What are your television, video game and movie preferences? What genres of entertainment do you enjoy most? How many hours per week do you spend enjoying this entertainment? These are important questions to ask yourself from time to time. The answers to these questions indicate a lot about where you are in your life. Let's look at some of the effects of entertainment in people's lives.
Sydney* was the valedictorian of her high school graduating class. This is an amazing feat considering all the obstacles she had to overcome, such as poverty and the loss of her mother at a young age. She went on to become a New York City school teacher. That was a long time ago. Since then, she was diagnosed with a chronic disease forcing her into retirement in her thirties. She now sits in her upper east side Manhattan apartment living for Facebook and watching hour upon hour of mindless television. She usually watches true crime programs which encourage the type of paranoid thinking that those alone too much tend to gravitate towards. She is mistrustful of everyone she meets, and imagines the worst of people like they are going to steal, rape or murder her.
Shannon* went through a lot of pain and suffering during her recent divorce. Divorce is such a deep hurt. A hurt that makes us feel unloved and insecure. Overnight, her life changed from being a wife, mother and homeowner (with all the related responsibilities) to a single, part-time mother and apartment dweller. She did not seem to be able to face or focus on all the work necessary to prepare for that divorce, either legally or emotionally. Instead, she seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time on social media. Social media became a type of savior for her. Through thinly veiled comments, she was able to vent all her anger at her soon to be ex-husband. She thought herself self-important as she posted quotes of the day and she got the male attention she so craved after the crushing defeat of having her husband take up with a woman ten years her junior. On the flip side, Shannon was not getting any insight into her problems or issues. She was avoiding the hard work of self-reflections which ultimately leads to an amended life. I also believe she did not do all she could have to fight for the best divorce agreement possible, including parental custody issues.
Jackson* was a television and movie aficionado. To hear him tell it, he was very proud of the extreme knowledge that he had of the history of television and movies. He also enjoyed video games. After work, he loved nothing better than to sit in front of a screen and put on the game, some old movie or compete in a video game competition. He would become so obsessed at times that it looked to me like he was "in love" with some new video game or television series. His eyes seemed to grow larger, his energy would increase and he seemed to stand up taller. But, Jackson had a whole lot of problems that he should have been paying closer attention to. So did Sydney and so did Shannon.
Who among us has not gotten lost in a movie or our electronic devices to help us get over a loss or a break-up? The problem is that we seemed to have gotten to the point where we have overdone it. And, in doing so, we have used the entertainment in our life as an avoidance technique. What are we avoiding? The short answer to that is : the pain. Let's go back to our friends, Sydney, Shannon and Jackson. All three of them struggled with some depression, anxiety and loneliness. All three of them had problems with a sibling, child or parent that needed fixing.
Sydney has nothing to do all day. Forced into an early retirement by her illness, she has yet to find new meaning in her life. An intelligent women who has way to much time on her hands is either a great thing or a dangerous thing. In Sydney's case it is the latter. Everyone her age has a busy life and career. So, desperate for some social interaction, she interacts on social media and waits for a response. Or, she buys things that she doesn't need on the shopping networks because the adrenaline rush of that at least makes her feel like she is alive.
Shannon is not as strong as she thinks. She is not as wise as she thinks. Things are not going as well as she thinks, and no one, including her mother, can tell her otherwise. She just won't listen. The friends that she has around her, since her divorce, are just there to party with and tell her what she wants to hear. Not to mention the bubble of social media cushioning and condoning everything she does. But bubbles have a predictable way of popping.
Jackson had a brother and sister who were cold and distant. They wouldn't know if he was dead or alive because they never pick up the phone to call. Their family get-togethers seem devoid of genuine love and affection, nobody really gets along. It is all very superficial. This has been going on for a long time but does Jackson try to address the problem? No, his family taught him a long time ago to shut-up because no one was listening! So Jackson found solace during Thanksgiving in the game. Can you blame him?
