Where did this toddler pick these
words? Yes, he does not remember himself, where. They should have been
said by a pretty auntie in a movie.
- Go for bread? Mom, you
don’t even say it! Superheroes never go for bread!
- Why did you come home so
late? We were worried.
- Mom, it is ridiculous! It’s
21st century!
Is somebody get killed every day in
your room? You invite people to visit you, who scorn you and laugh at you? Have
you asked somebody to come who would try to assure you that immorality is fun and
abuse should be done every minute, so that one does not lose practice? Will
you say, “No”? Yet all this is happening in your house, if you watch TV. Psalmist
David, who in his time knew nothing of TV, said to God, “Turn away my eyes
from seeing vanity!” (Ps.119:37) I believe we should better say the same to God
as well.
Since long ago, we don’t notice how strongly
the TV came into our life and became an equal right family member. According to
statistics, five-year-old children spend 4,5 hours near TV a day. Psychologists
and doctors from all over the world are troubled by this number. It is proven
that TV not only affects our health, but also spoils the character of the
little TV fan. Are you concerned
that lately your little one has become too nervous? Do you notice attacks of rage?
Pay attention to how often he warms himself near the TV set. If the family is
used to watching the “box” all day long, don’t be surprised at such behavior.
Experts calculated: that, on average,
every 4 minutes there are shown scenes of violence on the screen. And the
child’s brain is created in a way that, even without looking at the screen, he
absorbs all information that he can hear. Moreover, he subconsciously detects
quarrel and threats. And then, no one knows why, he can say to mom: “I will
kill you!” and rush with fists the younger sister or kick the favorite dog.
In order to avoid this, don’t allow
the TV to become an electronic baby sitter for your child. The toddle glues
himself to the screen and watches cartoons. Try to analyze what they show in
favorite “Pokemon” and “Evil beavers.” Their heroes endlessly beat each other, do
all sorts of harm. Later the child, when playing with peers, copies the
behavior of his favorite heroes. Unfortunately, he is not able to critically
assess the situation. He does not understand that in real life the consequences
of some actions can be tragic. If a person is run over by a car, he cannot, like
Bunny the Rabbit, stand up and walk on, wiping off the dust. There was a famous
case when a 5-year old boy was left at home with his baby brother. The brother
cried for a long time and couldn’t quiet down. Then the boy hit him on the head
with a heavy frying pan. The baby quieted down for ever. And the elder one
could not realize why his brother did not rise after this, for in cartoons,
after such method of shutting up, the heroes would rise at once, as if nothing
happened. But in real life things are different. No words can describe the
grief of these parents. But it could not have happened, should the son not have
watched such cruel cartoons. So, friends, if your children like cartoons, wouldn’t
it be better to give preference to good old movies. This will enhance the
child’s wish for goodness, forgiveness, and mutual help.
Children are naturally captivated by
what they see and what they see has influence on them. When the TV is on, children
are directly taken to the cinema world. Why allowing TV to spoil the purity of
the child’s mind and imagination?
God is especially concerned about
children. He severely punishes all who tempt believing in Him adults, the more
so children. He says, “But whoever shall offend one of these little ones who believes in Me,
it would be better for him that an ass's millstone were hung around his neck,
and he be sunk in the depth of the sea” (Мt.18). A question arises: what can be more
tempting for children that setting them under the influence of modern TV
programs?
The older the child becomes, the
more he watches TV. What programs are better for a teenager to watch? I believe
this question should be under parents’ control. “He is quite grown, let him
decide for himself what to watch,” you might say to yourself. However, the
influence of the TV on the sensitive psyche even of a senior high school
student is very strong. Any movie is always a bright show. If a teenager spends
many hours at TV every day, he receives big pressure on the brain. This blocks
the process of thinking and creative search of teenagers: they are unable to
think! What can be done to change their mental abilities? Spend more time on
walks in the fresh air, sports, fellowship with good friends, interesting and
creative activities. Try to watch as little TV as possible, they will
only benefit from it.
According to the Bible, all
responsibility for children’s upbringing is laid on parents shoulders. What to do? No, restrictions
will not work. You will have to start from yourself. And to make a competition to TV stars. Fortunately, God placed in children respect for you and
the need in your love. If you don’t learn to touch these strings of the child’s
soul even today, tomorrow you will get contempt and indifference instead of
gratitude for your labor in the name of their future. Tell your child tonight
that you love him. What will the reaction be? Find what you lack in your relationships.
