Cell phone providers rush to bring programming to the tiny screen. Video games, TVs and computers demand our time. Has screen watching become a new religion?
Now don’t get me wrong. Video, a moving visual image, is not a moral issue in itself.
But what if aliens from another planet observed our culture? They might conclude that movie theaters are our temples, video devices are our gods and we worship at their screens.
Just look at the time we spend watching!
According to Nielson Media Research, the average American household watches 8 hours and 14 minutes of television every day. And that doesn’t include video games or YouTube.
In his book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” Neil Postman observes that what we watch shapes our view of politics, news, religion and education--every aspect of our world.
For this generation it would be accurate to say that television and video ARE reality. Visual media now forms and manipulates most of our opinions. And we don’t even realize it.
It shouldn’t surprise us. Every day television creates and destroys heroes and gods right before our eyes. “American Idol” and sports of all kinds come to mind immediately.
For many, watching movies and TV is a spiritual experience. Mesmerized into a trance-like state, they forget the world, the war and their woes. The experience numbs their pain and provides a brief happiness. Even news is often so entertaining that we forget how serious it is.
To be amused is to “not think.” And, sadly, we are “amusing ourselves to death.”
Many are so busy and so distracted they no longer have time to think. And if we’re not thinking, are we completely alive? (It was Rene Descartes who said, “I think therefore I exist.”)
We no longer think about our lives, the meaning of life or matters of eternity. Oh we SAY that faith is important to us. However God gradually moves down our priority lists until he slips off the bottom, unnoticed and unmissed.
People who aren’t thinking can ignore their biggest problems. But God says, “Come now, let us REASON together…though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.”
Karl Marx once said, “Religion is the opium of the people.” Sort of a spiritual sedative. But God says that the Christian faith is for thinking people. He appeals to our reason.
The Bible reveals that God loves us and made a way to care for our biggest problems through faith in Jesus Christ. He offers forgiveness of sin, answered prayer, guidance and provision for our needs. Plus a “happily ever after” in Heaven with him.
Of course if you don’t think you have a problem, you won’t look for help. Amusement is bliss. Video visions are the “opium of the people.” Clinging to our remote controls, computer mice and video game controllers, we make the world go away for hours at a time.
Well, hold on just a minute! You don’t have to amuse yourself to death.
Punch the “Off” button on your remote. Turn off your computer. Put down the cell phone and video game controller. Pick up a Bible and start reading the Gospel of John in the New Testament. Ask God to speak to you through its pages.
In the Bible you’ll discover that God has the solutions and answers to life’s most vexing problems. Answers you won’t find in video visions.
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
No comments:
Post a Comment