The things we do with our free time indicate our emotional and spiritual well-being. Do we have to have noise all the time? What are we afraid of? What does the noise drown out? What does the entertainment in our life help us avoid? The noise can even drown out the Holy Spirit seeking to guide and direct us. The Bible tells us to "be still and know that I am the Lord." There is a certain reflection that comes about when we are in a quiet environment. Thoughts and truths can come thru which often lead us to face the real issues in our lives. Galatians 6:4 tells us that, "Each one should test their own actions." From Genesis to Revelation the Bible teaches us to reflect upon our behavior. There is no Biblical support for living the superficial existence. Don't be afraid because God can help you to face difficult things and even help you to find new meaning in your life. So, take some time this week, to ask yourself this important question : Is entertainment avoidance for you? God bless you!
Next week : Entertainment Detox - Part Three
* the names and some details are changed because Westchester County is not that big.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Your Movie or Television Show Survey - Part 1
INSTRUCTIONS : watch a favorite show or movie and answer the following questions. **
1. How does this movie or show depict parent/child relationships? Compare and contrast those depictions with the biblical mandate to "Honor your father and mother."
2. Are friendship or family relations in this movie or show presented in a godly manner or a worldly manner?
3. Find an example of a godly dialogue and an ungodly dialogue in this program?
4. How are men and women dressed in this movie or show? Find one verse in the Bible used to describe godly male or female attire.
5. What is presented in the show as wisdom (or) shown to be a philosophy used in problem solving by the characters? Can you find a scripture to back that philosophy up or to refute it?
6. How do boys and girls, or men and women treat each other either in a dating or a marriage setting? How does the Bible agree or disagree with that?
7. What are the jokes about in your film or show? Is the joke making fun of people? Does it uplift or humiliate?
8. What are some of the feelings that this film or show bring out in you?
9. How would you summarize the message of this piece of entertainment?
10. On a godliness scale of one to five, one being the worst and five being the best, how would you rate this show?
**Parents : use this as a tool to rate the effect your child's viewing habit may have upon them.
NEXT WEEK : Entertainment As Avoidance-Part 2
1. How does this movie or show depict parent/child relationships? Compare and contrast those depictions with the biblical mandate to "Honor your father and mother."
2. Are friendship or family relations in this movie or show presented in a godly manner or a worldly manner?
3. Find an example of a godly dialogue and an ungodly dialogue in this program?
4. How are men and women dressed in this movie or show? Find one verse in the Bible used to describe godly male or female attire.
5. What is presented in the show as wisdom (or) shown to be a philosophy used in problem solving by the characters? Can you find a scripture to back that philosophy up or to refute it?
6. How do boys and girls, or men and women treat each other either in a dating or a marriage setting? How does the Bible agree or disagree with that?
7. What are the jokes about in your film or show? Is the joke making fun of people? Does it uplift or humiliate?
8. What are some of the feelings that this film or show bring out in you?
9. How would you summarize the message of this piece of entertainment?
10. On a godliness scale of one to five, one being the worst and five being the best, how would you rate this show?
**Parents : use this as a tool to rate the effect your child's viewing habit may have upon them.
NEXT WEEK : Entertainment As Avoidance-Part 2
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Post U.S. Election Thoughts
This has been a very difficult election cycle, to say the least. The election was contentious and we all were caught up in it both emotionally and spiritually. Spiritually because this election, at its core, was about a vision for the future of the United States. Christianity is a lifestyle, with God as the head of it. That lifestyle has become severely restricted for many around the world including the United States.
In the last eight years of the Obama administration we have seen military chaplains asked not to pray in Jesus' name. We have seen the Internal Revenue Service target Christians and conservatives for tax audits. Then there is gay marriage, and Obamacare. There has been a disasterous Middle Eastern foreign policy resulting in what I think should be known as a Middle Eastern World War. With issues too numerous to count, Christians started to wake from their slumber. Lead by courageous pastors such as Franklin Graham, believers entered a period of prayer and reflection.
