While working through a recent unit on Shakespeare with my sophomore students, I was reminded that the power of media is nothing new. Although its presentation today is perhaps more vivid, and therefore more memorable, the world of entertainment has had its place in culture for thousands of years. An ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, saw the cathartic nature of drama which, by engaging the audience, brings people into the action and allows them to become part of the story without leaving their seats. Media isn’t passive; it embraces us.
Colossians 1:13 reminds us, “For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” When considering the media we take in on a daily basis, we need to ask ourselves if it belongs in the kingdom of light or of darkness. Our flesh will not willingly expose its darkness (John 3:19-20). The more intimate we are with the Spirit, however, the more we readily discern light from darkness (Hebrews 5:14).
In a world that aggressively blurs the lines between good and evil, we must not forget that God is serious about our leaving behind the darkness to walk in the light of His Word. Excusing things as “no big deal” or refusing to surrender areas of our lives to God opens a door for the enemy to take us down a dangerous path. What may become a casual interest or attraction to things that are ungodly can later become an area of bondage in our lives.
God is amazingly powerful, and He has already overcome the darkness. He won’t take something out of our lives, however, if we’re unwilling to let it go. The choice is ours—light or darkness. We can’t have both.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Samuel 1:1-28
More:
Read John 12:46 and 1 John 1:5-7 to discover why we can’t be intimate with God and hold on to things that are rooted in darkness.
Next:
In what ways has media been influential in your life—positively as well as negatively? In what ways is your media consumption filled with the Spirit?
will77 on March 19, 2011 at 6:22 am
There is so little that is truly worthy of watching or participating in through the media. Often I have found if there is a show that sparks my interest and is not offensive. Then it tends to spiral downward over time. Then Im faced with a choice to make which becomes harder for the flesh once it has drawn you in. I then have to make a stand am I going to let myself be exposed to a show thats sometimes good and then throws in wickedness around the edges. Thanks for the reminder there is a clear difference between darkness and light, but we have to make the choice where we will go, and then you have to continue in that choice over and over, from media to everyday real time life. Its not a onetime decision
eppistle on March 19, 2011 at 7:12 am
The media packages sin so well that we often laugh or admire the actions that sent Jesus to the cross. What would a Spirit-filled person do? Watch a show and grieve whenever the Holy Spirit grieves that sin is being promoted as enticing, thrilling , titillating and even justifiable when it’s actually sinister, enslaving and destructive? Or would the Spirit-filled person choose not to watch what he knows is sin-promoting and when he unwittingly stumbles into watching a show that takes a turn for the worse, woud he get up and walk away?
pastortim on March 19, 2011 at 7:54 am
Amen to both will and eppistle. compromise is the worst thing we can do, even our “Christian” programs can take time away from the things our Father would have us do.
marichu g. escasinas on March 19, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Being a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ is making the most of our time in prayer to to be more aware of the darkness. There is no time, there is no place when we can’t draw upon His grace.
pri1465 on March 19, 2011 at 10:51 pm
I think TV is something that the devil uses to put things into our mind without us knowing.
Somethings shown are so bad that we know instantly that this is not right. but there are some things that are very subtle. For us who are in our 40’s we were told right from wrong clearly so when we see something wrong on tv we generally know that it is wrong. But I think for todays generation from the time they are small they see violence on tv even in cartoon and they grow up thinking killing and violence is a natural part of life.