TV Viewing

I am going to come back to idea of waiting another day. This morning I want to share how God has put his finger on my TV viewing and how he confirmed it in church last night. I want my blog to encourage others in their walk with Christ, as well as update you with things that are going on within my family. I debated on this entry, but I really want to be honest and maybe my struggles will help you with your struggles.

Back in early August I was convicted about shows that I watch occasionally. Let me stress the word occasionally. These are not shows that I had to watch or watched every time they came on or anything like that. None of the shows are R-rated or show naked bodies, etc. We have blocked many channels for this very reason. We have no movie channels and have blocked FX, MTV, and VH-I because of the content, commercials, and language. Anyway, one particular show I started to watch was Bravo's Housewives of Atlanta, Orange County, New York, and New Jersey. I have seen episodes from all the cities and I get sucked in to watching them because their lives are crazy to me. I cannot imagine having that kind of money to spend, and I am fascinated with their worldview. Anyway, I really got hooked on watching this during the first 3 months of Gracen's arrival because I was nursing after everyone else went to bed. It seems that Bravo was always running reruns and I got sucked in. If you have watched the show, you know that there are curse words sprinkled throughout and they certainly don't live Godly lives, to say the least. The language and lifestyles would make me cringe and I started to think that my time could be better spent....even though I was stuck in a chair nursing. I knew I could read, pray, etc. Another show was Days of Our Lives. I used to watch Days growing up. I'm talking Jr. High and High School. The interest in Bo and Hope's lives goes way back. Again, while I was nursing I discovered that it comes on at 3:30am on the Soap Network channel. For a couple of months, I got pulled back in.
I could easily argue that watching these shows was not affecting my Christian walk and it couldn't be considered a stumbling block to anyone because I watch it in my own home and besides Reagan is asleep right.

Then I came across a few verses in Psalms that changed my mind.
Psalm 101:2-3..."I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes."

Psalm 119:1..."How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord."

Pretty powerful scriptures. I would be embarrassed if my college girls or other minister wives knew I watched these shows...even if it was just a couple of months. That meant I was not walking in integrity within my house. My way couldn't be considered blameless. I also started to notice that the more I watched the Housewives, the more I thought about material things. Why do they have so much Lord and we struggle with unexpected expenses. What I watch clearly affects my thoughts! I wrote all this down in my prayer journal because I wanted to keep these verses and lessons that God is teaching me along the way.

Anyway, I haven't watch either show in about 2 months but the pull is still there. Sin in any form is like that, isn't it? I am no longer up at 3:30am, but at 12:30 everyday, when Days of Lives comes on, I can't help but wonder what Bo and Hope are up to. I can also flip by Bravo's housewives and really want to watch it, but I won't. I committed my TV viewing to God. Even if if doesn't affect anyone else, I know it breaks the heart of God. My holiness, my sanctification is that important to Him. Even my TV viewing matters.

About a week after this conviction of watching certain TV shows back in early August, I read a study about the connection between children viewing immorality on TV and having premarital sex at a young age. The numbers were scary. Well, premarital sex is shown on almost every TV show that comes on at night. How can I protect Reagan and Gracen from this? As I read the study, another show came to my mind that I love and one Reagan watches because it comes on when she is awake......The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. My first argument is that there is nothing really wrong with these shows....not a stumbling block....not affecting my walk. But as I think about Reagan and this study, what is she learning about finding the spouse God has for her? What is she learning about dating? I remember one episode where Jillian and her "men" were offered the key to their fantasy suites and it showed them in their bedrooms, in the bathtub, massaging one another on the bed, etc. What is this teaching her about purity? What is this teaching her about "trying men out to see which one is the best fit"? Anyway, we won't be watching those shows anymore either.

Last night in church, Bro. Glenn talked about holiness and how God desires us to live as Christ lived....how he expects us to be different from the world. He spoke a lot about the TV shows we watch and quoted the exact verses I listed above and shared the exact study on the link between what children view on TV and early premarital sex. I showed Gene my pray journal last night, and we both thought it was pretty neat that Bro. Glenn shared the exact things I wrote down and committed to God almost 2 months ago. God is a very personal God and He cares about every aspect of our lives. If you are being convicted about something today, confess it to Him and lay it down! Even if it is difficult, God blesses our obedience! Trust me!