Leaders in the Christian community also worked to educate and mobilize Christians to vote, groups like " My Faith Votes" and Ralph Reed's "Faith And Freedom Coalition." They educated the public and showcased the dangerous and ungodly changes occurring in our society. Changes easily seen in the entertainment industry; including movie, television and music. Changes seen in the legislative and judicial activities of the United States pointing to less and less freedom. Christian leaders pointed back to Biblical teachings and offered Christian voters knowledge, hope and vision of a godly future.
The alternative news outlets, including social media, also had a large role in agitating for change. The American public had grown skeptical of news media who merely blew the trumpet for Obama and the Clintons. All of these things proved fruitful because Christians finally had enough of the madness and went to the voting booth in droves, producing a Christian voter turnout not seen for decades. They voted for Donald Trump to be the 45th President of the United States. This election is a clear rebuke to all that Obama has stood for and it is the death knells for the Clinton Dynasty.
Right now it all seems like a dream to me. I feel like the character Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens novel, "A Christmas Carol." In the story that we all know and love, Scrooge is visited by three other worldly beings who give him a vision of his past, present and future. My friends, this election has been about the revisiting of our past, present and future and what many Americans began to see was a vision of their own demise. And, just like Scrooge, we have had to understand just how we got to this point.
When Ebenezer Scrooge wakes up after this night of cathartic clarity and realizes that he is alive and has the opportunity to change his life, he is like a man reborn. He finally has a vision for his life for what it should and must be. This great classic comes to mind today as I remind all believers that we again have an opportunity to move forward in the right direction in the life of our nation. Let us use this opportunity to its' fullness. Please lift the new administration up in prayer, and be ready to support them through the political process. Let yourself be lead of the Holy Spirit to discover new ways that we are called to be a "City upon a Hill." (Matthew 5:14)
P.S. A Christian friend suggested that we all write President Trump a note of congratulations and let him know that we will be praying for him. Why don't we all plan to do that on Inauguration Day and deluge him with graciousness and support? "God bless us, everyone!"
In the last eight years of the Obama administration we have seen military chaplains asked not to pray in Jesus' name. We have seen the Internal Revenue Service target Christians and conservatives for tax audits. Then there is gay marriage, and Obamacare. There has been a disasterous Middle Eastern foreign policy resulting in what I think should be known as a Middle Eastern World War. With issues too numerous to count, Christians started to wake from their slumber. Lead by courageous pastors such as Franklin Graham, believers entered a period of prayer and reflection.
Leaders in the Christian community also worked to educate and mobilize Christians to vote, groups like " My Faith Votes" and Ralph Reed's "Faith And Freedom Coalition." They educated the public and showcased the dangerous and ungodly changes occurring in our society. Changes easily seen in the entertainment industry; including movie, television and music. Changes seen in the legislative and judicial activities of the United States pointing to less and less freedom. Christian leaders pointed back to Biblical teachings and offered Christian voters knowledge, hope and vision of a godly future.
The alternative news outlets, including social media, also had a large role in agitating for change. The American public had grown skeptical of news media who merely blew the trumpet for Obama and the Clintons. All of these things proved fruitful because Christians finally had enough of the madness and went to the voting booth in droves, producing a Christian voter turnout not seen for decades. They voted for Donald Trump to be the 45th President of the United States. This election is a clear rebuke to all that Obama has stood for and it is the death knells for the Clinton Dynasty.
Right now it all seems like a dream to me. I feel like the character Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens novel, "A Christmas Carol." In the story that we all know and love, Scrooge is visited by three other worldly beings who give him a vision of his past, present and future. My friends, this election has been about the revisiting of our past, present and future and what many Americans began to see was a vision of their own demise. And, just like Scrooge, we have had to understand just how we got to this point.
