By God's grace, I hope so. Television has been one of my subtle, seemingly innocent, false gods that needed getting rid of in my life. My husband and I grew up in the 70's and 80's and hence we have watched too much T.V. in our lifetime. You would think we'd have a big, flat screen TV but we don't. ("Not that we haven't looked at them", she confessed on her blog, "but they are just a little out of our price range."). I believe God used the bigger than life price tag to deter us because He was protecting us. He had a different plan in mind for us. (He also knows how to speak my husband's competitive spirit. It eventually became a little game... how long can we go with the only TV we've ever owned? Which he'll proudly proclaim is a small 19'' bought over 13 years ago when we got married!)
Okay, back to the plan: Over the course of our marriage we have become fed up with TV and vowed never again to watch the boob-tube; but it was done in a more legalistic manner and always seemed to creep back into our lives. But, over a month ago my husband and I had a different outlook on life... we decided to cut-out the majority of our TV viewing. It was the best decision for us! We don't feel legalistic about it... it's not something we feel deprived of at all... we are not looking for "loopholes" to watch it... in other words - we don't even miss it! Simply put... it's a conviction that we felt necessary for our personal growth and it's actually something we rejoice in... we are glad God led us to this new way of living.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:12, "Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial." Here's how we've benefitted from this new paradigm:
It's been really good for us physically (we don't eat as many snacks, we get more chores done, go to bed earlier, etc...), mentally (thinking and reading more on our own - the TV isn't thinking for us), emotionally (it's no longer the way we need to "unwind", also we are not taken in by all the world/media slants, etc...), financially (we don't see commercials which influence our buying), relationally (as a couple we talk even more than we did before), and spiritually (we can hear God's voice more clearly because we don't have the static of the world influencing our spirit, it's a time to read His Word, do Bible studies, and so on...).
Then yesterday I was doing Session 3 - Day 4 of the Kelly Minter, No Other Gods, study. That particular lesson was fully devoted to the false god of TV (and other media). I was so excited because it really confirmed what God had already led us to do over a month ago! Let me give just one quote (otherwise I'd like to re-type the entire Day 4 of the study), "To think we are unaffected by what we watch, read, or listen to is deceptive thinking." (p.68)
Check out, 2 Timothy 3:1-16... this passage is so pertinent to this very modern topic. Verse 6 really spoke to me on how we welcome TV into our homes and allow it to control us, shape our thinking, and deceive us. As the passage ends it encourages us to remember the Scripture we've been taught.
TV is a "filler" in our lives. When we get rid of the false filler... we make room for a real relationship with God. If my husband and I are going to continue on this path of making room for God it is crucial that we keep filling our minds with God's Word. What a journey, what an incredible journey!
