Day 34 – The Sacrifice of Innocence for Entertainment – Julie Earl
Romans 16:19
The day our TV stopped working twenty-two years ago was one of the most important days in our family’s history. I had asked my husband, Ron, if we could get rid of the TV because I was putting my two young children to bed at 7:00 p.m. and watching TV until 10:00 p.m. – wasting three hours almost every night. But since Ron rarely watched TV, he didn’t want to get rid of it. So I prayed…
Two weeks later the TV miraculously stopped working. Ron is extremely mechanical, so he pulled off the back cover but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. He finally took it to a friend at work and gave it to him. The next day the friend told Ron that there was an on/off switch under the front cover that had been turned off. Apparently one of the kids had hit this switch. I was thrilled! God had answered my prayers and removed the TV.
When the kids were older, we briefly had a TV with some rabbit ears, so we watched a couple shows each week, and then later we kept a TV for videos and DVDs. But we never had the TV on again like when they were little. Looking back, I am so grateful that our family was kept from all the lying, cheating, stealing, sexual comments, sleeping around, and the disrobing of our society that occurred in those twenty-two years. We only watched videos, DVDs and movies that didn’t have sexual scenes or innuendos, and ones that could have the bad language bleeped out by our TV Guardian.
Our youngest daughter was adopted at age nine, and she had been fed a steady diet of rated-R movies that left her fearful and confused, but the other two kids had a much cleaner slate and were able to keep their innocence through most of their childhood. Romans 16:19 says, “I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” God wants all of us – not just children – to be innocent about what is evil. We are told to think about “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy” (Philippians 4:8).
Most TV shows and movies don’t meet the above criteria, so many Christians have chosen to sacrifice their innocence and their children’s innocence for the sake of entertainment. This compromise has played a large part in many believers falling away from the Lord, and in the moral breakdown that is destroying our country. But the good news is that if you have sacrificed your innocence, and your family’s innocence, for entertainment, it’s not too late. You and your children can “be transformed by the the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). When you remove the trash and refuse to watch activities (sleeping around, cussing, sexual comments, disrespect, etc.) that you would never think of allowing to happen in real life in your home; and when you fix your eyes on Jesus as you talk with Him all throughout the day, read the words of wisdom and love in His love letter, and fall in love with the One who loves you passionately, you can restore your innocence and your love for what is right and true and good.
The key, as I’ve mentioned throughout this study, is to fall in love with Jesus and allow Him to make the changes from the inside out! God wants all of us to “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). The world is desperate to be impacted by Christians who are wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil! God bless you as you ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind and purify your thoughts. It’s so worth it.
Julie’s Notes: This is the final article in “Riches in Romans.” Great job for hanging with us! I pray you had even half as much fun as we did uncovering these powerful truths. What an incredible book filled with foundational insights and encouragement. Please email us or comment below and share a few highlights from this study. I’d love to hear anything the Lord revealed to you! Please keep coming back to www.CrazyAboutYou.org to see what new materials, testimonies and training the Holy Spirit has prompted us to add.
You are very loved by God and by us!
Julie (and Dane) Earl with Crazy About You Ministries (CAYM)