When Ebenezer Scrooge wakes up after this night of cathartic clarity and realizes that he is alive and has the opportunity to change his life, he is like a man reborn. He finally has a vision for his life for what it should and must be. This great classic comes to mind today as I remind all believers that we again have an opportunity to move forward in the right direction in the life of our nation. Let us use this opportunity to its' fullness. Please lift the new administration up in prayer, and be ready to support them through the political process. Let yourself be lead of the Holy Spirit to discover new ways that we are called to be a "City upon a Hill." (Matthew 5:14)
P.S. A Christian friend suggested that we all write President Trump a note of congratulations and let him know that we will be praying for him. Why don't we all plan to do that on Inauguration Day and deluge him with graciousness and support? "God bless us, everyone!"
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Thoughts on Halloween
Halloween as we celebrate it here in the United Staes has gone through many changes. In fact, most of the earliest immigrants from Europe who settled the United States were vehemently opposed to such pagan practices. Those groups such as the Pilgrims, Quakers, Amish, and Puritans were trying to get away from the corruption and worldliness which had entered the Churches of Europe. So, it was much later with the advent of immigration by the Scottish and the Irish from the middle of the nineteenth century to about 1900, that Halloween in earnest began in the U.S.
Although a relatively recent import to the United States and other parts of the world, Halloweens' origins go back at least two thousands years. The ancient Celtic tribes believed that on October 31,(Samhain), that there existed a portal allowing the dead to once again walk among us. Many of the practices associated with Halloween today go back to the ancient Celtic attempt to either facilitate communication with, or appeasement of, these spirits.
For example, dressing up in scary costumes was an attempt to avoid detection by evil spirits. The ghoulish look you wore would make you indistinguishable from the dead and hence these spirits would not harass you. They might think you were one of them. Many would carve out turnips, place a candle inside it and place that at the entry of their home to ward off evil spirits. The Catholic Church tried to stamp out these practices when they reached Ireland with the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, they found the people very resistant. In an effort at damage control, the Church attempted to co-opt these practices by plastering them over with Christian content.
In the Bible we continually see God directing the godly to stamp out all practices of ancient and false religions. In the third book of the Bible, Leviticus, we can see in chapter 19, verse 31 that it says : "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." The Catholic Church was never able to completely abolish this ancient and false religion and today there is a resurgence or all these practices, if my recent trips to the area are any indication.
While visiting sites associated with Ireland's past, I found a vibrant community of believers and practitioners of Samhain rituals. Halloween is again thriving in the lands of its' origins and has made vast converts worldwide. A recent news report describes how Halloween is even infiltrating and combining with "the Day of the Dead" in Mexico City. The "Day of the Dead" and Halloween both have origins in ancestor worship. Many festivals around the world celebrate and edify their ancestral past. Here is a partial list of such events:
Brazil Finados
Bolivia Día de los Natitas
China Ghost Festival
Japan Bon
Korea Chuseok, Hankawi
Philippines Araw ng mga Patay
Vietnam Tet Trung Nguyen
Is this all just innocent fun, or something else? What does the Bible indicate about such celebrations? The Bible makes it clear in the Book of Ecclesiastes that we can not contact the dead. This book attributed to the wisest man in the Bible, King Solomon states, " for the living know they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun"- Ecclesiastes 9:5-6. So making food for them or believing your ancestors walk the earth after they have passed away is not concordant with Judeo-Christian faith. Neither is believing that previous inhabitants of your home could haunt it.
So what is a Christian or Jew to do when faced with the massive celebrations of these events in our world. First of all do not, I repeat do not, surrender any day on your calendar to Satan! Did I make myself clear believers? We can not give Satan authority that he does not have. I have actually known a number of Christians who would sit in their darken homes, hoping that no mischief would befall them during Halloween. " I will just go to sleep early. I can't wait for this day to be over." Another Christian friend told me she was afraid of teenage boys dressed up in scary costumes. One big, burly, mighty man of God opinied, " God has every other day of the year, but the devil has Halloween."
These friends helped me to reflect on what my own response to Halloween should be. These responses seemed to me to fall short of the authority that God has given us in the spiritual realm, after all look at Deuteronomy 28:13 which says : "and the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and be careful to observe them."
