Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Filthy Films and the Future of our Families

The negative influence of Holywood upon our children was publicized yesterday in USA Today. Sharon Jayson reported that middle-schoolers who are forbidden to watch R-rated movies are less likely to start drinking than peers whose parents are more lenient about such films. This is the result of new research on 2,406 children performed by researchers at Dartmouth Medical School. This research revealed that among those whose parents allowed them to watch R-rated movies, almost 25% had tried a drink without their parents' knowledge. That compares with barely 3% who tried a drink among those who were "never allowed" to watch R-movies.


This study has revealed that allowing your children to watch R rated movies (or R rated television) results in a 23% likelihood that they will consume alcohol before they are 14 years old. Virtually anyone would admit that those children who experiment with alcohol at such a young age are more likely to experiment with prescription drugs, marijuana, other narcotics, sex, crime, violence etc.

The article goes on to argue that "a lot of PG-13 movies should be rated R." Wow! Now the USA Today has not only said allowing your children to watch R rated films leads to alcohol use, but that “a lot” of PG 13 movies should be rated R! This is not the Baptist Record reporting or Focus on the Family or AFR. This is the USA Today.

My question is, “What about the other 77% of those children allowed to watch R rated films that have not used alcohol yet?” What percentage of them will eventually try alcohol and move on to bigger and better drugs of choice as compared to the other 93% of children who were not allowed to watch such films? I think the answer is obvious. Entertainment and media affect our families and children more than we could ever imagine. That is why we are instructed in the Word of God to “make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” Rom 13:14. We should make no provision for our flesh, nor for our children’s flesh. The Psalmist in Psalm 101:3 wrote, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” Are you setting before your eyes any worthless thing? Are you subjecting your children to it?

When you subject yourself and/or your children to entertainment that is less that glorifying to God, you accomplish several things in your family’s life.

1. You teach your children that it is acceptable to tolerate what God hates in order to enjoy some worldly pleasure. That is why you “overlook” the filth in that reality TV show, right?...to enjoy some worldly pleasure? That is why you pay whatever it costs now to get into that movie that has “just a few bad scenes in it.” Your worldly entertainment means more to you than your holiness, or your children’s holiness.

2. You lower their resistance and sensitivity to sin (and yours) by providing your children (and yourself) constant access to the world and its lies. When you allow less than God honoring movies, reality TV shows, or sitcoms to be shown in your home, or when you go to an ungodly movie, you allow the TV or cinema to say things and do things in front of your children that you would never allow otherwise…but it is worth it for the entertainment value, right?

3. You deaden your children’s conscience as well as your own conscience by allowing Hollywood to disciple you on what is acceptable. Ten years ago, God-fearing Christians were repulsed by the sight of homosexuals kissing on television. After ten years of virtually every sitcom, reality TV show, and movie having homosexual roles, scenes, and apparent normalcy we hardly blink. And, what one generation tolerates, another generation will embrace. Keep that in mind the next time you “overlook” that scene. As you tolerate it, your children are embracing it.

4. You waste your time and the time of your children. Studies show that it is possible to read through the entire Bible in 72 hours. The average family watches that much television in 2 weeks. So, in a years time, you could have read through the entire Bible about 26 times if you replaced television with the Word of God. Where are our priorities?

These are just a few things that happen when you allow less than God honoring, God glorifying programs to be viewed by your family. Be careful that you don’t entertain your children to alcoholism, drug addiction, and on into hell because you are more concerned with Hollywood than you are holiness. Finish well and don’t let the movie industry stop you!

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