Consider our forms of entertainment. Television shows depict God fearing people as superstitious, hypocritical, and at the very least unintelligent. Commercials flood the room with images of immodesty, sexual immorality, and drunkenness. Books describe ungodly acts in minute detail to incite the mind to lust and be defiled. Social networking sites expose us to everything from the silly to the unsavory, perhaps on an hourly basis. We live in a technologically advanced age where the interaction and communication we experience does not always include another physical presence. Nevertheless, the hobbies, networking, and entertainment that abounds in this world can have just as much an effect on our character as the people with whom we associate. The immoral things of this world that are transmitted through forms of entertainment can flood our minds with ideas and images which, if we are not careful and rightly discerning, can corrupt our spiritual minds.
The Power of Suggestion
As we consider the kinds of entertainment and non-human interaction we choose and prefer, let us consider the power of suggestion. Remember the account of man’s first experience with Satan? In Genesis 3:1-6 we see a lie sown in the mind—a suggestion that God may not be as loving and trustworthy as He claims, or at least that man might be able to achieve a level of existence that rivals God’s own. Eve dwelt on this lie and allowed it to grow into a desire for that which was forbidden, until she acted upon it and ate of the fruit God expressly said not to eat.
Does this not also happen today?
Satan is constantly working through different mediums to sow lies and deception that he hopes will grow into desires for what God’s law has forbidden (and forbidden for our own good). He consistently accuses God and His people falsely and offers “shortcuts” to achieve the same good that God promises to those who seek Him. If it is what we think that motivates our actions, we must ask ourselves if our thinking is being guided by God’s wisdom, or by Satan’s deceptively attractive counter offers. Do we fall for the deception of entertainment that says it is okay to allow sin in our homes, as long as no one is physically participating? Do we allow ourselves to “keep company” with fornication, profanity, idolatry, slander, malice, etc. in the “safety” of our own homes? Perhaps we would never actually let one of these people into our homes, but do we let the sins they practice fester in our minds? Do we realize the danger in condoning sin in this context? Or do we pretend that choosing immoral forms of entertainment and watering the evil seeds it sows in our minds will not grow to bear fruit of the same kind? We seek entertainment because we enjoy it—why would we choose or prefer to enjoy what encourages us to dwell on that which God hates?
The Power of Discernment
In Hebrews 5:11-14 there is an admonition directed towards those who had “become dull of hearing.” Do we allow a desire for worldly companionship in our entertainment and leisure to dull our ability to hear God and His word? To whom or what do we choose to listen? Do we choose or prefer to listen to things that will encourage us to exercise our minds and think spiritually, or otherwise? The Hebrew writer goes on to say that growth in one’s “powers of discernment” is only achieved when such powers are “trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” This world has an abundance of evil in it, but there are good things in it, too. If we are to grow in discernment and be able to fight the lies and deception Satan tries to sow in our minds, it must be our constant practice to “test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 ESV) Our mindset affects our ability to serve God (Romans 8:5-8), so should it not be a priority to keep company with things that fill our minds with good?
“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.” (Philippians 4:8)