Influence of Television

I have always been a little wary of the influence of television since high school. Not to get into any details, let's just say I saw disconnect between what was being reported and what was really occurring during an event where I grew up. This disconnect between truth and reality naturally leads to a disconnection between the people watching tv and the world they live in.

I have been reading a great book by Dr. David Wells that I will share more about when I am finished. I did want to share something that he said that really captured my attention concerning television. In essence, he said that viewers are not "buying" the programs they choose to watch, rather the networks are "selling" the viewers to the advertisers. This thought brought about two responses.

One, I was a little angry when I realized that was true. I am paying for the privilege of being "sold" to advertisers.  It is bad enough to be treated like a commodity, but to turn around and pay for being treated that way is just nuts. I am not sure yet what to do about this little piece of information. I am very tempted to get rid of our television service, but I do enjoy my college football. On the other hand, I do watch very few commercials because I am a notorious "flipper" of channels during breaks.

The other response is less personal, but equally important. How have I been influenced by this consumer-driven, materialistic mentality that television (and other media) pour into my life? What about the church? The influence of this "advertising-driven" world we live in is subtle, so we may not even be aware of it. I'm afraid the church in America is so used to this influence that we are like a fish not realizing that he is always "wet" from the water he lives in.

I'm not sure what the answer is to address this issue. It will probably be a little easier when my wife and I get our child. We've already decided that we will greatly limit the amount of television we will allow into our child's life, and this decision will spill-over into our lives as well.

We must not fall into the trap of totally disengaging from interacting with our world. The Amish live a pious life, but they have zero influence in our world because they are disconnected from the world. How can we influence a world that disconnect from? Nor should we embrace everything the world has to offer. We've already seen what happens with that approach in most of our churches today. Completely embracing the culture leaves the church acting exactly the same as the world, with nothing to offer those who are lost and dying without Christ.

I do know this, what the church is doing now is not working. We need to return to following after Christ and living in a way that points others to the hope that is found in Him.