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Television and the Christian Home
by J. Kerr Duff (1899-1983)
The following article was written years before television had degraded to
what it is today, with its pornographic commercials and boundless episodes of
vulgarity and violence in its various programs. Think then of how
essential it is for believers today to be all the more wary about exposure to
this medium.
There are many perils which threaten
the spiritual well-being of the believer in these last closing days. Some of
these dangers are apparent and can be easily discerned, while others are like
sunken rocks which cannot be readily seen, but are for that very cause all the
more dangerous.
Such a menace to the Christian is to be found in television
(TV) which Satan exploits for the accomplishment of his own sinister
ends. No one will deny that it is a most wonderful invention and some items in
the programs are educational and instructive, but for the child of God, the
detrimental effects on the soul will far outweigh the seeming advantages.
There is no desire to encroach on the personal liberty of any brother or
sister, but rather to lovingly warn any who may be tempted to follow the trend
of the world, and be caught in the snare. The writer believes that viewing TV
programs is harmful to spiritual prosperity, and that television will
prove a curse if brought into the home.
The Lord said unto Ezekiel, "I have set thee a watchman ... therefore
thou shalt hear the word at my mouth and warn them from Me" (Eze. 33:7).
There are five simple yet weighty reasons why we who are believers in Christ
should avoid acquiring a TV set.
FOR OUR OWN SAKES
Beloved brethren and sisters, we have been born again by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever (1 Peter 1:23). It is God's desire that we
should grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This
spiritual growth results from feeding on God's word (1 Peter 2:2), and communing
with the Lord in prayer. Now, if we waste our time watching TV, there is
nothing more certain than that we shall lose our appetite for the Scriptures and
our desire to pray. Then we will imperceptibly become weak and impoverished in
soul; moreover, the conscience, will become defiled and we shall lose the joy of
God's salvation.
Remember one has said "Mine eye affecteth my heart," therefore let
us be very careful what we see as well as what we hear.
Much better to go in for the blessed experience of 2 Cor. 3:18- "But we
all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord."
FOR OUR CHILDREN'S SAKE
God is very concerned for the welfare of His people's children as can be seen
in both Old and New Testaments. (See Ex. 10:9, Deut. 6:7, Eph. 6:4, Col. 3:21).
If God has blessed us with a family, He commands us to bring up our children
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He wants us to put their salvation
before education, recreation, or worldly advancement. Christian parents who live
with eternity's values in view will seek to do this by living Christ before
them, by reading God's Word with them, and by praying continuously for them.
Also, by bringing them under the sound of the Gospel as frequently as possible,
since it has pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe (1 Cor. 1:21). The influence of loving parents, who honour God, is
powerful, and cannot be overestimated.
Now, when TV is introduced into the home, the godly
atmosphere is changed, and the children who are naturally keen to watch programs
are mentally transported to the cinema. We probably would be greatly shocked to
see our children in a cinema lineup yet when we bring in TV, do
we not virtually bring the theater in to them? Experience shows that when
children become obsessed with TV, it is almost impossible to
get them to attend gospel meetings.
Some may say:- "But I would not allow my child to see everything that
appears on TV." That may be true, you may be selective and
switch off when undesirable items are coming over, but will your family be so
discriminating? Will they not rather be curious to see everything that is to be
seen when you are not there, or when they feel old enough to assert their own
wills in the house. Surely all parents, who realize the dreadful possibility of
rearing children who may lose their souls, will agree that we should refrain
from bringing into our homes anything that may cause them to miss salvation.
FOR OUR BRETHREN'S SAKE
"Am I my brothers keeper?" were the words of Cain after he had
slain his brother Abel. God's question infers that it was His intention that he
should have been. In 1 Cor. 12, the local assembly is viewed as a body with the
several members all functioning for the good of the whole. God would teach us
that we are all closely linked together, each affected by the other, for if
"one member suffer all the members suffer with it." If this aspect of
truth is appreciated, it will readily be seen that TV installed in the
home of a believer may have serious repercussions in the assembly. Some perhaps,
will not care, but many beloved brethren and sisters who have a conscience about
this thing will be sorely grieved while other weak Christians may be emboldened
by the example and stumble. Furthermore, if an elder in the assembly has TV
in the home, will the saints not regard him as a worldly Christian and thus lose
confidence in his leadership? Certainly, if he is one who is apt to teach his
ministry will have less weight in the meeting.
FOR OUR NEIGHBOUR'S SAKE
One of the greatest arguments in favour of the Gospel is the fact that the
believer has a peace and a joy independent of circumstances. He derives his joy
not from the world's cisterns, but from "the wells of salvation." The
Lord Jesus said to the woman of Samaria - "He that drinketh of the water
that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." We can
sing:-
Now none but Christ can satisfy,
None other Name for me,
There's love and life and lasting joy,
Lord Jesus found in Thee.
The impact of Christians who are full of this joy of the Lord upon the
unsaved, is tremendous. They see that we have happiness and peace, without going
in for the pleasures and sports of the world. But will our testimony in this
respect not be altogether nullified if our unsaved neighbours observe that we
have to resort to the ways and means through which they derive their enjoyment?
If we fail to keep our souls in spiritual health through fellowship with God, we
shall become backsliders in heart, if not in life, and like Lot, we shall seem
like one that mocked, unto those whom we would warn and seek to win for Christ.
FOR THE LORD'S SAKE
The Lord has redeemed us with His precious blood, therefore we are not our
own, we have been bought with a price. We have been redeemed to be his own
special possession. He will have us in glory with Him by and by , but he wants
to have fellowship with us NOW. He is jealous of our affections and cannot bear
the world to steal away our hearts.
When we consider the case of the cleansed leper in Lev. 14, we observe that
the blood of the sacrifice was put on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the
right hand and the great toe of the right foot. Then upon the blood-marked ear,
thumb, and toe, was put the oil. This finds its antitype in the blood of Christ
by which we have been cleansed from sin and the Holy Spirit by whom we have been
sealed. It teaches us that God claims all our faculties, our actions and our
will. What we think, say, hear and see, what we do and where we go, should
manifest our subjection to the Lordship of Christ.
Brethren, the coming of our Lord draweth nigh, now is our salvation nearer
than when we believed. Let us keep our hearts true to Christ, and our homes free
from the world. Then we shall be able to sing truthfully to the glory of God -
I have seen the Cross of Jesus,
Gazed upon the Crucified,
And my heart is won forever,
I am saved and satisfied.
Earth's joys no longer charm me,
And the world has lost its hold,
But my heart will sing with gladness,
When the pearly gates unfold. |
