We all have choices to make everyday. Some are insignificant, but others will impact our lives for all eternity! Here are two contrasting philosophies that I wish everyone would consider:
The 23rd Psalm
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
OR:
The 23rd Channel
The TV is my shepherd, I shall not win.
It maketh me to lie down on the sofa: it leadeth me away from the scriptures.
It destroyeth my soul: it leadeth me into the paths of sex and violence for the sponsor's sake.
Yea, though I walk in the shadow of my Christian responsibility, there will be no interruption: for the TV is with me; its cable and its remote control, they comfort me.
It prepareth a commercial before me in the presence of my worldliness: it anointeth my head with humanism and consumerism; my coveting runneth over.
Surely ignorance and laziness shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house watching TV for ever.
As for me and my house, we will choose the Lord!
The reason this post is on my mind now, is that yesterday I re-took a drastic step for the betterment of my family. The TV is gone once more!
A little background is in order. Ever since I became a Christian in 1987 I knew that God wanted me to limit the TV use in my family. To that end, I have never subscribed to a cable or satellite TV service. I have allowed the family to view videos that we had chosen and approved of, and we did have Sky Angel, which was a Christian TV/Radio satellite service, from December 1998 until they discontinued in April 2008. Even with Sky Angel, we utilized the radio stations more than the TV, although we did catch some very good Christian movies on it.
During our entire time at Pure Water Hollow dating back to 1993, our family purposely did not have a permanent TV set located in our living room, until late last year when I moved an old floor model into the living room. Before that, I kept a portable TV in the closet and brought it out with the VCR every now and then for a family movie night.
For the past year, I decided that it would be nice to have a bigger set to watch our chosen shows on and also for Timothy to enjoy educational pre-school videos. I purchased some classic TV shows on DVD and we have really enjoyed viewing these good old programs. Some of our favorites have been series from the 50s like the Richard Greene Robin Hood series, the George Reeves Superman series, Ronald Howard's Sherlock Holmes series and The Adventures of Sir Lancelot starring William Russel. We also really enjoyed the Fess Parker Daniel Boone series and the early years of the Andy Griffith Show from the 60s. They are all clean shows with good morals and family values, and with entire seasons packaged together they were had at a great price! We also gradually broke out our huge collection of old movies and children shows on VHS.
It was all good for a good amount of time. But that time quickly grew, and grew, and grew, until the shows were still good, but the amount of time they were stealing from us each day was becoming very bad! It had become difficult to find time or energy for our family devotions until they disappeared completely. It was not all the fault of the TV, but I know it contributed. Ultimately, I am to blame, as the leader of my home, if we fail to have meaningful spiritual moments together as a family!
I decided that December 1st would be a perfect time to throw out the "23rd Channel" and focus on the "23rd Psalm"! So yesterday I put away all of the DVDs and VHSs and Matthew and I packed that big floor model TV out of the living room and up to the school house storage. In the place of the TV I put a nice collection of uplifting children's books, mostly for us to read aloud to Timothy and for him to look at by himself in lieu of a TV screen.
We will be completely TV free for the entire month of December as we focus on celebrating the birth of Jesus during our family time! In the past, we have utilized Christmas videos in our family, and that is nice sometimes. This year, however, we are going to be radically different! We have many good, Christ honoring TV specials on VHS, but they are not necessary for us to enjoy the holiday season. We will read and sing and listen to dramas together as a family, and we will talk more. We may find time to play a game or two. Perhaps there will be more time for cookies? I don't know exactly what our Christmas month celebration will be like this year, but I am looking forward to what God will show us during this time!
After December I have no plans to move a permanent TV back into the living room. Sometime in the future, I probably will get another portable TV that I will bring out periodically for a family TV time, but it will go away when that particular show is over!
We have been having our family devotion time more consistently since before Thanksgiving, and I'm definitely going to continue it throughout the Christmas season, and beyond. I won't be legalistic about it, but we should be able to have devotions more evenings than not! At least the TV will no longer be competing for that precious time!
I have a wonderful family! As for me and my house, it is a clear choice of which 23rd we desire! I am thankful that Lisa and the children are supportive of this choice as well. (Timothy is not too sure, yet.)
I suspect that most families try to merge both 23rds together into their experience. I can't help but think how difficult it is to serve two masters! Actually, Jesus was a bit more direct: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other." I know He was teaching about wealth, but I think I can apply it to our modern TV. It could also apply to the internet...
Well, how about you? Are you choosing the 23rd Psalm or the 23rd Channel? Or do you think you are successfully straddling the fence between the two? It's something to think about this Christmas season..... and always.
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