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“And
delivered just Lot, vexed with the
filthy conversation of the wicked:
(For that righteous man dwelling
among them, in seeing and hearing,
vexed his righteous soul
from day to day with their
unlawful deeds;)” – I Peter 2:7-8
“Love
not the world, neither the things that
are in the world. If any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not
in him.” – I John 2:15
“In
the mean time, when there were gathered
together an innumerable multitude of
people, insomuch that they trode one
upon another, he began to say unto his
disciples first of all, Beware ye of
the leaven of the Pharisees, which is
hypocrisy.” – Luke 12:1
“All
therefore whatsoever they bid you
observe, that observe and
do; but do not ye after their works: for
they say, and do not.” –Matthew
23:3
In
the Bible, Jesus is constantly rebuking
a religious group of people called the
Pharisees. According to Jesus, the big
problem with the Pharisees was their
hypocrisy. They were very strict in
their preaching and standards for
others, but they themselves did not live
by the standards they were preaching. As
independent Baptists, we must avoid
falling into the same trap.
Probably
the most blatant form of hypocrisy among
Baptists in our day is the television
found in their living room or bedroom.
The television brings into their house
images and sounds of everything ungodly
and wicked that they are supposedly
against. In their own houses they are
delighting in the entertainment of this
world which is diametrically opposed to
the things of God. In the following
paragraphs are several examples
illustrating why no Christian should
watch any kind of TV, Satellite, or
Cable programming.
1.
Worldly music
Most
independent Baptists would agree that
rock, rap, and other forms of worldly
music are unacceptable for Christians.
However, we could enter the home of the
typical Baptist pastor and hear the
cacophony of the most hardcore rock
music imaginable. “What in the world
is the pastor listening to?!?!” But
then we realize, “Ohhh, whew, it’s
just the television. I was worried there
for a minute!”
This
is a prime example of the leaven of the
Pharisees – hypocrisy. If it is
unacceptable to listen to rock music on
your stereo, then why would it be
allowable to listen to the same rock
music through the speakers of your
television? The fact alone that worldly
music is wrong for the child of God
excludes about 95% of television
programs and commercials.
2.
Improper clothing
Most
of the preaching related to clothing and
television is in reference to nudity.
But the Bible states in Psalm 101:3,
“I
will set no wicked thing before
mine eyes:”
Immodest clothing is in violation of
God’s Word and is therefore wicked,
including short skirts, tights tops,
low-cut blouses, exposed cleavage, and
other clothing that stirs the passions
of any normal man who looks at it. Not
only is it wrong for us to set nudity
before our eyes, but it is also wrong to
purposely set a promiscuously clothed
woman in front of our eyes. Those who
produce television programming know that
sinful men enjoy feasting their eyes on
beautiful women who are dressed
inappropriately. This is why seemingly
every woman on television, including
newscasters, women cooking on the food
network, and women on game shows, all
seem to be dressed provocatively.
As
independent Baptists we believe in
gender specific clothing, that is, pants
on men, and skirts and dresses on women.
In that case, why would we watch
television programming filled with women
in masculine or unisex clothing? Would
we watch television programs that
include men in dresses if Jesus Christ
were sitting beside us? Wouldn’t we
wonder what kind of an impact such
images would have on our small children?
It is no less detrimental when our
daughters see all the cool girls on
television poured into their tight blue
jeans.
3.
Sinful heroes
Many
Christians do not watch TV, cable, or
satellite programming but restrict
themselves to Disney videos, cartoons,
and the like. However, one of the major
problems with these seemingly harmless
videos is that most of the actors and
voices in these movies are the same as
those in other far more wicked movies.
Therefore, from the youngest age our
children are being programmed to enjoy
the voices of Eddie Murphy, Robin
Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks,
and other
Hollywood
reprobates.
Other
Christians only use the television to
watch sports, but are the typical
athletic superstars of our day the role
models we want for our children? Aside
from the numerous beer commercials and
advertising banners flashed across the
screen during a professional sports game
on television, not to mention the
scantily clad cheerleaders at half-time,
they are also being taught to idolize
whoremongers like Coby Bryant and
Michael Jordan, freaks like Dennis
Rodman and Magic Johnson, and drug-users
like Jose Canseco and Mark McGuire.
4.
Alternative lifestyles
From
the beginning, the producers of
television have had an agenda. Even in
the most “harmless” of shows,
alternative lifestyles are being
promoted. Consider, for example, “The
Andy Griffith Show.” The show centers
around a single parent who lives with
his aunt. Admittedly, his wife
supposedly died, and he is not divorced.
However, we are still being desensitized
to the idea of a single parent which is
neither the norm nor God’s plan. The
show also features a character, Gomer
Pile, who is played by a man who is a
homosexual in real life.
Consider
the show “The Odd Couple” from the
1960’s. Aside from sinful content, we
are being exposed to an alternative
lifestyle of two men living together as
roommates. Genesis 2:24 tells us
God’s normal plan, “Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his
mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:
and they shall be one flesh.” Although
neither man in the show is a homosexual,
this show was obviously a forerunner of
the sitcoms of today which feature
homosexual characters.
Consider
“The Brady Bunch.” The show is about
a widowed man and a widowed woman who
have three children each. Now they are
married and have six children
collectively. This is an extremely rare
scenario but mirrors the very common
scenario of divorce and remarriage. We
are subliminally being exposed to the
idea of stepparents and stepchildren
which is far more common in divorced
situations than in the rare circumstance
of young widows.
If
you can see what is wrong with the above
examples from forty years ago, you
probably do not need me to go into what
is wrong with the themes found in
today’s television programming.
Conclusion
If
we as independent Baptists want to be
consistent with what we preach, there is
really no way we can watch television.
If we preach against rock music,
immodest clothing, homosexuality,
divorce, fornication, wrong role models,
etc, but then we watch these very things
on television, we will find ourselves
being condemned by Jesus with the
Pharisees of old as hypocrites.
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