"Mr. Dagley," one of my high school classmates once asked during a precalculus class. "How far is too far?" (Note: he was NOT talking about the limit of a function. We tried to avoid all that "math" stuff).
"Well, first of all," my teacher answered, "you're asking the wrong question. It's not about going as close to the edge as we can without falling over it. It's about doing things that are GOOD for you."
I think most of us are like my classmate: we're asking the wrong question.
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| If you like to talk to tomatoes... |
If you are anything like me, you try to be somewhat conscientious about what you watch, read, or listen to, but you don't take it overboard. I mean, you don't want to be like one of those ultra-conservative families that aren't even allowed to watch VeggieTales, because "not once in the Bible does it mention a talking tomato."
So you flip through E! and MTV and Bravo, and before you settle on a show, you ask yourself, "Is it okay for me to watch this?" You turn on the radio or pick up a magazine and the same question keeps popping into your head: Is this okay?
But before you even get to that answer, you're already pointing yourself towards failure because you are asking yourself the WRONG question. In I Corinthians 10:23, the Apostle Paul warns us that "'everything is permissible'—but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'—but not everything is constructive."
We shouldn't be asking, "Is this okay?" We should be asking, "Is this good?"
I can argue all I want that watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians isn't all that bad, but is it good? Does it strengthen my relationship with Christ? Does it prepare me to make a profound difference in this world? Does anything good come from it at all? I use this show as an example because, judge me all you want, it's one of my favorites. I know it's trashy, and stupid, and definitely scripted, but I simply enjoy it. For years now, I have told myself that it's fine for me to watch it, that it's just funny, that it's harmless, that it doesn't have any influence on me, but I've realized that this isn't true at all.
The shows that I watch have a significant effect on my priorities. The more I watch Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney live it up in Calabasas or Miami or New York, or wherever they are these days, the more I begin to value wealth, fame, and sex appeal. When I watch Friends (another one of my favorites), I start thinking that drinking a little too much and sleeping around just a little bit is perfectly normal behavior. The worst part is, I don't even realize that I am affected by these shows until I find myself a few days later feeling self-conscious about how I look or second-guessing my commitment to sobriety.
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| They seem harmless enough, right? |
It's amazing how the media sneaks these subtle messages into our minds, and before we know it, we've been brainwashed.
You know the song "Starships" by Nicki Minaj? The one that makes zero sense? Well, I was driving some of my younger cousins to a pool a few weeks ago and the song came on the radio. It's kind of a feel-good summer song so I turned up the volume and the three kids in the backseat (all between the ages of 9 and 11) danced and sang along, knowing almost every word. When I went home, I googled the lyrics. They're terrible. And the next song that came on was "Scream" by Usher, which is basically about a guy who wants to have sex with a girl he just met. Good stuff, right? Preteens are listening to this music, their minds infiltrated without them even knowing.
Even our "better alternatives" aren't all that good. I love country music because it's not just about sex and drugs and strip clubs, but you know what I've noticed more and more of recently? Songs about alcohol.
Since I work an office job that occasionally allows for a little downtime, I looked through the lyrics of the top country songs for June 2012—twelve of the top 40 songs contained blatant references to alcohol. If you think that this is just a fluke, that a couple of drinking songs just coincidentally rose to the charts at the same time, then you're wrong; for the week of March 31, there were again twelve songs about alcohol in Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 countdown.
If twelve out of forty (30%) doesn't sound like much to you, think about this: The average American spends over 100 hours driving each year, so if you listen to country radio, then 30 of those hours will be dedicated to songs about alcohol. And that doesn't even factor in favorites like Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" or Brad Paisley's "Alcohol." "So what?" you ask. "Just because I listen to country music doesn't mean I'm on the fast track to AA."
You're right, listening to songs about alcohol doesn't automatically make you an alcoholic, but if you're anything like me, then it's certainly a gateway drink, a Mike's Hard Lemonade. The more I hear it, the more I become accustomed to it, and the more I think that it's "okay."
I crack the window just a little bit and suddenly the garbage of this world comes rushing in and overtakes my senses, except I'm so jaded that I don't even realize that it's trash, mistaking it for the scent of Toll House cookies or the ocean or freshly-cut grass; I'm so brainwashed that I can't even tell what's good anymore.
I think this happens to most of us. We give the world a foothold and next thing we know it has completely overtaken us.
Watching The Hangover is harmless.
It's okay to have just a few drinks.
But I just find People Magazine so interesting.
We start to think that these behaviors are normal, that they are what we're supposed to be doing, but guess what? They are normal for the world, but Jesus has overcome the world. We don't have to get sucked into this glitter-coated vacuum; God has promised us so much more than our destitute culture is offering to us via aluminum cans and dense reality TV. We need to stop feeding ourselves empty calories just to satisfy our cravings. We need to only let GOOD things into our bodies.
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| Ke$ha getting her glitter on. |
Who taught us that casual sex and drinking games are fun? Probably not our teachers and youth leaders, and definitely not God. We've been convinced that waking up with puke on our clothes and a vague memory of trying to sled down the stairs on cookie sheets (as one of my friends claims to have done) is what we should be doing, because we are listening to what the media tells us and ignoring what the Bible says. Our values are just a reflection of our culture.
So here's my challenge: Start asking the right question. Don't just let things slide because they're "okay." Spend your time reading, watching, listening, and doing things that honor God and strengthen your relationship with Him. Think about your favorite movies, shows, video games, and songs and ask yourself, "Is this good for me?" And if it's not, then stay away. Don't let the evils of our culture seep through the cracks.
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| Oh, Eugene, how I've missed you. |
For the next four weeks, I'm going to minimize my media exposure. I'll watch the Olympics, but I'll try to avoid sitcoms and reality shows (including The Bachelorette finale); I'll go see The Dark Knight Rises, but I won't be sitting through Ted and Magic Mike. I'm giving up gossip magazines and listening to Country 102.5 and Kiss 108 (which will be hard because I have no iPod. Adventures in Odyssey tapes from 1997, here I come).
Instead, I'll be listening to Brandon Heath and Matthew West and reading the Bible, devotionals, and Christian blogs. I challenge you to do the same thing--basically, a media cleanse.
Honestly, this is going to be extremely challenging for me because I've already been sucked so far into this lie. But to get serious about my faith, I need to get rid of the distractions that are brainwashing me and corrupting my senses.
I need to shut the window and start asking the right question.
(For media reviews from a Christian perspective, check out "Plugged In" from Focus on the Family).
"Stop the World" -Matthew West
"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." -Colossians 3:2
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