WITNESS TO THE WORD MENU
UK APOLOGETICS
A few years ago, I had a
conversation with a fellow believer. The conversation somehow
came around to the subject of the media and to television.
My fellow believer mentioned a number of TV programs which he
watched without fail; I found his choice somewhat stunning, to
say the least! He then mentioned a Hollywood Movie which was due
to be shown on television in a few days. He said, "You must see
it, Robin, it is a wonderfully funny film! I saw it when it came
out two years ago and can't wait to see it again."
Well, I decided to watch some of that film, but after no more
than ten minutes I switched it off. The film had an abusive and
foul attitude towards life and towards women. Were the opening
ten minutes typical of the whole film? Maybe not, but I had seen
enough!! At the next worship service, my fellow believer made it
quite clear that he had watched the whole film and enjoyed
it!!
Why do we Christians vary in some of these areas?
Let me say at once I would hate for pastors and ministers to say
exactly which programs and movies were suitable for Christians
and which were not, since personal taste and preference obviously
comes into this.
What, then, should be a believers guide as to taste and
suitability?
I am reminded of the old song from Disney's classic cartoon,
Pinocchio - 'Always let your conscience be your guide'!! We
Christians should have a heightened and developed conscience due
to the indwelling Holy Spirit! After all, even unbelievers have
been given a conscience and this often lends, at least some,
moral protection.
But this should be much more acute and fine-tuned for the
Christian!!
I lament that the sense of 'worldliness' as something to be
avoided is rapidly disappearing from many modern evangelicals.
Some evangelicals are even starting to say that the only ones who
complained of 'worldliness' were the old-type fundamentalists!
But this is just not so. I am afraid that the loss of a
perception of worldliness (as something which Christians should
avoid), has gone hand in hand with the fact that modern
evangelicals read the Scriptures far less than they used to,
often complaining that the 'demands of modern life' mean that
they have less time.
But to return to my opening point, is it really a morally and
spiritually building exercise for a believer to sit down and
watch a program or movie which contains bad language, or which
depicts an immoral lifestyle which the director encourages
his/her audience to laugh at? Or to feel 'at one' with the main
characters despite their plainly immoral lifestyle??
Many of us preachers keep saying that just as we will be
physically unhealthy if we keep eating 'junk food', we will
surely become spiritually unhealthy for constantly allowing
mental 'junk food' into our minds!!
Many Christians are, of course, well aware of this and live a
suitable lifestyle of 'guarding the entrance to their minds' -
unfortunately, many others are much slower to see the connection!
These things are indications of 'worldliness'!
So one indication of worldliness is to allow our minds to be
unduly influenced by a liberal, permissive, yet 'politically
correct' media.
Another indication is how much time/money/attention believers
spend on themselves whilst failing to recognise that even in our
modern western society, we are often surrounded by fellow
believers who have real needs which we could help
with!
I deeply lament that many believers spend hundreds or thousands
of pounds/dollars every year on expensive holidays and leisure
activities but some of them give very little thought to overseas
Christian missions who very often have a considerable financial
struggle even to maintain a status quo of missionary activity!
Frequently, money and affluence are the first things in the lives
of many us here in the West, and we are kidding ourselves if we
claim that Jesus Christ is at the centre of our lives!
But, Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, this should not be so. Why
have so many of us put money, career, and prosperity in place of
the Lord that we once committed ourselves to?? Here are just a
few Scriptures to consider:
'Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship
with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be
a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God' (James
4:4)
'By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious
promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world
through lust' (2 Peter 1:4)
'Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all
that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the
world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he
who does the will of God abides forever' (1 John 2:15-17).
The world is supposed to see our light shining. But can our
lights ever truly shine if we go along with all the same pursuits
and appetites as the society which we live in?
To conclude, let me make it clear what I am not
saying!
I am not saying that Christians should be recognisable because we
are the ones who go around with long faces and a spirit of
condemnation toward almost everything we see!! If any reader
thinks I am saying that, they are seriously misunderstanding my
central point! In fact, at times, there is no doubt that some
believers unwisely give just that impression! No! I am saying,
enjoy the good things in life by all means, enjoy your leisure
time and family time, but don't go along with the practical
atheism which lies behind much of our modern media and
entertainment. Don't allow yourselves to be influenced by the
blatant consumerism which often surrounds us all!
Enjoy that holiday, but if you are financially prosperous, can
you help others to enjoy a holiday too?
These are some of the things which we should be considering and
asking ourselves!
Museltof
2003