Unplugged...sort of

The first time it happened, it was because we had moved from one house to another. If you have ever moved, you know that it is not always a well-oiled machine. Things get lost, or misplaced, or forgotten. Besides all the stuff that has to be boxed-up and relocated, there are also lots of necessary chores, like having electrical service turned on and off.

In the midst of the chaos of one of our moves, we (meaning "I") forgot to have the cable service switched. So we were without television programming for a time. The first few days were rough, but we soon discovered just how much time we had been spending parked in front of the box. And as more days went by, we got to the point that we rather enjoyed the quiet time it afforded our family.

Then we moved to California. And like all good movers, we took advantage of the stupendous savings (what a joke!) offered in a cable provider's bundle. Right back into the TV culture we went, and it immediately changed things around our house. We eventually found ourselves planning our schedule around what we wanted to watch. The kids soon believed that they HAD to watch their shows in the morning as we were trying to get ready. And little time was spent in actual conversation.

After a few months, we deliberately made the decision to turn off the cable. No more network news, no more ESPN, no more Disney channel. And a remarkable thing happened. We started playing more games with our kids. We actually learned to have some quiet time in the evenings. And we have not looked back. Now, I need to be clear about something. We do have a subscription to Netflix that allows movies and old tv shows to be streamed through our Wii console. If we want to watch a movie, we can. If we really want to re-watch an episode of favorite shows gone by, we do. But we have complete control over the programming. We only watch (or let our kids watch) those things that we screen first. No commercials compelling our kids to want whatever junk is being advertised. No keeping up with all the Hollywood gossip. No trash that can poison their minds. And we couldn't be happier about that.
I was a little worried when football season rolled around. No games at all? No SEC? Nothing from the NFL? Over the course of this season, however, I realized just how un-important that really was.

Probably the most startling reality for me is the influence that the voices on TV had on my mind. I had the same experience with the radio. On September 12, 2001 I turned on talk radio for the first time. At the time I was just looking for news coverage of the previous day's horrible events. But I liked what I heard. Somewhere around 8 years later, I turned off the talk. I found that things of a political nature had taken an unhlealthy hold on my mind. They consumed me. And, frankly, they fed an arrogance that was horrible. Though God long-ago said that my citizenship is in heaven, I was obsessed with the affairs of my earthly country. Then I turned it off.

I was amazed how all those pressing issues became un-important over the days and weeks that followed. In fact, I was soon disgusted with the whole political mess. Still am today. But I don't get so caught up in it anymore.

As a side note, our family's listening habits changed, too. In the car, country music was the norm. But with this shift in my listening, we decided that a family shift would be good. So we began to listen to nothing but Christian music. Changed the car radio, alarm clocks, etc. Again, it was amazing to watch the transformation that took place. Instead of boozing, cheating, lying songs, I started hearing my kids randomly singing about God, grace, love, Christ and the gospel. Our conversations started to flow from those songs. And the whole tone of our daily life began to change. Now, our kids wake up in the morning to songs about the God who loves them, about the Savior who died for them. That is what we are "feeding" their minds now. And I can't tell you the difference it has made.

My point? That all TV programming is bad? You can only go to heaven if you listen to Christian music? No. But I pray that you, too, will give serious thought to what you are allowing into the eyes, ears and minds of your children. I pray that the things they see and hear, watch and are entertained by are things that honor God and help them learn to glorify him. If you are struggling with that, try unplugging like we did. Try changing the station. Remember Jesus' words in Matthew 6.33: "Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness." Do that with your entertainment, and you will be amazed at the difference it makes.