How to NOT Watch TV

Some friends recommended a TV series called Black Sails; they said they really enjoyed it. We found the first episode and started watching it. I should have stopped as soon as I saw “18+” in the introduction. Apparently, that means X-rated in Netflix language. The series pretends to portray the life of pirates in the 18^th century Caribbean. For all we know, their depictions may be accurate; the behaviors of Sodom and Gomorrah did not disappear from human society after God’s judgment fell on those wicked cities. Sadly, there are pockets even in today’s “enlightened” culture where their debauchery is still celebrated.

I was enjoying the first few scenes of the old square-riggers sailing the bounding main. I love watching anything that reminds me of one of my greatest pleasures. Unfortunately, the drama soon left the sea scenes and focused on the lives of the pirates. The violence depicted in Black Sails is no worse than many current popular dramas; truthfully, it was tame compared to some. I refuse to watch the really gruesome scenes typical of many R-rated movies – even some TV dramas have become rather bloody. While they may be honest depictions of real life, I don’t find it entertaining to watch.

Studies show that the increasing violence portrayed on screens large and small is responsible for mass desensitizing of our society. A disturbed teenager can walk into his school and wreak bloody havoc on his peers and teachers without a qualm. The same goes for the rampant gang violence that scars our cities, although I suspect their embrace of violent behavior is due more to direct exposure in their underworld culture than to media influence. In whatever way they come to it, their apparent lack of conscience regarding violent behavior is the devil’s work to undermine natural human disgust. I don’t need to bathe in muddy water to know it won’t cleanse me.

Black Sails reveals another of the devil’s schemes to turn men to his ends: greed. From what I saw in my short exposure to this drama, the theme seems to be that greed is the motivating force in their culture. Greed pushes the pirates to seek treasure without regard for either law or conscience. Sinking ships and mutilating or abandoning the crews is done without a trace of regret or shame. When the goal is treasure, the milk of human kindness is swapped for the blood of their unfortunate targets. It would be comforting to think that that kind of behavior died with the last pirate, but one look at Wall Street or Capitol Hill quashes that idea. The enemy of our souls doesn’t need drama to feed the flame of greed in the human heart. There is good reason why greed is one of the seven deadly sins.

Another type of slime that pours out of the TV from Black Sails is uncensored filthy language. Listening to unsavory speech has a subtle effect on its hearers. The more we hear something, the more likely it is that it will slip into our vocabulary. I can attest to this from my experience as a truck driver. Many of my fellow drivers and almost every dock worker would find it difficult to form a sentence without words beginning with the letter “F.” Coupled with this, their continual reference to sexual subjects either directly or indirectly made it uncomfortable for anyone with a moral compass. The Bible warns against “coarse language” for good reason. Hear enough of it, and you will begin saying it yourself.

The only thing that might trump greed or violence in Black Sails' theme is sexual lust. There was enough inuendo, frontal nudity, and gratuitous sex in the first half-hour of the season opener to satisfy any porn addict. I am ashamed to say I watched as long as I did. I certainly won’t be watching another episode. Sadly, you don’t have to venture into the “freedom” of cable networks to find fornication, adultery, and all forms of perverted sex on TV. It has become so ubiquitous that even commercials on broadcast television feature same-sex intimacy. Advertisers proudly declare that their products allow homosexuals to have sex without fear of transmitting HIV. How wonderful for them! Some advertisements for women’s clothing approach the level of soft porn.

 There used to be safe places to go on TV, but most of them have fallen into the disgusting pit of violence and debauchery. Disney long ago abandoned Walt’s family-oriented programing. Even safer alternatives like Hallmark and Lifetime are slipping somewhat. The woke culture is so pervasive that everyone seems to think they must portray intimate homosexual and extra-marital relationships positively or be branded hatemongers.

I am not a hatemonger, but I am a truth lover, and the truth is that television has become fraught with all things worldly and demonic. I say this plainly because Scripture says that in the end times, the doctrines of demons will be taught to God’s people. James says that worldly wisdom fills our souls with demonic ideas. We should not be surprised because Paul said, “we are not ignorant of [the devil’s] schemes.” Unfortunately, I think “we” are, in fact, largely ignorant today.

God instructed the Israelites to slay all the Canaanites in the Promised Land. He said explicitly that this was to remove the evil influence from their lives. You have only to read their history to see what effect the failure to complete God’s command wrought among them. Time and again they were drawn into idolatry and sinful behavior because of the worldly people they didn’t exterminate. We need to use the remote to exterminate the vermin that would infect our homes with worldly, demonic “entertainment.” By doing that judiciously, you will be following the command to do everything to the glory of God as most television falls woefully short of that aim.

Truthfully though, the only entirely safe way for a Christian to watch TV is to unplug it. When you get tired of looking at the blank screen, pick up your Bible or some other wholesome literature and read. Paul says that when we understand what it means to live for Christ, we must cease being conformed to this world and become transformed by the renewing of our mind. Scripture is the source of that renewal. There is precious little on TV that will accomplish that.

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