Friday, July 06, 2007

How many commandments...

is your reality show/soap opera/sitcom/trashy novel breaking?

The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20:1-17(LXX)

And the Lord spoke all these words, saying: I am the Lord thy God, who brought
thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

I. Thou shalt have no other gods beside me. (Anything that you worship is a god. Whatever is first in your life is your god. )

II. Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol, nor likeness of anything, whatever things are
in the heaven above, and whatever are in the earth beneath, and whatever are in the
waters under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them; for I am the
Lord thy God, a jealous God, recompensing the sins of the fathers upon the children, to
the third and fourth generation to them that hate me, and bestowing mercy on them that
love me to thousands of them, and on them that keep my commandments.

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord thy God
will not acquit him that takes his name in vain. (How many times have the characters said "OMG or GD"?)

IV. Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days thou shalt labour, and shalt
perform all thy work. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God; on it
thou shalt do no work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy servant nor thy
maidservant, thine ox nor thine ass, nor any cattle of thine, nor the stranger that sojourns
with thee. For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and the sea and all
things in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh
day, and hallowed it.

V. Honour thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest
live long on the good land, which the Lord thy God gives to thee. (Are the characters honoring their parents? Are they striving to have a good relationship with them? Do they talk badly about them?)

VI. Thou shalt not commit adultery. (This isn't just married people cheating, although that counts too. It also includes lusting after someone/ wanting to sleep with them. "Matthew 5:28 (NASB) 28but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart".

VII. Thou shalt not steal. (Are the "characters" on the show stealing money, boyfriends, etc?)

VIII. Thou shalt not kill.

IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (Any lying or deceiving going on in your show? I can't really see Jesus saying that it's OK to lie in certain situations, like just because you were trying to "win" a show.)

X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house;
nor his field, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any of his cattle,
nor whatever belongs to thy neighbour. (Anyone on the show jealous of what the other people have?)

This doesn't even include the homosexual behavior.

It just amazes me what Christians will watch and then say "it's not real, it's only entertainment". Would you sit there and watch it if Jesus was sitting next to you on the couch? What do you think he would say about the show? I'm pretty sure it would grieve Him to see how His people are treating each other and behaving.

I admit that I have been guilty in the past of sitting there and watching a show where unmarried people were having sex. I know for sure that I wouldn't do that if Jesus was sitting next to me. Why do we feel like he doesn't see us?

The Bible tells us to focus on what is good and true and right. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. –Philippians 4:8 (NIV)"

I don't understand why people feel the need to fill their heads with garbage. There is enough tragedy, cheating, lying, stealing, cursing, killing, coveting, etc in real life. Watch the news for an hour and you'll get more than your fill. Why do people want to glorify ungodly behavior? Why watch a show that you wouldn't let your children watch?

The world will tell you that you can "do it all, have it all, watch it all" and still be a Christian. Maybe that's true, but I'm pretty sure you'll be a Christian living in sin. God tells us to be "set apart from the world". I'm not saying you have to live like a freak- although I think your witness would be a lot more evident than that of someone who looks just like the world. God doesn't want lukewarm Christians.

Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

John 14:15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

4 comments:

Crystal said...

Hey, when you're right, you're right. I have thought about this many times when I watch my shows. Some of what I watch definitely isn't pleasing to God, it is definitely something I struggle with along with all my other sins.

I have a question about honoring thy mother and father......what if you had extremely abusive parents or dead beat parents and you have tried many times to repair the relationship but their behavior doesn't change.......is it wrong to just not have them in your life anymore even if they are your parents??? Is that dishonoring them? I have always wondered about this too.....am I supposed to honor someone who is abusive just because it's my parent??? I'd like to know what your opinion is on this if you don't mind sharing.

kellerie said...

Let's see, shows I've watched today - Mickey Mouse, that's okay, Handy Manny, dealt with jealousy, but showed it was wrong, My friends Tigger and Pooh, a travesty to the world of winnie the pooh, but still good values. . . yep, we're doing okay! not even any commercials (and sometimes, they're the worst things)

Amanda said...

I think it took guts to post this and I want to commend you for that. The Lord must have really laid this on your heart. I admit to feeling a bit taken aback by reading it at first, and wasn't sure what to comment - if anything - but wanted you to know that I did take something positive from this. :)

TheNormalMiddle said...

Hi Lura, I think you give us some really good food for thought here. It isn't fun to think about why we shouldn't be enjoying something (especially when it comes to our entertainment!) We'd rather leave our church-stuff in one compartment of our life and then lump everything else in the "it's okay, it's just entertainment!" pile. The fact is, at least I think so, that being in Christ means letting His Light permeate every part of my life. Even the entertainment/fun things I do.

I admit that I have some things in my life that are not even remotely holy or godly and I keep holding on to them for selfish reasons. Old habits die hard. For instance, music is very hard for me. I love, love, love music. Most of what I listen to is praise & worship, but I do have some things on my iPod that aren't lining up with the 10 commandments (Fergie anyone? yikes). I have always told myself, "well I'm an adult, and I know how to discern things, so I like the music for the beat---I'm not going to let it be impressionable on me!" Which is so wrong on so many levels! It is called rationalizing with self!!!

In the end, what bothers me especially about tv entertainment (like you're primarily discussing) is that we always have to pull out a moral trump card to make the sensations bigger and better. Ten years ago when the lesbian kiss happened on Ellen, we were SHOCKED. The whole nation was talking about it. Now, years later, we see it on about every single tv show sitcom and don't even think about the smut on those reality shows! It is common now and we don't even flinch.

This will continue and in ten years, our moral compass will be so far whacked we won't know which end is up (excuse my slang, but it is true).

If we don't start thinking about these things NOW, it will be much harder to pull ourselves out.

Thank you Lura. You've given me some real things to think about today. I appreciate it!(and don't worry about being preachy, you're being HONEST).