Our
youngest is struggling with a decision. This summer, in her copious
free time, she began watching and loving a certain TV show, a show
with great characters, excellent writing, witty humor . . . but with
very inappropriate storylines. (I wasn't sure about her watching the
show either, but I didn't stop her. I freely confess my failure in
this area as a mother: over the years, I have done a terrible job of
policing my children's TV time, and I still do.)
Now,
she is feeling convicted that she shouldn't be watching this show.
And let me start by saying I'm incredibly proud of her hearing and
responding to this conviction completely on her own without her
parents' interference at all. But she has come to me for advice on
the matter, and I'm trying to figure out how to advise her. The easy
answer, of course, is to tell her to turn it off. But the easy answer
isn't always the best answer. I don't just want her to obey me today;
I want her to develop wisdom and discernment on this issue that will
carry her throughout her life.
The
reality is, there is very little around in the way of video
entertainment in our day that has nothing objectionable in it. If we
eliminate everything that doesn't conform to our Christian beliefs,
we are, for all practical purposes, eliminating everything. I know people
who have taken that route and would promote it to others; I just
don't think that's realistic for our family. Cocooning yourself from
the world is cozy, but your salt and light are trapped in your cocoon
with you.
These
concerns came up as I assembled my reading list for my Freshman
English class this year. Most of the classics one needs to read in
high school English classes are not “Christian” literature, and
they include decidedly unchristian elements. Odysseus cheats on his
wife. Shakespeare's comedies have a lot of bawdy humor. The violence
and cruelty in A Tale of Two Cities is painful to read at
times.
But
part of our being made in the image of God is that we approach life
in terms of narrative, and Story is a necessary way of making sense
of our world. One of the complaints I have about most “Christian
films” I've seen is that, in a well-meaning attempt to not glorify
sin, they have sugar-coated the stories to the point of making them
unreal and therefore meaningless. They are just as bad as the shows
that DO glorify sin. None of them are real, and so none of them serve
the purposes that God intends narrative to serve in our lives.
I'll
be teaching my students this year that almost all of the stories we
read will have an element of truth in them – but it is always
incomplete truth, truth that needs to be informed by scripture. We
can't avoid storylines with ungodly elements because the world we
live in is an ungodly world; we have to learn how to read – and
view – with a discerning mind.
Which
brings me back to my daughter and her new favorite TV show. To watch
or not to watch? The truth is, I have watched some very ungodly shows
that have drawn me closer to God because they depicted the reality of
sin and made me all the more grateful for a God who loves me enough
to rescue me from that reality in myself. I've also watched some
ungodly stuff that really messed me up.
So here's
the advice I think I will give her: ask yourself, when I watch this
show, does it bring me closer to God or further away? Do I find
myself making excuses for the behavior of the characters I watch, or
do I find myself sorrowful for the pain they don't realize they're
causing themselves (like I would for a friend in that situation)? Do
I see my standards changing for the better or for the worse because
of watching this?
And
in the end, really, is there something else that would be a
better use of my time?
I
am becoming increasingly cautious of ever using television or movies
as “mindless entertainment”. We do need mindless entertainment on
occasion, but unfortunately, we can't afford to rest our minds while
we allow the world's images and stories to enter them.
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