Articles
The Welcomed Stranger
The Welcomed Stranger
Years ago, a family met a stranger. He seemed like a decent guy, so they invited him into their house. He was an incredible storyteller and very personable (though he was an incessant talker). The kids especially loved him. He would guide everyone's imaginations through adventures and mysteries like no one could. He would tell jokes until their stomachs hurt from laughing. He even had an amazing knowledge of animals and other facts about life.
As you might imagine, it didn't take long for this stranger to become very popular with the family. This stranger connected so well with the family that they wanted him to stick around. So, nearly every day he would captivate the family for hours with his incredible tales.
Even though this family was an upright Christian family, the stranger didn't seem to want to abide by their rules. Every once in a while, a bad word would slip out. The parents shifted uncomfortably, but they never said anything about it. Sometimes he would drink and glamorize a life of alcohol. There were even a few times when he had drugs. Beyond all of this, he talked openly about sex. At times he would use suggestive, blatant, and descriptive terms. He made it seem like fornication, homosexuality, and transgenderism was very normal and common among people. The parents felt increasingly uncomfortable but still didn't want to confront him. So, day after day this stranger continued to display questionable words and actions.
What was this stranger's name? This family simply called him...TV. Nearly every household in America loves this stranger. Over 90% of American households have a TV in the home. In 2017, the average American consumer spent almost 4 hours per day watching TV. In addition to this, adults were watching over 5 hours per day, and older people were watching over 7 hours per day. So why do we allow it to happen through our TVs, phones, and computers?
Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
This applies to every part of our life. Does our TV watching fit within these guidelines?
