Passive Entertainment

[AlsoBroken]

WHAT am I watching, reading, and/or listening to for HOURS that isn’t godly and wastes time?
Since I’ve been basically “retired” and deal with long-Covid chronic fatigue, I have to rest alot and I get caught up in binge-watching shows on my smart TV, just to numb out and/or be entertained. I AM particular about the shows I like and will avoid those that are full of violence, explicit sex, profanity, etc. 

However, I am now feeling convicted of being hooked on a series that has great qualities in every humanistic, secular way (so I’ve excused the occasional profanity) but… it is basically Godless. 

The Word says we are to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2) and to live according to the Spirit and not to the Flesh. I believe that this type of entertainment is of the Flesh and to grow spiritually I need to get rid of it! 

What is your experience in this matter??

Edited April 26, 2023 by AlsoBroken

[FJK]

37 minutes ago, AlsoBroken said:

What is your experience in this matter??

A show can be "Godless" yet not be opposed to God.

Does the show depict things that are in direct opposition to God and his rules and try to normalize them? 

Many shows, movies, etc, do but do so in so subtle a way that it can slip by unnoticed, implanting behaviors and attitudes in your mind without you realizing it, and have you think they are your own from your own experiences when they surface and control your reactions to events in the real world around you.

Beware of this and don't allow it to infect you without your knowledge, watching the show is not necessarily bad, we all live in a secular world and should expect such, but don't let it influence you at an unconscious level so you learn to accept things that you would normally reject as unacceptable.

And, of course, outright reject anything attempting fo portray all sorts of sinful behavior, sexual perversions in particular (men kissing men, women doing all sorts of things with other women, young people having illicit sexual relationships), as being accepted so that they become normalized in your thinking, just shut those things off as soon as you see it happen.

 

My opinion for your consideration, I'm sure others will have different ones to consider as well.

[Jayne]

1 hour ago, AlsoBroken said:

WHAT am I watching, reading, and/or listening to for HOURS that isn’t godly and wastes time?
Since I’ve been basically “retired” and deal with long-Covid chronic fatigue, I have to rest alot and I get caught up in binge-watching shows on my smart TV, just to numb out and/or be entertained. I AM particular about the shows I like and will avoid those that are full of violence, explicit sex, profanity, etc. 

However, I am now feeling convicted of being hooked on a series that has great qualities in every humanistic, secular way (so I’ve excused the occasional profanity) but… it is basically Godless. 

The Word says we are to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2) and to live according to the Spirit and not to the Flesh. I believe that this type of entertainment is of the Flesh and to grow spiritually I need to get rid of it! 

What is your experience in this matter??

I agree.  There's a lot on television that may not be highly immoral, but yet draws the mind away from prayer, Bible study, and/or any good thing that God would have us engrossed in.  Things like taking care of the needs of others.

Binge-watching is a real thing.  Binge-eating, binge-reading, binge-sleeping, binge-smoking, binge-drinking......

It's all about the "binge".  

[LiveWire]

Where I live we have television channels in series set-up for different venues and types of entertainment.   It's just regular non-cable television.   But it does include Christian Programs.   One can disagree doctrinally but still be Blessed by having the Word of God spoken into your home environment.   Now, I am far from one who has this on 24/7/365.   I love Sports and have my own favorites involving ungodly sitcoms.   I studied certain things in life when I was not living for God that includes body/mind/soul.   Some series that includes Police and Martial arts just thrills me.   I even enjoy watching the bad criminal taking a physical skilled beat down.   I know it's entertainment, even though, I might justify it by saying Good Triumphed over Evil hahaha   But there can also sometimes be seduction, revealing more than should, and bad language involved.   It does not tempt me one bit.   But I know it ain't helping on the Spiritual Side of God either.

 

And if that didn't seem competitive enough, wait until NFL and NCAA Football Seasons and NCAA Basketball.   I have a foam brick just to throw at the television toward the referee for calling an obvious Home Field Advantage Penalty Call...

[Vine Abider]

I confess that I find this a tough thing @AlsoBroken.  That is, I watch way too much on the ol' TV and have prayed about it quite a bit. We do censor many certain things out and either my wife or I have veto power - some things she nixes while other things I pull the plug on. But I actually think 90% of fictional TV is at least just fleshly and Godless.  We have broadcast channels and also Netflix, which has some OK and a lot of bad I think. So we usually have a few series programs on DVDs on hand with milder content.

But I am bothered by how much of it I do watch in the evenings. (at least with the NBA and playoffs, we watch a lot of that right now - my wife is a Suns fanatic! so that is better that most programs I think) Oftentimes the inner anointing lets me know that something shouldn't be watched, that is, I can just feel life being drained from me! But my thinking is it's all pretty bad and is just a conduit to let the worldly cesspool into house and hearts . . .

Bottom line: take problem to Him and let the inner Anointing (Christ in you) tell you, and avoid being overtly legalistic (which brings in condemnation & energizes the flesh even more). Though sometimes it is just as simple as the "off" button and then reading scripture or a healthy spiritual book.

[FJK]

11 minutes ago, Vine Abider said:

But I am bothered by how much of it I do watch in the evenings.

Consider:  If you quit doing it, you won't be bothered by it.

[LoneWolfSoldier]

3 hours ago, FJK said:

A show can be "Godless" yet not be opposed to God.

 

May I ask why do you think something can be both "Godless" and not "opposed to God" isn't that the very definition of "Godless"?

[NConly]

I don't use TV but there are plenty good clean movies on you tube

[FJK]

9 minutes ago, LoneWolfSoldier said:

May I ask why do you think something can be both "Godless" and not "opposed to God" isn't that the very definition of "Godless"?

Just how it  is defined, I see "Godless" as not having God and his rules for living as part of the theme, and opposed to God as openly and deliberately promoting sinful anti-Christian activities and attitudes.

Just my way of viewing it.

[AnOrangeCat]

4 hours ago, AlsoBroken said:

The Word says we are to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2) and to live according to the Spirit and not to the Flesh. I believe that this type of entertainment is of the Flesh and to grow spiritually I need to get rid of it! 

There's a verse that I think is a great supplement to Romans 12:2. It's Philippians 4:8 "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."

I like to think of it as a measuring stick of sorts for secular entertainment that doesn't go against Biblical values. It might not be explicitly Christian, but does it turn your thoughts toward God? This is something that's going to vary from person to person with any given program, and I think that's okay so long as we keep the caveat in Romans 14 (which seems really applicable to this sort of thing in general since it covers "disputable matters") in mind, that we don't cause our brothers and sisters to stumble.

That said, humans did get along just fine without mass media for thousands of years. As much as the internet has done to help me deal with social anxiety and my housebound lifestyle I do find myself feeling sad for the bad influence it and television have had on the people who grew up around it. Having spent a lot of time around teens and young adults the sheer number of people struggling with pornography is pretty staggering. For everyone who's struggling you can be pretty sure that there's a bunch more who aren't bothering to struggle at all.