Would you willingly invite an ax murder into your house in the late evening? How about inviting in a rapist? How about inviting in a crime lord, a stripper, a pornographic movie star, or a drug pusher?
Knowing the audience reading this article, one would probably argue that these are absolutely absurd questions. No one would openly invite unrepentant sinners of this level into their home.
Unfortunately, I would argue that some very evil people are regularly invited into homes, into living rooms, dens, and basements. The guest may not be physically present, but their words, actions, and attitudes definitely are present and sometimes even glorified.
Televisions are like open doors. They allow behaviors and attitudes cloaked in the camouflage of entertainment and pop culture right into our home.
Among the most popular movies in history are The Godfather, Psycho, and Pulp Fiction. Would anyone disagree that the characteristics in these movies should not be emulated? Yet, even to this day, our society considers these movies must watch classics.
Included in the most watched TV series are The Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, and Breaking Bad. These shows fall far short of upholding Christian values.
Even documentaries commonly delve into the history, explanation, and sometimes apologetics of heinous crimes and sin.
Many Sources
Just as much as images projected on a screen, sounds are invited into our home. Radio and streaming services deliver the latest music to wherever one may be. Many of today’s tunes may have a good beat, but when you stop and listen to the lyrics and their meaning, it is not uncommon to find sin glorified.
Even the books, newspapers, and magazines invited into homes often include attacks on our Faith and values.
So, what is the point? After all, it’s not a sin to listen to music or enjoy entertainment on TV.
One Can Not Un-experience Something
In 2014, the Royal Dutch Guide Dog Foundation produced a commercial showing a soldier laying on his back, wounded, straining to reach for a motionless child maybe a meter away. He struggles in agony until a dog stirs him from his terror. It was only a nightmare. The nightmare ended with the dog consoling his human. The message of the commercial is, “We not only help those who cannot see, but also those who have seen too much.”
Once one sees sin it cannot be unseen.
The entertainment industry prides itself on realism. Gone are the days of an actor falling over in swashbuckling movie, feigning his death. Movies today show the flesh parting and the stains of blood. The same realism is applied to sexuality. These images can not be unseen even if they are fake.
Often “clean” entertainment is not so clean when one considers the dialogue and culture presented. Characters often discuss premarital sex and adultery in a tone which accepts and sometimes celebrates these behaviors. Even without the images, the dialogue creates images in one’s head. These images chip at the soul, bit by bit, leaving scars.
This has come up as topic with many of my colleagues. The solution most often provided is to ‘turn it off. ‘
This solution sounds simple but is hard in practice. Accepting this challenge means deliberately limiting what enters one’s home.
Passive Invitations
As an adult, one may restrict one’s entertainment to avoid the portrayal of sin. Be that as it may, today’s technology is a passive invitation to anyone in our home.
Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix, and the Roku Channel are examples of on-demand streaming services with massive libraries. To help one select programs, these services allow one to browse through categories such as action, animals & nature, mystery, or science fiction. However, some of these services also list the category “adult animation” between action and adventure. The services also list “LGBTQ” between late night and mystery. One service even lists a category titled graphic violence.
Whether one watches shows in these categories or not, current streaming services have established a pathway for sin to enter your home. What is to stop a curious teenager from investigating any if these previously unwatched categories?
Sin even has a way of sneaking past one’s safeguards. While watching a 1970’s family show on a streaming service with my 7-year-old, I was surprised to have it interrupted by a commercial for a drug to treat a homosexually transmitted disease. The images included in the commercial clearly promoted that sin. It took about 30 seconds to realize what was being shown. This was 30 seconds too long.
After taking some time to think about this incident, I had to wonder about the goal of the commercial. Was it to advertise a pharmaceutical product to a person whose demographic in no way would need the drug or to subliminally promote the behavior?
Securing Your Home
Securing one’s home from the beating tide of sinful influence, takes a deliberate effort. DVD’s do still exist. They eliminate pushed programming and commercials. The same is true for music CD’s.
Others have recognized the negative influence of today’s entertainment and are using technology to combat it. VidAngel is service that filters streamed video by skipping or muting any unwanted or objectionable content in the privacy of your home.
Another alternative also exists – abstinence. Humans survived for thousands of years without continual entertainment. It is possible. You can actually Fast from Technology.
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