It's a pretty important topic for all of us because, honestly, the world is at our fingertips. With just one click, we can watch or listen to stuff that’s the opposite of what God wants for us—stuff that might tempt us or influence us in negative or unhealthy ways.
1. TAKING THE ADVICE OF OUR HEAVENLY DAD
Any good parent wants the very best for their kids. Parents want to protect their kids from things that will do them physical harm (which is why we teach our kids not to play near the stove or run across the street looking both ways). But good parents also want to protect their kids from stuff that might harm them emotionally or spiritually.
All through the Bible, God is referred to as our parent. Often it describes him as our Father—our Heavenly dad—although there are a few times where he’s also described like a mom! For example, in Luke 13:34 it describes God as “wanting to gather his children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings”.
That’s a pretty cool metaphor for God. He loves us SO much and he wants the very best for us. He wants us to be protected from getting hurt, from going through life and making bad choices and living with regrets! He wants us to stay close to him! He doesn’t want us to be damaged or messed up! When God gives us rules to live by and tells us that some things are right and some things are wrong, it's not because he wants to suck the fun out of our lives, but because, as our Creator, he really does know and want what's best for us! In the Bible, there are a lot of rules or guidelines for life, and even if we don't always understand why God asks us to live a certain way, we have to trust that it's for our very best!
2. WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT OUR MEDIA CHOICES
When I was in youth group, there aren’t a TON of things I remember that my youth pastor said… but one of the things I still remember is the Bible passage that he called “The SCREENS chapter”. Even though this Bible passage is thousands of years old, it’s something that’s SUPER RELEVANT today—especially when we all carry screens in our pockets, and with just one click we can watch anything we want or listen to any music we want FOR FREE! There has never been a time when media has been so convenient!
Have you ever heard someone use the numbers 101 to describe something? In colleges and universities, they usually have introductory or foundational courses called __________101 (like Philosophy 101). It means that it’s the most basic course you can take on that topic. Well, tonight, we’re talking about MEDIA 101, SCREENS 101, MUSIC 101. And it can be found in Psalm 101.
Psalm 101 is a prayer from David where he’s making a commitment to God.
Psalm 101:2-4 says, “I will be careful to live a blameless life. I need you to help me! I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil”.
Here, David is making a commitment not to sin. Not to look at stuff that is VILE and VULGAR—stuff that will dirty him up and is the opposite of what God wants, stuff that you wouldn't watch with your grandma sitting right beside you..
David also says here that he’s committed to rejecting PERVERSE IDEAS (the word perverse means things that are wrong or twisted- more on that in a minute). David is committing himself to stay away from evil (or things that celebrate sin).
In 2019, his prayer would be something like this—“God I need your help. I don’t want to mess with sin. I want to make sure my eyes are looking at stuff that’s right- that when I’m surfing the net on my phone, when I’m texting my friends, when I’m binge watching Netflix, when I’m alone in my room and nobody else is around, I want to be a person of INTEGRITY- a person who does what’s right! I also want to make sure that when I’m listening to music, that the ideas and lyrics aren’t wrong or twisted. I’m committing myself to staying away from garbage—stuff that influences me in bad ways. Stuff that is the opposite of what you want for me. I’m trusting that you know and want the best for me--- and I want you to be proud of what I’m watching and listening to!”
What an amazing prayer that is! It’s amazing that even THOUSANDS of years later, David’s prayer is SO relevant for today! And that’s before everything was just one click away! God wants the things we watch and listen to to be things that are RIGHT, things that won't tempt us or lead us to sin, things that won't fill our minds with images, thoughts, or ideas that are the opposite of the way He wants us to live.
3. A LOT OF MEDIA IS “EXPLICITLY TWISTED”
In David’s prayer he talks about wanting to stay away from stuff that’s perverse (stuff that’s twisted—which means thoughts, images, video, ideas that are the opposite of what God wants for him)…well, funnily enough, LADY GAGA was just in the news last week talking about this!
Lady Gaga is a pretty famous singer (with a terrible celebrity name, in my opinion. It’s hard to take someone seriously when their name is Gaga) who is actually up for an Academy Award for best actress this year. For years, she’s been putting out music that has influenced a lot of people (in some good and some not so good ways). She has over 77 MILLION followers on Twitter! She’s won a ton of awards for her songs and her videos! People are really interested in what she has to say…and some of her fans (called Little Monsters) are OBSESSED with her. She is worshipped by some people!