And hasten to correct the faults! How many minutes a day do you communicate to
your child? 15,
20, 35? How often do you have heartily talks? As long as you
are “unreachable,” the good old TV is at their disposal 24 hours a day. And
believe me, it is more than enough outspoken. Consequently, our children are
growing without a “taboo.”
Youth’s admiration for TV is quite
serious. What do they see on the screen today? What moral norms are they
propagated? What are they being taught? Often people turn the TV on to
have some rest to their mind. After a busy working day, when evening
comes, one wants to turn the TV on and watch something interesting, good and
meaningful. However, instead of this, one could hear a cruel quarrel, obscene
words, and what is revealed before our eyes, we’d better not see it. Scenes of
violence, inhuman, beastly relationships, sadism. This all can be found in
action movies so loved by our youth. What kind of people will they grow to be
after watching such movies? Each such scene leaves a deep trace in the
conscience of the young man, has impression. Why are we surprised when
teenagers show cruelty not only with peers, but also with their own family. They
were not ashamed to raise a hand to fight, or even to kill for money or gain.
“It does not always happen,” you
will say, “And not everyone kills.” May be, but there is time for everything. Drop
by drop, the TV-taught cruelty is stored in the innocent heart. It is
impossible to get free from it, yet one needs to let it out. Thus, such TV
fans give way to their energy, without considering the consequences. They
propagate the cult of strength, independence from anything and anyone, self-exultation
and excessive pride. How can such person live, if he takes in these qualities
in real world? Will such Christian values as forgiveness, love, mutual help and
mercy take place in their hearts? I doubt it. Yet the Lord calls us
to these very values in His word “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous
or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not
irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about
injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never
loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love
will last forever” (1 Cor.13:4-8). And in another place: “Therefore be
perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Mt.5). Can one have love and
mercy, to which the Lord calls, after watching action movies and worshipping
the power of strength?
Let’s look at another kind of
movies, erotic. In an excessively revealing way, without hiding, without a
single reproach of conscience, you will be shown both a so-called beauty of
human body and scenes of intimacy and violence. Why? To ignite the
same low desires in you, to give pictures to your brain which enhance sinful
actions and ruin the immortal soul. Let the man desire entertainment, let him flame
passions. Let the mind be occupied with whatever, empty, little, meaningless. Let’s
ponder, friends, who benefits from this? Who is in charge of this process? Who
leads the person farther and farther from God, to leave to room for the Creator
and salvation of one’s soul in one’s mind. You and I understand how the enemy
of God, the devil, uses any means in this end time, to prevent the man to come
to God. He polluted the intimate relations which God sanctified for man and
wife, and used them to lead the man into the sin of adultery. And he has many
ways of doing it today, television being one of the most successful of those. “Why
go to church today,” the devil whispers, “There is a cool movie on. There is no
need to think about your sins, everyone has lots of those. You will get the
same portion as everyone!” And people easily agree with these proposals, without
even thinking who they come from.
Friends, let us think whom we serve?
Who do we follow and where are we going? What consequences are ahead? What
will we achieve in life if we spend the best years of our lives to sit by TV? What
will be learn from it? Bible warns us against any slavery. In 2 Peter 2:19 we
read: “Promising them liberty, they themselves are the slaves of corruption.
For by whom anyone has been overcome, even to this one he has been enslaved.” Do
you desire to be slaves of the blue screen, fall into dependence, when one
program after another, series after series hold your attention and it is
impossible for you to tear yourself off it? Isn’t it better to lead an abundant
life, have our own interesting encounters and impressions, instead of a mere
passive following other people’s events.
TV series, so-called soap operas
should be the most innocent in moral aspect. Eventful love adventures. Why not
watch how people live in developed countries? Of course, their problems are
different from ours. But, as it turns out, the rich also cry. Everyone cries, for
the problem of sin remains unsolved with every person. Neither vacation on
No doubt, we all want a beautiful
life. Yet our life will not be better from what we see on TV. And if the TV heroes
have no such household problems as we have, this does not mean we will not have
them. And nobody is going to solve them for us. And turning to our real world
after watching all pink colors is more difficult, because the contrast between
the seen and real is stark. However, one should not think that material wealth
and carefree life shown in movies is real. Foreigners also have problems. But thorough
those movies, our youth is imparted a consuming attitude to life, the desire to
have everything without putting a single effort. Consequently, our heroes tread
the path of earning easy bread, not to work and live in luxury. As a result,
there follows the growth of crime, robbery, the bigger number of drug-addicts
and drunks. So, is it worth torturing oneself with unreachable dreams, building
unrealistic desires?
