Naively Certain
Probably naively, I came up with this great idea to talk about why as Godly women we should be careful of what we watch! Was it a great idea, not so sure anymore?
The first thing I always do before submitting a blog topic is to do a bit of research as to what that topic entails. I think I got about 25 minutes into the swirling vortex of the internet and realized, to my dismay, people have a lot to say about what Christians should and should not watch, read, eat, how they should even exercise, trust me…type in, “Why Christians shouldn’t…” and Google will do the rest.
I am not here to tell you what is right or wrong. I am not here to say you shouldn’t watch Game of Thrones or read 50 Shades of Grey, I don’t have that much power and, quite frankly, I don’t have any authority to tell people what their walk with the Lord should look like.
What I am here to do is challenge you to not become, as Tony Reinke puts it, “…another cool, hip, savvy, irrelevant copy of itself.”
What does that mean? It means the world is full of shells. Full of people who watch and read things because it’s popular, it’s the newest fad or they simply don’t want to be left out.
Insert question here…is that glorifying to the Lord?
Instead of being that shell of neutrality, why not think about what you are feeding your soul. Listen, no one wants to give up “guilty pleasures,” especially when they are popular and we share them with our friends. If you want to see a knockdown, drag-out fight between Christian men and women, ask them if Christians should watch Game of Thrones - all the kindness and ‘loving thou neighbor’ will disappear and you’ll be left with two sides throwing very strong words at each other.
Rewind 20 years ago. Two words. Harry Potter. I was the ripe old age of eight when the first book came out. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. All of my friends and I were so excited to read this story about a wizard and all the magical adventures him and his friends would go on! Enter my mother. Librarian at my school, she was on the side of, let’s just say, not willing to allow any student to read something so appalling. My wonderful and loving, yet close-minded at the time mother, took it upon herself to take the books off the shelves and not allow kids to read them. After many complaints, she had to put them back up and she realized that her decision to take them off in the first place was out of haste and ignorance. She decided to sit and read this new book that was all the rage and you know what she found out? It was a fantastically written work of art that allowed kids to grow their imaginations and instill the love of reading in them.
Uniformed.
Don’t misunderstand me and watch all the things and read all the books because you want to be informed. There are actually people who do that and give footnotes so we don’t have to. There is though, a fine line between writing something off without any knowledge of it and making an informed decision as to if it is right or wrong.
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8, King James Version)
This verse, which I am sure many of us know by heart, has become my guiding principle in what I personally can read and watch. This is a time of Netflix and chill, Freeform, HBO, HULU, almost limitless possibilities at our fingertips for entertainment.
I have found, there is no one right answer.
There is no cookie cutter explanation that tells Christians what they should and should not be absorbing in our world.
There is however a Bible full of countless verses on how to discern and keep our minds and thoughts pure. I suggest reading the few below:
Romans 12:12
Proverbs 28:26
Proverbs 4:23
Ephesians 4:22-32
1 John 1:8
2 Corinthians 10:5
Colossians 3:2-5
I can’t tell you what to and to not watch. Clearly, neither can anyone else because that scene gets ugly fast. That ladies, is up to you. I have had to cut out some very entertaining television because it was not good for my soul. I can watch things my friends can’t, my friends can watch thing I can’t.
It comes down to your own conviction.
If watching or reading a specific show or book makes you think unhealthy thoughts, stop. Don’t think you can overcome it, because you can’t. It is as simple as that. That little voice in the back of your head saying, “this isn’t good,” that voice is the Lord. Be wise and listen to the pros and cons of what others have to say, but ultimately listen to the Lord speaking to you and be bold enough to say no to that culturally acceptable form of entertainment.
We as powerful women of God are better than what the world wants us to do anyway. Be strong and be bold and let us break down the walls of ‘should’ and ‘should not,’ and be wise with what we feed ourselves.
Reinke, Tony. “Twelve Questions to Ask Before You Watch “Game of Thrones.” Desiring God, Desiring God, June.20.2014, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/12-questions-to-ask-before-you-watch-game-of-thrones.
