What I Won’t Watch

There is a big difference between what I can’t watch and what I won’t watch. Let me define my terms for you. My last blog post was about things I can’t watch, meaning scenes that make me squirm for whatever reason.  Things I won’t watch is focused on what I feel is damaging to me spiritually. When I hear about movies or TV shows that my Christian friends are watching I’m always surprised by the wide range of what is deemed acceptable to put into our minds & hearts. Here is how I decided what to view.

1) Does it have naked people/sex in it? I assume I don’t have to explain why we aren’t supposed to watch this. E-mail me if you are unclear on this point.

2) Does it have a lot of demonic imagery? An example would be the Keanu Reeve movie “Constantine” in which he is a supernatural detective whose “investigation takes (him) through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles.” (ref: IMDB) I have seen parts of this movie & its visual representation of the spiritual realm is probably more accurate than any of us really want to dwell on.

As a Christian who knows for a fact there is a war going on that we cannot see with our earthly eyes, why do I want to look at it for entertainment? It is real and to seek out those images for mere shock value dulls us to that reality.

3) Does it glorify violence or have excessive gore, etc.? One thing that a lot of people don’t seem to think about when they watch movies (or the evening news on occasion) is the fact that once you have seen something, there is no way to un-see it. A personal example of this, which I won’t describe in detail, is a scene from “Silence of the Lamb” which I saw while flipping channels. I did not ask for or want to see that image but there it was in all its horribleness. Life is full of ugliness and, just like #2 above, what does it say about us that we are “entertained” by those types of movies?

4) Does evil win or is the plot so muddy that you can’t tell if evil or good wins? Look, Good wins. Period. Evil never wins. It may look like it wins for a moment, but in the perspective of eternity, evil and the Prince of Darkness lose. Why waste time & money on something that glorifies Satan, making him seem more powerful than Almighty God?

Let me mention a couple of items as I close this out. The older I get the more acutely I realize that time is short. Not just for me on this earth, but for all of us. We are only allotted so many days. How we spend them really is important. If I’m looking for entertainment, I want to have the experience leave something of value in me. Yes, laughing definitely is of value! I don’t want it to leave me polluted.

Also, this is my list. Mine. Not yours. Mine. I’m not trying to be a legalistic Super-Nanny and bop you over the head. If you think I am, well, maybe that’s God trying to start a dialogue with you. I’d suggest pulling up a chair and finding out what He wants to talk about. It will be better than any movie, I guarantee!

Comments

[Eleanor]

"There is no way to un-see it." Yes. Visuals from movies/tv stuck with me as a child, so I am definitely all about not seeing it the first time if I think it's going to bother me or tear me down spiritually.
And also, I think of that verse I learned in children's church, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

[Keira]

I won't watch, probably, most stuff. :) In fact there's that new movie in the theater, "Legion", and Jeremiah and I were just discussing last night how we won't even step into the theater while that one's playing there.

[WidneyWoman]

I wish I could 'unwatch' those rapture movies of the '70's/'80's. It took me YEARS to get the thought out of my head that my family could have made the rapture and I didn't. See, there were 8 people in our home growing up. It was rare to come home to no one. We were the only family we were born again. Ditto my friends and neighbors so it's not like I could have called someone who should have been raptured to make sure I was okay. I used to think I missed the rapture until someone came home.

[Tracy Hernandez]

I guess I really don't know you well enough to understand what you mean by this being your list and that you're not trying to bop others over the head. These comments SEEM like you are condemning anyone who doesn't agree with your list:

"When I hear about movies or TV shows that my Christian friends are watching I’m always surprised by the wide range of what is deemed acceptable to put into our minds & hearts."

"I assume I don’t have to explain why we aren’t supposed to watch this. E-mail me if you are unclear on this point."

"what does it say about us that we are “entertained” by those types of movies?"

I have gotten a lot of value out of a lot of movies that I'm sure aren't on your list...one of the most profound being Pretty Woman. I never felt the least bit polluted. I felt full of hope that there are people who can see beneath the surface to the real heart of a person. And it inspired me to be a person like that.

I may not agree with you, but I certainly respect that you do what you feel is right for yourself.

[Lori]

Tracy, thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt. We haven't seen each other for a long time & I am sure we are both different than we were several years ago. :)

I'm just encouraging us, as Christians, to do what we all want to do, which is to live Godly lives, guided by the Word of God which tells us in 1 Peter 1:13-15 "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

My intent is not to judge anyone, but to encourage us to judge our own motivations for watching & reading what we do so we can grow more like Jesus every day.

[Tracy Hernandez]

Definitely agree with that! :o)

[Gina Burgess]

I was never more aware of not being able to "un-see" something that when I clicked on a link to check its appropriateness for my Christian group on LinkedIn. I was shocked and appalled at the vision before me. At the oddest times that picture flashes back and I want to gag. I've asked God to remove it from my memory and I know He will.

I totally agree with your things I won't see. It is why I am so severe in my book reviews. I don't want to accept trash for treasure or lies for truth. In fact the American people have been sending a monetary message to Hollywood for years now. The movies that make the most money are the family type movies. The only R-rated movie that made it into the Top Ten grossing movies was Passion of the Christ. Why doesn't Hollywood get it????