Distraction v Indulgence.

[PaulNew]

Once upon a time i was completely against TV as I saw it as idolatry.

But then I met a lonely old widow who got through the day by watching Sky Sports.

And so i now think there is a point where "getting through the day" ends, and idolatry or self-indulgence begins.

what do you think?

 

[BenFTW]

Is self-indulgence inherently sinful? Did not the Son of Man come eating and drinking?

Matthew 11:19 King James Version
19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

Cannot a man feast and yet still be righteous? Our Christian walk does not have to be dull and boring, principled to the degree we lack enjoyment. TV is no more idolatrous than if you chose to go for a run every day or walk the beach. It is time consuming, surely, and in that respect I see your suggestion of idolatry. But many things can become an idol if it is our sole focus.

But don’t think for a moment that enjoyment is sin. It’s okay to have fun. It’s okay to have righteous pleasure.

 

[TabinRivCA]

I watch 2 live church services each Sunday morning before noon. I have a lot of favorite shows on TBN I watch as well as videos of some favorite old tyme preachers. I did however realize there were some shows that I had to quit like The Good Witch but imo the Internet is a great tool if you're looking for the right(Godly) things. I must confess I am fond of the Hallmark Mystery Movies, as they are never bloody and MOST of them have good type characters. If I see a hint of anything that isn't appropriate, just click it off. Also, prayer times and Bible readings for the day are priorities

 

[TimothyGirl]

Hey Paul, I can relate with your questions and your observations. When I was still a teenager (and addicted to tv) the Lord clearly spoke to me and asked me to give it up. He merely said this: I want your mind. If its full of the tv then it's not full of Me.

Is that not the greatest commandment?:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART, with all your SOUL, and with all your MIND."
(Mat. 22:36-38)

Even as I write this, I am convicted about my own life. There are many, many things I have started putting before the Lord, and yes, I believe that they have become idols to me.

Thank you for your post -- the Lord has used you to speak to me this morning, and I hear what He is saying to my heart. The question is: am I filling my mind with Him, or with the words of the world? Has He not called us to be separate from the world? Yes, we live IN the world, but has He not called us to Himself?

I so often have to go back to Psalm 1 in my heart and repent before the Lord:

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night..

I'm reminded of Psalm 19:14,
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your site...

After having quit on the tele for nearly 15 years, I'm in a position where, to maintain the peace in my home (not everyone has as radical views as I), it requires sitting at watching a movie with those that I love. I can certainly say that watching tv again has directly affected my walk with the Lord. Even the "harmless Hallmark movies" (which is what my family watches) stirs up an appetite for the things of the world and not the things of the Lord. As I write this, I am so convicted because I see how my love for the Lord has waned as I have stopped spending time with Him and started "entertaining my flesh" more and more.

Oh boy... I have some serious thinking to do... thank you for stirring up my mind with a very poignant (and contentious!) topic!

 

[BenFTW]

Hey Paul, I can relate with your questions and your observations. When I was still a teenager (and addicted to tv) the Lord clearly spoke to me and asked me to give it up. He merely said this: I want your mind. If its full of the tv then it's not full of Me.

Is that not the greatest commandment?:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART, with all your SOUL, and with all your MIND."
(Mat. 22:36-38)

Even as I write this, I am convicted about my own life. There are many, many things I have started putting before the Lord, and yes, I believe that they have become idols to me.

Thank you for your post -- the Lord has used you to speak to me this morning, and I hear what He is saying to my heart. The question is: am I filling my mind with Him, or with the words of the world? Has He not called us to be separate from the world? Yes, we live IN the world, but has He not called us to Himself?

I so often have to go back to Psalm 1 in my heart and repent before the Lord:

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night..

I'm reminded of Psalm 19:14,
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your site...

After having quit on the tele for nearly 15 years, I'm in a position where, to maintain the peace in my home (not everyone has as radical views as I), it requires sitting at watching a movie with those that I love. I can certainly say that watching tv again has directly affected my walk with the Lord. Even the "harmless Hallmark movies" (which is what my family watches) stirs up an appetite for the things of the world and not the things of the Lord. As I write this, I am so convicted because I see how my love for the Lord has waned as I have stopped spending time with Him and started "entertaining my flesh" more and more.

Oh boy... I have some serious thinking to do... thank you for stirring up my mind with a very poignant (and contentious!) topic!

This is the other side of the coin, in contrast to my post. There is truth in what I said, but then there is also the perspective of time management (or in the case of this post, what you’re filling your mind with; the content of what you’re consuming).

Where TV was your kryptonite, gaming was mine. I feel like I wasted a decade of my life gaming, and recently I was getting back into the habit but I intentionally halted it (sabotaged my progress so I wouldn’t keep playing). I rather progress in real life things, preparing for the future (truly and hopefully the present… soon).

Thank you for giving me something to consider as well, the meditation of my heart.

 

[Lynx]

What it comes down to is, do you use it or does it use you?

I was also a die-hard gamer once. Not online MMO's... I played standalone games for the story, and I'd play anything that had a good story. But I used it as a replacement for a social life, because I didn't have any kind of life at all aside from games and the job.

When I started going to church, hanging with family at dinners, building a life, it interfered with my gaming to the point that I had to totally cut out video games for a few years.

Now I play games again, but they are in their proper place as free time fillers in my life, not something that takes the place of my life.

For TV shows you could ask yourself, "If (important thing) happened at the same time my show is on, would I feel like I had to watch the show no matter what?"

 

[PaulNew]

What it comes down to is, do you use it or does it use you?

I was also a die-hard gamer once. Not online MMO's... I played standalone games for the story, and I'd play anything that had a good story. But I used it as a replacement for a social life, because I didn't have any kind of life at all aside from games and the job.

When I started going to church, hanging with family at dinners, building a life, it interfered with my gaming to the point that I had to totally cut out video games for a few years.

Now I play games again, but they are in their proper place as free time fillers in my life, not something that takes the place of my life.

For TV shows you could ask yourself, "If (important thing) happened at the same time my show is on, would I feel like I had to watch the show no matter what?"

"do you use it or does it use you?"

Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,

So, if you eating ice-cream enables you to do your part in the uniting of mankind in Love, then eat much ice-cream!

 

[Lynx]

Not sure how eating ice cream can help with God's work... but if you find a way to make it fit in there, I'm all ears brother!

It's like everything else we use, do and enjoy. Have we got it or has it got us.

Stuff like... well... money. Useful, necessary, harmless, as long as you keep it in its proper place. But a lot of people don't have money, money has them.

 

[Lanolin]

I think its where your heart is.
See for most people, a car, say, is a vehicle that gets one from a to b. But for SOME people, their car is like their pet, that they lavish attention on and spend all their time and money on.

If the second it like that for you, then why would you then turn around and be all judgy about it for the first people who are using a car as what its meant for, even a blessing for them as they can carry stuff in the cold and wet as well at their convenience.

 

[PaulNew]

A man may 'need' a car, but he can only possibly 'want' a Tesla.

All sin can be grouped under the heading 'self-indulgence' which is code for authorizing the flesh to indulge itself, for example in greed or lust or malice or idolatry.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." - Matt 23:25 NIV

"You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter." - James 5:5 NIV

Search for 'self-indulgence' in NT to find a few other very useful references to it (I used Biblehub).

 

[Jase]

IMO, there's "too much junk" on TV... can't waste my time!

I'm at a "stage in my life"..where it sorta has to be educational.

Like PBS.