Being Sober-minded 1: Entertainment as a life goal

[prisonchaplain]

To hear all three parts of Being Sober Minded:  http://www.anglelake.org/resources/online-sermons/?sermon_id=301

 

Too often, at work, we ask people how they are doing, and the response is, “Oh, fine—today/tomorrow is my Friday.”  Oh I get it—weekends are great.  They are the time to reconnect with family, relax, or have fun.  However, do we squander our lives away when we live primarily for our days off? 

 

Entertainment-seeking is often a search for the proverbial diamond in the ruff.  There are valuable movies and shows.  The Passion of the Christ proved poignant for many, controversial for others, and even caused a few to change their spirituality and worldview.  Schindler’s List reminded us of the horrors of war, racism, and our potential for depravity.  Ironically, both movies garnered R-ratings.

 

Even the most conservative viewers are now catered to.  Pure Flix has put out nearly a dozen full-length Christian movies.  Additionally, both Amazon and Netflix have “Faith and Spirituality” genres.

Despite some remarkable offerings, there are so many movies and TV shows that are spiritually damaging.  I recently read about a controversial young TV actress/director, and decided to watch a couple episodes of her series.  I could not, because the first two episodes began with extended sex scenes.  More remarkable is that the article I read said that in later years the shows got raunchier!

 

More broadly, according to a 2014 Barna study, amongst Christian men who identify as “born again”:  95 percent admit that they have viewed pornography; 54 percent look at pornography at least once a month; 44 percent viewed pornography at work in the last 90 days; 31 percent had a sexual affair while married; 25 percent erase Internet browsing history to conceal pornography use; 18 percent admit being addicted to pornography (and another 9 percent think they may be). How disheartening that so many people of faith are finding it so hard to keep their hearts and minds free from the kind of clutter they are taught is ungodly.

 

Could it be that the omnipresent softer sexuality and violence—most R-rated movies, and a majority of PG-13 probably fall into this category—prepare us for such failure?  They make light of pre/extra marital sex.  They make violence thrilling, and even comedic.

 

Even the non-religious are finding trouble with too much entertainment.  Video gaming and porn are destroying young boys, according to former American Psychological Association President, Dr. Philip Zimbardo.   He says many young men do not know how to interact socially.   They prefer to watch porn, because girls might reject them.   Furthermore, excessive game-playing leads them to social isolation and an inability to sustain concentration, such that their female counterparts are getting more education, and better jobs.  Males are so severely affected that many colleges today are nearly 60% female!

 

It is not that all media is bad or harmful.  However, consider the wise words of the Apostle Paul, in Philippians4:8:  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.  Ask yourself when the last time was that you sat down to see what was on TV, and realized after a few hours that you had just wasted a boat load of time.

 

Entertainment is to life as salt is to meat.  A little bit seasons a lot.  Too much spoils it.  After all, what is the real meaning of our existence?  There must be more than chasing after the next empty laugh!

 

[Maureen]

Socrates is credited with saying: "Everything in moderation, nothing in excess." Being sober minded means knowing what and how much is good for you. Everyone has their own balance in what works for them and it's hard to imagine that people can overdose on the good to make it not as good anymore. And maybe those things that are considered taboo are so enticing because they are taboo and people's curiosity gets the better of them and then it becomes just a habit - a bad habit. Humans are complicated beings.

 

M.

[Blackmarch]

To hear all three parts of Being Sober Minded:  http://www.anglelake.org/resources/online-sermons/?sermon_id=301

 

Too often, at work, we ask people how they are doing, and the response is, “Oh, fine—today/tomorrow is my Friday.”  Oh I get it—weekends are great.  They are the time to reconnect with family, relax, or have fun.  However, do we squander our lives away when we live primarily for our days off? 

 

Entertainment-seeking is often a search for the proverbial diamond in the ruff.  There are valuable movies and shows.  The Passion of the Christ proved poignant for many, controversial for others, and even caused a few to change their spirituality and worldview.  Schindler’s List reminded us of the horrors of war, racism, and our potential for depravity.  Ironically, both movies garnered R-ratings.

 

Even the most conservative viewers are now catered to.  Pure Flix has put out nearly a dozen full-length Christian movies.  Additionally, both Amazon and Netflix have “Faith and Spirituality” genres.

Despite some remarkable offerings, there are so many movies and TV shows that are spiritually damaging.  I recently read about a controversial young TV actress/director, and decided to watch a couple episodes of her series.  I could not, because the first two episodes began with extended sex scenes.  More remarkable is that the article I read said that in later years the shows got raunchier!

 

More broadly, according to a 2014 Barna study, amongst Christian men who identify as “born again”:  95 percent admit that they have viewed pornography; 54 percent look at pornography at least once a month; 44 percent viewed pornography at work in the last 90 days; 31 percent had a sexual affair while married; 25 percent erase Internet browsing history to conceal pornography use; 18 percent admit being addicted to pornography (and another 9 percent think they may be). How disheartening that so many people of faith are finding it so hard to keep their hearts and minds free from the kind of clutter they are taught is ungodly.

 

Could it be that the omnipresent softer sexuality and violence—most R-rated movies, and a majority of PG-13 probably fall into this category—prepare us for such failure?  They make light of pre/extra marital sex.  They make violence thrilling, and even comedic.

 

Even the non-religious are finding trouble with too much entertainment.  Video gaming and porn are destroying young boys, according to former American Psychological Association President, Dr. Philip Zimbardo.   He says many young men do not know how to interact socially.   They prefer to watch porn, because girls might reject them.   Furthermore, excessive game-playing leads them to social isolation and an inability to sustain concentration, such that their female counterparts are getting more education, and better jobs.  Males are so severely affected that many colleges today are nearly 60% female!

 

It is not that all media is bad or harmful.  However, consider the wise words of the Apostle Paul, in Philippians4:8:  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.  Ask yourself when the last time was that you sat down to see what was on TV, and realized after a few hours that you had just wasted a boat load of time.

 

Entertainment is to life as salt is to meat.  A little bit seasons a lot.  Too much spoils it.  After all, what is the real meaning of our existence?  There must be more than chasing after the next empty laugh!

actually i'd put entertainment as less than salt. perhaps closer to sugar.

[Palerider]

With or without kids you have to be on guard at all times when viewing something on TV or the Internet. It requires the Full Armour of God.