the comfort of friends and family; that God would
somehow be glorified in the tragedy. The reports coming out of Syria should
have us all praying daily for the Christians there: for their safety and their
witness. Any mention of our military should prompt prayer for those we know in
service and those we don’t know but benefit from every day they serve.
TV dramas can be just as fruitful in providing prayer
prompts. When I see a portrayal of a couple struggling in their marriage, I am
reminded of someone in my church going through similar difficulties. When
someone gives in to temptation, I can say a prayer of thanks that God delivers
me from something or that a friend might have the strength to overcome his
trials. When I watch depictions of life on today’s school campuses, I offer a
prayer of protection for my grand children. My point is that we can find ways to
turn most situations into prayers if we are sensitive to the needs around us.
I should say here that I am not opposed to occasionally
sitting in front of a game or drama just for escape. Watching the Tigers or the
Red Wings or those goofballs on Top Gear,
for example, as a down-time pastime is fine if it is not all the time. If you
are anywhere near the national average I cited in the first installment of this
series (34 hours/week,) it would be irresponsible to use it all as down-time.
Try this thought experiment: if you learned today that you have one week left
to live, how much TV would you watch? Since none of us knows how much time we
have, shouldn’t that always be the computation?
No comments:
Post a Comment