This week she posted something on her Instagram that I thought was REALLY interesting. She wrote that she REALLY regretted writing one particular song—and that she wished it would just disappear. Now, part of the reason for that is because the song features the singer R. Kelly, who has been charged (AGAIN) with sexual assault. Looking back at her song, Lady Gaga has come to the realization that the message in the song is a terrible one!
The song is definitely not something that would meet David’s criteria for what would be good to listen to—it has quite a bit of swearing it, it talks about doing drugs and getting drunk (and let's not even mention the video that contains a lot of sexuality), and it repeats over and over the line- “You can’t have my heart and you won’t use my mind but do what you want with my body”. Great message, right? It’s hard to believe, at a time when the #METOO movement is on everybody’s minds, that this song was made just 5 years ago! And the guy she recorded the song with? He has a long history of some messed up stuff, including charges for making child porn (and that was BEFORE this song was written)!
Here’s a quote from Lady Gaga—“I made the song and video at a very dark time in my life, my intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was so angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life. I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time. I’m sorry both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner.” (paraphrased- actual link here)
Here she’s saying, “You know that super popular song and video off of my award winning album that I made 5 years ago? Well, I was kind of young and I had poor judgment, and I didn’t really think about the message and whether or not it was something good and healthy. I really regret it. And let's not mention the person I sang it with.”
I wanted to talk about Lady Gaga just to highlight the fact that MOST artists, movie studios, youtube channels, websites-- only care about the money and the clicks. They don’t really think about (or care) about how a kid or teen or even an adult might be influenced or negatively affected by what they put out into the world. Honestly, it boggles my mind that a song that kind of encourages sexual assault and treating a woman like an object was greenlit—that nobody close to Lady Gaga, that the record company, that her friends wouldn’t have suggested that maybe the song was carrying a message that wasn’t very healthy- that maybe it wasn’t something worth putting out, that maybe the lyrics needed to be changed!
The thing you’ll find about a lot of music is that there’s lots of stuff that’s put out because it’s got an awesome beat or a super catchy chorus, but the message of the song is terrible. In fact, the #1 song on iTunes right now is “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande—the song contains a bit of swearing and is all about how hot and rich she is. Yup, the WHOLE song is about how great it is to be her. The video is also VERY sexually provocative. Some of the lyrics include, “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it. Whoever said money can't solve your problems must not have had enough money to solve 'em”.
All through the Bible, God is referred to as our parent. Often it describes him as our Father—our Heavenly dad—although there are a few times where he’s also described like a mom! For example, in Luke 13:34 it describes God as “wanting to gather his children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings”.
2. WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT OUR MEDIA CHOICES
When I was in youth group, there aren’t a TON of things I remember that my youth pastor said… but one of the things I still remember is the Bible passage that he called “The SCREENS chapter”. Even though this Bible passage is thousands of years old, it’s something that’s SUPER RELEVANT today—especially when we all carry screens in our pockets, and with just one click we can watch anything we want or listen to any music we want FOR FREE! There has never been a time when media has been so convenient!
Have you ever heard someone use the numbers 101 to describe something? In colleges and universities, they usually have introductory or foundational courses called __________101 (like Philosophy 101). It means that it’s the most basic course you can take on that topic. Well, tonight, we’re talking about MEDIA 101, SCREENS 101, MUSIC 101. And it can be found in Psalm 101.
Psalm 101 is a prayer from David where he’s making a commitment to God.
Psalm 101:2-4 says, “I will be careful to live a blameless life. I need you to help me! I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil”.
Here, David is making a commitment not to sin. Not to look at stuff that is VILE and VULGAR—stuff that will dirty him up and is the opposite of what God wants, stuff that you wouldn't watch with your grandma sitting right beside you..
David also says here that he’s committed to rejecting PERVERSE IDEAS (the word perverse means things that are wrong or twisted- more on that in a minute). David is committing himself to stay away from evil (or things that celebrate sin).
