Popcorn & Candy
P Pray
There are some hard and fast
scriptural principles that apply to all of us. We need to know what they are, and
then we have to seek the Lord for how the application looks specifically in
your life and your family’s life.
O Online
reviews
Before turning on the television,
renting that movie, or buying that ticket, consult an online review (see
below).
P Pluggedin.com
or dove.org
When
reading reviews, read for more than sex and language. Look at the thematic
content. Is the entire story line dishonoring God? A great idea I got from my
sister is to have your kids read the reviews themselves and tell you why they
should be able to see the show.
C ClearPlay
Take advantage of technology such as
ClearPlay, Sky Angel, and TV Guardian to filter out offensive content.
O Open
God's word
Know what God has to say about the
things to which we expose ourselves.
R Round
up a home library
Ask friends, do your research, and
then begin to collect television shows and movies you and your family can enjoy
now and for years to come. Investing in the entire collection of Little House on the Prairie has paid
itself back in hours and years of wholesome entertainment.
N Not
even named among you
Hold God’s word up to what you want to
see. Our standard can’t be what others are doing, even other Christians. Look
at everything through God’s lenses.
And…
C Can't say what's wrong?
A Ask: What
about it glorifies God?
N Nothing?
D Don't go, do, listen, read, see.
Y You won't regret it; whereas you might
if you do.
The Hunger Games. A perfect example of the
“What’s wrong with it?” test. It’s the story of a government that throws its
teens into an arena to fight to the death for sheer entertainment. The story is
fiction, of course. There is no nudity. No inappropriate scenes. No “deal
killer” language. None of the biggies that cause me to immediately rule out a
movie. My daughter read all the books. All her Christian friends read all the
books. I am finishing the books right now. So we went to see the movie, and I
left with a lingering uneasiness I couldn’t quite figure out. It wasn’t until I
was preparing the corny little acronym above that it hit me: What glorified God
about it? Absolutely nothing! Was it a sin to read or see it? I’m still
contemplating, seeking God on this. In the process, He’s shown me something in
His word.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us, “Therefore,
since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside
every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us.” Every weight. Everything that hinders. Weight
that slows us down. Every encumbrance. These are the things that may not be sins,
but they keep us from running the race with endurance. The uneasiness I felt
after watching Hunger Games weighed
heavy on my mind and heart. It slowed me down. Was it a sin? Maybe not. Was it
an encumbrance? Yes.
Again and again, thank you, Lord,
there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I am not here to be
your Holy Spirit and give you hard and fast rules to follow in some legalistic
attempt to conform our behavior to my or another’s standards. Each of us must know
the Word, what He says, and do it. His grace is not an excuse to continue in
our sin, yet it is there for us when we do.
My prayer for us is this:
Lord, help us to
keep our hearts with all diligence, for out of our hearts spring the issues of
life. Help us to put away our deceitful mouths, and put perverse lips far from us.
Let our eyes look straight ahead, and our eyelids look right before us. May we
ponder the path of our feet, and let all our ways be established. Lord, do not let
us turn to the right or the left; help us remove our feet from evil (Proverbs
4:23-27).
May the treats we feed ourselves
be for our taste buds only as we become more wholly His today.
Shauna Wallace
Holy His
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