Recently, there have appeared a
number of intellectual programs on TV. On the one hand, it is good – thee is
something to watch, to add more knowledge to our brain. But on the other... We are proposed
anything to get our attention. Sometimes we watch games in which far from the
best human relationships are propagated, such as “Weak chain,” “The third is odd,”
“The last hero.” Instead of friendly support, encouragement, the game
participant hears about his underlined
drawbacks, remarks about the lack of mental abilities, feels himself useless, defective.
It is understandable that the strongest is the one who wins. This is the way of
any game. However, here comes the issue of moral and ethical norms. What will
such programs teach about? Again, it will be violence, disrespect for the
neighbor. Watching them, people unwittingly acquire these character traits.
Instead of encouragement, they reproach their children, call them
good-for-nobody, or even put out of the room with words “You are the odd one here!”
What is left on the little one’s heart? We understand the consequences.
There are many entertaining programs,
and it is harder and harder to find one which would carry something sunny, educational,
joyful into our homes among them . More often we watch scenes of family
quarrels with dirty and adulterous relationships. This is openly talked of in
the program “Windows,” possible with the purpose of teaching others to do the
same. Here one can hear mutual insults, threats. So-called heroes often
throw their fists at others. All that was carefully hidden before, is now shown
to the public eye of the whole country without any reproach of doubt. What good
does this program bring to us? It has no moral foundation, no advice for people
in a certain situation, no teaching for the audience. Each one can make his own
conclusion, and not always it will be the best one. This program leaves people
anxious and lost. Will it bring peace into our home? Should we allow quarrels,
curse words and reproach into our homes? Friends, you are to choose.
Of course, people themselves
form their culture, habits, traditions. What will we breed? What values will
our nation have, watching such programs and learning from them? Let us think if
we need such programs? Can one touch dirt without becoming dirty? Will we be
able to inhale information which would have no effect whatsoever on us? “The
mouth speaks from that which fills his heart,” the Bible says (Luke 6:45). What
is our heart filled with today? God suggest a new meaning to us. “All things
are lawful to me, but not all things profit. All things are lawful for me, but
I will not be brought under the power of any,” Apostle Paul wrote (1 Cor.6:12).
Hence, it is a good admonition for us as well to filter the information which
the world proposes today. Maybe it is important to choose such programs for
oneself which will promote our spiritual growth and general development, although
they are not many. Which ones to choose, is always up to you.
No one will compete with the fact
that TV is a great invention and that some programs have educational character.
But Satan uses this opportunity in his interests, to reach his evils goals. Harmful
acts by TV for the soul through moral degradation by far outweigh its
advantages, for it teaches violence, harms the eyesight and spoils the carriage.
You can minimize its harmful influence on you.
Today every adult in our country spends
2,5 hours a day in front of TV. This constitutes the tenth part of life. Let us
not forget that we will answer before God for how we spend our time. How much
time do we afford to reading of the Bible and prayer every day? We
afford time for communication with TV, do we afford it for communication with
our Creator God, who loves us and wishes to bestow His blessing on us?
He calls us from the pages of the book of His prophet Isaiah “Come to Me, and
you shall be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no
other God!”
“Woe to the
rebellious sons, says Jehovah, who make advice, but not of Me; and who over
with a covering, but not of My Spirit, that they add sin to sin. that this is a rebellious
people, lying sons. They are sons who will not hear the Law of Jehovah; who say
to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Do not prophesy to us right things, speak to us
smooth things, prophesy falsehood; go out of the way, turn aside out of the
path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Therefore so says the Holy One of
Israel, Because you have despised this Word, and trust in oppression and
perverseness, and rest on them; therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to
fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an
instant. And He shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces. He
shall have no pity, so that there shall not be found in the breaking of it a
shard take fire from the hearth, or to take water out of the pit. For so says
the Lord Jehovah,
the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest you shall be saved; and in
quietness and hope shall be your strength.” (Is.30)
translated by Anna Sedova
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