JesusDrivenLife.org
Confronting the top 10 threats within the church
Television, Internet, Video Game Screens & Church

Let's start with some statistics:

                 In the average American home, the television is turned on 6 hours and 47 minutes per day.
                 66% of Americans regularly watch television while eating dinner.
                 The average American child watches 28 hours of television, including 17 scenes of murder, per week.
                 The average American child plays 9 hours of video games per week.
                 94% of Teen-rated (13 years or older) video games contain "Violence" or "Violence and Blood" content.
                 The first exposure to internet pornography occurs on the average at 11 years of age.
                 47% of Christians "admit" pornography to be a problem in their homes.
                 40% of pastors with home internet access "admit" to visiting pornographic websites.
                 (Sources: A.C. Nielsen & Co., TV-Free America, Mediafamily.org, Focus on the Family)

Appalling, isn't it? There are more numbers - just as appalling - from the named and other sources, and they all point to the same two conclusions: (A) we spend far too much time staring into screens of televisions, video games and internet devices; and (B) Satan is spewing poison through those screens to destroy individuals, marriages, families and ministries.

What about television news?

Crimes, disasters, wars and commercials account for 84% of local television news broadcast time, which is almost devoid of coverage, let alone balanced coverage, of what is happening to the body of Christ around the world today.

What about television sports?

While idolization of sports stars is idolatrous on its own, the bigger issue is the aggregate amount of time Christians spend watching sports on television. God gave us time to serve Him, but billions of hours of what should be dedicated to sowing seeds and reaping harvest for Jesus are being wasted on couches watching people run after balls.

What about Christian television channels and programs?

They may call themselves "Christian" but few present the true Gospel, and much if not most of their content, including all of their incessant begging for money, is an embarrassment to the true body of Christ and our Lord.

Granted, there is nothing intrinsically bad about the technology behind televisions, video games, computers and the Internet, and they aren't completely devoid of positive content. However, given the state of the majority of the content, something has to be done to stop Satan from poisoning the body of Christ and robbing us of our Christ-serving time.

What should be done?

1. Eliminate from the home all televisions, video games and gaming consoles. The kids may protest and you'll be left out of water cooler chatter about sports and television. But you will get to talk to your family during dinner, read better quality news online (the last page lists Christian news websites) or in print, and have more time to pray, read the bible and serve the Lord.

2. Install the latest parental control software and filters on all computers and other web devices. Closely monitor children's emails, online community profiles, limit Internet access to fixed, non-private locations, and think of other ways to increase transparency and accountability for Internet usage. The last page lists a site that helps those struggling against pornography.

3. Ensure that your kids are not watching television, playing video games or surfing the web unsupervised at their friends' homes. Collaborate with the parents of their friends. If they won't collaborate, keep your kids away from their homes.