There is a
children’s song that goes through some of the five senses telling kids to “be careful little hands what you do”…” be careful little mouth what you say”…
“be careful little ears what you
hear”… and “Be Careful Little Eyes What
You See.” Well, as I figure, in Gods
eyes I am still his little child and
in fact the song is speaking to me as well as my children. He
cares deeply about the things I see. What I see enters my heart. King Solomon said in Proverbs 4:23, “Above
all else guard your heart, for it is the well-spring of life.” We are all convicted
about something! I am convinced my conviction is the Lord’s reminder for me to
saddle up and get back on the path He has set before me.
A growing conviction
for me is TV! The world’s standards to
what is acceptable to watch on TV are NOT the same as the Lord’s. “Turn
my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to his
word.” Psalm 119:37 In general the older I have gotten and as each child has
entered our lives, my clocked TV time has diminished to about one show a week.
I am okay with not watching much TV but
that funny feeling inside still remained with the little I did watch. You know where something feels off or not
quite right? It’s easy to dismiss and justify since I’m not watching anything else
during the week. It was “my” show, “my” one night to relax, and “my”
escape from reality. One night, after
watching “MY” show until the credits
rolled, I could feel the Holy Spirit suffocating “MY” so called need to watch trashy TV and replace it with a desire
to be purposeful with the time He has given me.
The show I continued
to faithfully tune into was without fail filled with sex, excessive drinking, drugs and did I mention sex? Having a regular prime time spot during the
week and just being renewed for a fourth season; the show has 5.16 MILLION
viewers, most in the 18-49 year old range.
The TV had a sneaky way in
desensitizing my standards. To be
frank, I was not the one who wrote the show, nor was I personally going to take
part in any of the sinful actions so how could watching it be that
bad? “The eye is the lamp of the body, if your eyes are good your whole body will
be full of light.” Matthew 6:22 I
honestly believe that what I watch goes straight to my heart, then to the brain
to decode. Unfortunately the icky pieces
get left behind in my heart leaving me feeling anxious and uncertain. Not to mention I can’t erase or undo what I
have seen, therefore without fail images will pop into my brain without me even
prompting the thought. The realness of
the guilty feelings over a FAKE
television show is bizarre! This got
my wheels turning and I started to wonder WHY in the world do I continue to put
myself through this week after week? Is
it really worth it?
No, it is not worth
it! “So we fix our eyes not on what is
seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is
unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18. Here are my thought processes continued on
the topic, (me talking to myself in my head, which I may do a little too often!) “Would I be proud to tell my
three girls I watch this stuff? Would I want my girls to EVER watch this kind
of TV when they get older? If I were extremely
ill would I spend my time doing this?
What could I be doing instead during this time? Would I watch this if my in-laws were in the
room? Do I want to have conversations about this show with my friends? Am I inspired or even encouraged by this
show?”
Something silly and downright
sad about the whole thing is that I actually feel like I am giving something
up. My inner monologue once again
strikes up and reminds me that a
sacrifice is those serving in the armed forces fighting for my Freedoms,
it’s a mother in Africa starving literally to death and giving her children all
the food she can find leaving nothing for herself, it is someone living for
Christ in a country that kills for such things or a woman who chooses not to
abort her baby-to give birth-then give her baby up for adoption. Really I
am not sacrificing ANYTHING, I am adding one hour back into my week. My desire is that one hour each week will
allow Christ to move mountains, change lives, and encourage women through me.
I don’t always
replace that one extra hour with singing Kumbaya around the campfire or diving
deep into the bible. Sometimes I find
myself walking around in circles trying to remember what in the world I was
doing in the first place. One thing I do
accomplish by committing not to watch television shows like the one mentioned
above is not filling my mind with
worldly thoughts and behaviors. Either way whether it is the content of the
show or the amount of minutes/hours watching television, the Lord will nudge
when either is off the mark or unbalanced, just listen! The Lord has a way of getting my attention if
only I will listen and respond. When I
do listen and respond, He changes me for the better. Here are some statistics
listed below regarding television:
·
Sexual
content has tripled in the last decade
·
95% of Americans watch TV a day
·
An average American watches 4 hours of TV a day-
that equals 2 months a year-9 years of TV by the age of 65
·
66% of American’s watch TV at dinner (Dr.
Mercola wrote, “TV may have killed the
family dinner.”)
·
American Youth clock about 900 hours of school and
1500 hours of television
·
An average child watches 8,000 murders and one
hundred thousand acts of violence before finishing elementary school/doubles by
the age of 18
If those statistics aren’t alarming enough, the below
statistics definitely remind me to keep my body in motion:
·
Late night sedentary TV watching usually leads
to snacking, which leads to weight gain!
Less TV=increase in QUALITY of
life
·
Obesity has doubled from 1990 to 2010
·
The average American is 24 lbs. heavier than in
1960 (number of homes with TVs increased from 0.4 percent in 1948 to 55.7 percent
in 1954 and to 83.2 percent four years later)
·
Nearly 98%
of food advertisements and products are unhealthy (In which these ads try
to convince us and our children their products are “okay” for our bodies.)
Television has a
way of affecting my attitude (and definitely my children’s!), my emotions,
thought process, sleep patterns, and my motivation to workout.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is
true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8. Piece by piece television changes the way we
view our reality, our behaviors change, and our perception comes from an
unstable worldly viewpoint. Guard your hearts friends by careful choosing what
you allow your eyes to see. Don’t be an
average statistic!
Lord, please give me
the discernment each time I turn the TV on.
Help me to honor you in all that my eyes may see. Amen
TV Free America
Fitday.com
