Does God Care About My Entertainment Choices?

Does God Care About My Entertainment Choices?

As a new year begins, many of us set resolutions that usually fall by the wayside
by February 1st. Some of those resolutions involve limiting TV, social media, and the
like. When developing a biblical worldview, one must ask himself: does God care about
what I watch or read? Are these relatively small things a big deal to Him? Let’s take a
look at what the Bible says.

There are actually many biblical passages, both Old and New Testament, that
lend themselves to the discussion of entertainment choices. As Christians we are “new
creations” (2 Cor. 5:17), and we don’t want to be conformed to the patterns and habits
of this world (Rom. 12:2). Therefore, we should be different from the world, and that
difference should be reflected in the way we choose to live, including our leisure time.
Philippians 4:8 gives us a quick guideline when it comes to choosing entertainment:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is
anything worthy of praise, think about these things (emphasis added).” In this verse,
the apostle Paul gives us several descriptive words of what to think about. All the words
boil down to this: if there is nothing good about what we are watching or reading or
focusing on, then we need to get rid of it! Here are some examples of what to get rid of
besides the obvious of pornography, sexually explicit material, blood and gore, etc. Let’s
say you are scrolling Facebook and you come across a post made by someone going
through a messy divorce. This person is angry with their spouse and has chosen to list
in a lengthy post all the bad things they feel the person has done. Is there anything good in that post that would meet the standard set in Philippians 4:8? Probably not. Is there anything beneficial to your reading that post? No. Scroll away. There is nothing for the Christian in a post like that. Don’t use the excuse that “I am only reading this so I can pray.” You can pray for that situation without reading the post.

Philippians 4:8 is far from the only verse where God’s Word gives instruction on
what we put in front of ourselves. Psalm 101:3 says, “I wil not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless...” and again in Psalm 119:37 the Psalmist prays saying,
“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” Notice
here that the Psalmist isn’t talking just about overtly sinful things like pornography, but
he mentions worthless things. This could include things that are time wasters, things
that take away from those things that God wants us to do or that God has called us to
do. This doesn’t necessarily mean those things that are sinful; these verses could
include those things that take us away from time with God.

What are we to do then as Christians in order to keep our minds steady on Christ
and His Word during this new year? How are we to make better choices when it comes
to how we spend our time? Colossians chapter 3 is a great read for help in this area.
Verse 2 tells us, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on
earth.” We are to think about and dwell on godly things. Things that meet the criteria
found in Philippians 4:8. Verse 5 says to “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you...”
The “earthly” things in us are those sinful things that should no longer be part of our
lives now that we are saved, things such as lying, anger, immorality, obscene talk, etc.
Instead, we are to practice things such as kindness, humility, and forgiveness. If you
truly want to set aside sinful habits this new year, I would urge you to pray over and
study Colossians chapter 3.
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There is much more the Bible says about what we set before us and how we use
our time. In this new year, choose to focus on Christ, His Word, and make that your
daily aim.

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