I Will Set No Wicked Thing Before My Eyes
A short while ago I sent out a note regarding a website that would help us as Christians to be more aware of what is going on around us in the entertainment world. The site's address is: http://www.kids-in-mind.com/ and I still recommend it. It is stated that, "This site has the latest releases as well as older ones and will rate the content according to 'Sex and Nudity,' 'Violence and Gore,' and even the number of profanities uttered throughout the course of the show".
I was surprised somewhat by some of the response I received. Why surprised? Well, for the most part I assume that those who subscribe to or read my writings are Christians or have a strong sense of moral beliefs and values. However I received some "chastisement" because I would dare to suggest that I could tell someone else what was "right or wrong" for them to watch or what television shows or movies have the "right values". Or even suggest that some "life styles" portrayed might be of less value than traditional Conservative Christian lifestyles.
So as not to risk my stance being mistaken again, let me say that "I" do not pretend to relegate right or wrong or decree what are the right values. God took care of that long ago, if we will but bother to read his instructions. However I will give you a baseline premise for determining what programming or movies you should watch or to which you should allow your children to be exposed.
In Psalms 101, King David has written a Psalm basically outlining what values a person who serves God should have. Part of those instructions pertain to what we take into our hearts and lives through our eyes. We know that Jesus said, "The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness." (KJV Luke 11:34)
Now notice what King David had to say regarding someone who would serve God: "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. A forward heart (one that does not cling to God), shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person." (KJV Psalms 101:3-4)
A modern translation puts it this way: "I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all crooked dealings; I will have nothing to do with them. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil". (NLT)
Now considering these passages think about the current programs you watch on your television each week. Is there anything "vile" or "vulgar" or glorifying "crooked dealings" or portraying what God says is "perverse" (i.e. contrary to God's Word) as just another lifestyle?
I said before, just so I'm clear, there are many programs that come and go on Television and in the Movie Theaters that my wife and I never see. Not because we don't have the ability, but because we make choices as to what we want to enter into hearts through our eyes and ears.
You see, lying, cheating, foul language, adultery, homosexuality, stealing, using God's name in a curse is not entertainment, it is that which is vile and vulgar before God and we will not let it into our home or go to a theater to see it. We will not allow the devil that chance to stain our lives through his influence. We are not forced by anything other than our values and love for God to abstain from some forms of what the world terms as "entertainment".
Think about it the next time you turn on some program and ask yourself, "what would Jesus do, would he sit there or use that little button on the remote to change the channel or get up and walk out of the theater.
Use the website I recommended (http://www.kids-in-mind.com/) to help make informed decisions about what enters your life!
--Russ Lawson
