Several years ago, in the late ’90s in fact, I wrote a newsletter whose message is just as, if not more, relevant today than it was back then. The names, dates, and personalities could easily be replaced by any number of contemporaries. It’s become an old but very real first-world problem the net effect of which can be hazardous to our spiritual existence if we don’t proceed with prudence. And this comes from over 25 years ago! Here it is:
The following headlines appeared recently on the web site of one of the major news networks:
- Man Who Allegedly Confessed Murder to Cats Cleared
- Dogs Found Hanged, Burned Over Satanic Symbol
- Indian Villagers Worship Girl Born With Two Faces
- Middle School Teacher Charged for Sex With Student
- German Police Shoot U.S. Soldier Dead After Standoff
- Did GI’s Wife Starve Infant to Death While He Was in Iraq?
- ‘Girls Gone Wild’ Creator a ‘Rock Star’ in Prison
- Teacher Tells Teen in Class: You Have ‘Perky’ Chest
- Two Sentenced in Pro Wrestler’s Sex Ring Case
- Mom’s Fiancé Badly Beats 14-Month Old, Crushes Him
- ‘Flying Saucer’ Home to Be Auctioned in Tennessee
- New Gadgets May Come Loaded — With a Virus
- Weather Channel Founder: ‘Sue Al Gore for Fraud’
- Man Jailed for Making Daughter Kill Pet Cat as ‘Lesson’
These tabloid-type teasers seem to echo the old journalists’ adage that if there is no real news of the day, then dig some up; in other words, find some human interest items (soft news, it’s called) that will attract attention. The tragedy is not that any of these stories is fiction (they aren’t) but that people are actually interested enough to read them as if their lives will be enriched by them.
But wait; it gets better.
The girl formerly known as Ginger Spice once made the statement, “You can’t beat attitude, intelligence, and a Wonder Bra.” The phenomenal success of the female British pop group called the Spice Girls is disconcerting to some of us because of their target market, namely, preteen girls between the ages of 5 and 12. And, once again, parents around the globe are forced to wrestle with the whole notion of role modeling and what they want their children to be exposed to. The evidence on the effect of the media on several generations is just now coming in. It’s a present-day peculiarity running from radio to the internet. And, if the Lord tarries, we can look forward to interactive video phones [yes, they are now here!] and whatever devices man’s imagination can conjure up. It’s not easy to forget the dulcet-toned voice projecting from the ether near a pavilion at EPCOT Center: “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
The question then becomes, “What is it we’re dreaming of and what dreams do we have for our children and grandchildren?” Is it “Girl Power”? Or stardom? Or great wealth? The impact of carefully produced TV personalities, politicians, rock stars and sports figures on our thought processes is so subtle and yet so overwhelming, that many of us become a bit calloused out of a sense of survival. Man historically never had to take on more than about thirty personal relationships of varying degrees of significance in a lifetime. Presidents and kings, minstrels and performers, seemed to exist as people who were “separate” from us in terms of their bringing some kind of guidance or influence into our lives, but they weren’t seen by us all that much.
But now our emotional anatomy is forced to deal with the likes of the (present or former) president’s extramarital affair(s) and how he and his family are handling it, Seinfeld and his friends’ (or Frasier or Friends) hedonistic search for a life, the cold, detached expression of the schoolboy who just gunned down his classmates and is not quite sure it was wrong, the televangelist crying “Repent!!” days before being discovered dallying with a prostitute, and Dennis Rodman’s views about anything. And many times, we face them all in the same evening! The difficulty is that it is all so up-close and personal that we feel attached to these people as though we had meaningful relationships with them, that is, we are fascinated by them to the point of heartfelt love, empathy, devotion or the opposites but we can’t stop ourselves from looking and wanting more.
The reality is we aren’t that closely related at all but because of the influence of their electronic images thrust into our lives, we can spend undue amounts of time thinking about them. For mature adults, it’s challenging enough, knowing how much to allow into our waking moments, but for our children, the problem of control can be at least intimidating if not downright frightening. Many parents feel as if their kids should not only have a right to be exposed to all that’s out there, and that if they’re not, they may be placed in a position of deprivation or social disadvantage. It’s always tough to swim upstream.
A number of parallels exist between media consumption and cigarette smoking. How many clinical studies will it take to prove conclusively that a lot of either can be hazardous to your health or well-being in some way? It took about 50 years for concerned researchers to discover that cigarettes could kill you. Since 1955, when American children began watching significant amounts of television, scholastic achievement test scores steadily declined along with our literacy level as a nation coupled with a pronounced increase in learning disabilities and attention disorders. Research suggests that the electronic media should be ingested by careful measure. That’s not to say that TV or computers don’t have some redemptive value because they do if applied judiciously. The danger is when it is allowed to become an addiction and our daughters are weeping because Ginger decided on a career change and left the group.
The apostle Paul instructed us to think about things that are true, honest, fair, pure, beautiful, constructive, virtuous and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). If we are really committed to this Christian life, we need to give some serious thought to how much external influence we allow into our homes. Admittedly, it ain’t easy. But that’s the call to battle. We are contending for the kingdom of God, not for the kingdom of comfort. And though God has given us freely all things to enjoy, if left unrestricted, the enjoyment factor can degenerate into a carelessness that can destroy our souls. And that’s the plan of the enemy. We are taught it is necessary for us to be in this world but not conformed to it in a way that will prevent our minds from being renewed by the word of God…..which is what builds our faith. And that’s our message to the nations and generations.
Terry Everroad
lionsheadcafe.com 