Q. What are some biblical principles to follow when it comes to entertainment?
A. This is a very relevant question today, especially when you consider that with the onset of the Internet, smartphones, animated billboards, and HDTVs, the average person must swim through a constant waterfall of entertainment advertisements daily. There has never been a time in history when a Christian’s senses have been assaulted by worldly media as much as they are this century.
We need to be aware, then, that the Bible standard is very high. In Philippians 4:8, we read, “Whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ... think on these things.”
If you apply these criteria to what you’re watching, reading, and hearing, you will be following the very best counsel available. Is your choice of entertainment elevating? Is it noble? Is it true? These are some of the tests that Paul applies regarding how we determine what we choose to think about and subject our minds to.
King David writes,“I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes”(Psalm 101:3). When we follow this as a guideline, we’re more likely to choose activities that nurture the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.
Obviously, all Christians recognize that it’s a sin to lie, kill, steal, or commit adultery, but somehow when it comes to being entertained by watching or reading about others breaking these commandments, we manage to rationalize that it’s okay. Really?
Paul says the “righteous judgment of God” will fall on those who not only do these things but also on those who “approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:32 NKJV). In other words, many Christians choose to sin vicariously by being entertained by the sins of others, real or imagined.
No one can escape the truth that we are changed by what we behold.“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV). As we worship and look to Jesus, we become like Him. As we worship and look to the world, we will become like the world.
Ultimately, this is the bottom line.“What would Jesus do?” What would He watch, what would He read, and what would He listen to?
If He suddenly walked into your room, would you quickly change the channel, slip that novel under your pillow, or delete your browser history? Actually, He and His angels are there now, so these are very good questions to ask yourself in every situation.
A Christian is a follower of Christ, so Jesus’ example should be foremost in our minds and hearts. The only way to really find that out is to study to know Him better through your Bible.“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 NKJV).