Recently, several Christians that I know, announced they were canceling subscriptions to their streaming services. One such man Yves,* shared his reasons with me. He and his wife live a very busy and active life. Their viewership of programming coincides with their desire to follow God. Therefore, the shows are few and far between. Of course there are Christian movies to be had on most streaming services but when Yves and his wife added up the number of programs that they found palatable it just did not make financial sense to continue paying good money for bad programming.
Pastor Bradley* made the same decision. When Pastor Bradley watches most programming, it makes him long for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. The notions of love and marriage so askew. The lack of respect for parents, the elderly or even the police force seem front and center. Although it gives Pastor Bradley many ideas for his sermons, it just makes him sad to see how Hollywood and its’ ilk are reflecting God-rejecting values. It was an act of obedience to God to let his subscription go.
Then there is dear Vera* a woman well into her 80’s who can barely operate a computer or her mobile phone. All she wants to watch on television is the weather, old movies and to hear some of her favorite Christian pastors on their Sunday programs. Despite her inability to operate modern devices, she has great moral clarity on the current state of the news and entertainment industry. Even as she has begun a cognitive decline she can reason that paying for services that promote mostly ungodly values puts more and more money into the hands of people promoting such things. She shows a moral bravery in her desire to defund the immorality.
All of these recent discussions made me kind of quesy. Why, because I have struggled with these issues my entire life. Trying to be in the world and not of it, takes a certain toll. You will not be popular at school, your job or in social circles when you explain that you are not watching that most bingeable of television series, or that summer blockbuster movie currently streaming. Try explaining the biblical principles to people ensconced in all that and you see downright persecution.
I experienced all of that as you have or will if you decide to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Following God imparts grace but it also requires actions. Faith without works is a dead thing. Everyday we have to actively make choices that support our status as spirit-filled, born again believers. Jesus bought us with a heavy price, his death and resurrection. Oughtn’t we honor that by living the truth? What is this particular truth that I am referring to?
The truth is we are in a vast, global spiritual war. The forces are good and evil. One of the weapons of choice in this war, are the news and entertainment. We can not join ourselves to evil. Yet, in the case of a streaming service, you are joining yourself to God’s opposition. Your monthly fee to these services gives you the disgrace of having every abomination before God touted and dignified. Even if you are only watching the Christian channels you are still paying the salaries of every abomination to God on the other channels.
From the moment the first drop of grace fell upon my head, it broke my heart to see what could be a good television, movie or live theater production go bad by the addition of, and pivot towards anti-Christian promotion. It still does, but I know that where we are spiritually will naturally finds its’ place in our books, plays and scripts. Today, the entertainment industry is an all out war for the hearts and minds of everyone from birth to death trying to pull them away from the things of God.
The factories of spiritual death put out record volumes of material which have ensnared even the most well-meaning christian believer who are not prepared for the power of this propaganda. Many of us let our spiritual weapons down at the end of a long day at work or with the kids. Sometimes, we just want some mindless entertainment to help us relax on the weekend. But, get this, there is no such thing as mindless entertainment.
The arrows hit their mark when our spiritual shields are down. As I write this post, I am closer than ever to stepping away from the remote for good. There are literally only 3 or 4 shows that I like and for that I am bankrolling the enemy. As I share my spiritual struggle on this front I am inspired by Yves, Pastor Bradley, and Vera to finally do what I know is right and with that try to redirect my money and attentions to other more worthy pursuits trying to be all I can for the Lord.
* The names have been changed but the stories are not.
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