I use the day to serve the community by preparing fun and educational gifts to hand out to passing trick-or-treaters. I make handmade goody bags usually featuring colored leaves and tied together with yarn. Inside these bags I have given out rings, hair ribbons, geodes, pencils and rulers. I only decorate my home in a cheerful way and resist the urge to make it look like a haunted house. After all, our house should testify to God Almighty because, " the earth's is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world, and those who dwell therein." Psalm 24:1.
Although a relatively recent import to the United States and other parts of the world, Halloweens' origins go back at least two thousands years. The ancient Celtic tribes believed that on October 31,(Samhain), that there existed a portal allowing the dead to once again walk among us. Many of the practices associated with Halloween today go back to the ancient Celtic attempt to either facilitate communication with, or appeasement of, these spirits.
For example, dressing up in scary costumes was an attempt to avoid detection by evil spirits. The ghoulish look you wore would make you indistinguishable from the dead and hence these spirits would not harass you. They might think you were one of them. Many would carve out turnips, place a candle inside it and place that at the entry of their home to ward off evil spirits. The Catholic Church tried to stamp out these practices when they reached Ireland with the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, they found the people very resistant. In an effort at damage control, the Church attempted to co-opt these practices by plastering them over with Christian content.
In the Bible we continually see God directing the godly to stamp out all practices of ancient and false religions. In the third book of the Bible, Leviticus, we can see in chapter 19, verse 31 that it says : "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." The Catholic Church was never able to completely abolish this ancient and false religion and today there is a resurgence or all these practices, if my recent trips to the area are any indication.
While visiting sites associated with Ireland's past, I found a vibrant community of believers and practitioners of Samhain rituals. Halloween is again thriving in the lands of its' origins and has made vast converts worldwide. A recent news report describes how Halloween is even infiltrating and combining with "the Day of the Dead" in Mexico City. The "Day of the Dead" and Halloween both have origins in ancestor worship. Many festivals around the world celebrate and edify their ancestral past. Here is a partial list of such events:
Brazil Finados
Bolivia Día de los Natitas
China Ghost Festival
Japan Bon
Korea Chuseok, Hankawi
Philippines Araw ng mga Patay
Vietnam Tet Trung Nguyen
Is this all just innocent fun, or something else? What does the Bible indicate about such celebrations? The Bible makes it clear in the Book of Ecclesiastes that we can not contact the dead. This book attributed to the wisest man in the Bible, King Solomon states, " for the living know they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun"- Ecclesiastes 9:5-6. So making food for them or believing your ancestors walk the earth after they have passed away is not concordant with Judeo-Christian faith. Neither is believing that previous inhabitants of your home could haunt it.
So what is a Christian or Jew to do when faced with the massive celebrations of these events in our world. First of all do not, I repeat do not, surrender any day on your calendar to Satan! Did I make myself clear believers? We can not give Satan authority that he does not have. I have actually known a number of Christians who would sit in their darken homes, hoping that no mischief would befall them during Halloween. " I will just go to sleep early. I can't wait for this day to be over." Another Christian friend told me she was afraid of teenage boys dressed up in scary costumes. One big, burly, mighty man of God opinied, " God has every other day of the year, but the devil has Halloween."
These friends helped me to reflect on what my own response to Halloween should be. These responses seemed to me to fall short of the authority that God has given us in the spiritual realm, after all look at Deuteronomy 28:13 which says : "and the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and be careful to observe them."
I use the day to serve the community by preparing fun and educational gifts to hand out to passing trick-or-treaters. I make handmade goody bags usually featuring colored leaves and tied together with yarn. Inside these bags I have given out rings, hair ribbons, geodes, pencils and rulers. I only decorate my home in a cheerful way and resist the urge to make it look like a haunted house. After all, our house should testify to God Almighty because, " the earth's is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world, and those who dwell therein." Psalm 24:1.
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