In 2019, his prayer would be something like this—“God I need your help. I don’t want to mess with sin. I want to make sure my eyes are looking at stuff that’s right- that when I’m surfing the net on my phone, when I’m texting my friends, when I’m binge watching Netflix, when I’m alone in my room and nobody else is around, I want to be a person of INTEGRITY- a person who does what’s right! I also want to make sure that when I’m listening to music, that the ideas and lyrics aren’t wrong or twisted. I’m committing myself to staying away from garbage—stuff that influences me in bad ways. Stuff that is the opposite of what you want for me. I’m trusting that you know and want the best for me--- and I want you to be proud of what I’m watching and listening to!”
What an amazing prayer that is! It’s amazing that even THOUSANDS of years later, David’s prayer is SO relevant for today! And that’s before everything was just one click away! God wants the things we watch and listen to to be things that are RIGHT, things that won't tempt us or lead us to sin, things that won't fill our minds with images, thoughts, or ideas that are the opposite of the way He wants us to live.
3. A LOT OF MEDIA IS “EXPLICITLY TWISTED”
In David’s prayer he talks about wanting to stay away from stuff that’s perverse (stuff that’s twisted—which means thoughts, images, video, ideas that are the opposite of what God wants for him)…well, funnily enough, LADY GAGA was just in the news last week talking about this!
Lady Gaga is a pretty famous singer (with a terrible celebrity name, in my opinion. It’s hard to take someone seriously when their name is Gaga) who is actually up for an Academy Award for best actress this year. For years, she’s been putting out music that has influenced a lot of people (in some good and some not so good ways). She has over 77 MILLION followers on Twitter! She’s won a ton of awards for her songs and her videos! People are really interested in what she has to say…and some of her fans (called Little Monsters) are OBSESSED with her. She is worshipped by some people!
This week she posted something on her Instagram that I thought was REALLY interesting. She wrote that she REALLY regretted writing one particular song—and that she wished it would just disappear. Now, part of the reason for that is because the song features the singer R. Kelly, who has been charged (AGAIN) with sexual assault. Looking back at her song, Lady Gaga has come to the realization that the message in the song is a terrible one!
The song is definitely not something that would meet David’s criteria for what would be good to listen to—it has quite a bit of swearing it, it talks about doing drugs and getting drunk (and let's not even mention the video that contains a lot of sexuality), and it repeats over and over the line- “You can’t have my heart and you won’t use my mind but do what you want with my body”. Great message, right? It’s hard to believe, at a time when the #METOO movement is on everybody’s minds, that this song was made just 5 years ago! And the guy she recorded the song with? He has a long history of some messed up stuff, including charges for making child porn (and that was BEFORE this song was written)!
Here’s a quote from Lady Gaga—“I made the song and video at a very dark time in my life, my intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was so angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life. I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time. I’m sorry both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner.” (paraphrased- actual link here)
Here she’s saying, “You know that super popular song and video off of my award winning album that I made 5 years ago? Well, I was kind of young and I had poor judgment, and I didn’t really think about the message and whether or not it was something good and healthy. I really regret it. And let's not mention the person I sang it with.”
I wanted to talk about Lady Gaga just to highlight the fact that MOST artists, movie studios, youtube channels, websites-- only care about the money and the clicks. They don’t really think about (or care) about how a kid or teen or even an adult might be influenced or negatively affected by what they put out into the world. Honestly, it boggles my mind that a song that kind of encourages sexual assault and treating a woman like an object was greenlit—that nobody close to Lady Gaga, that the record company, that her friends wouldn’t have suggested that maybe the song was carrying a message that wasn’t very healthy- that maybe it wasn’t something worth putting out, that maybe the lyrics needed to be changed!
The thing you’ll find about a lot of music is that there’s lots of stuff that’s put out because it’s got an awesome beat or a super catchy chorus, but the message of the song is terrible. In fact, the #1 song on iTunes right now is “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande—the song contains a bit of swearing and is all about how hot and rich she is. Yup, the WHOLE song is about how great it is to be her. The video is also VERY sexually provocative. Some of the lyrics include, “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it. Whoever said money can't solve your problems must not have had enough money to solve 'em”.
The song glorifies the pursuit of wealth and good looks and is pretty much the opposite of what the Bible teaches--- that it's not what's on the outside that matters, but God looks on the inside, that you can have all the money in the world, but if you don’t know God, then you’re missing out. That’s just one example!
I wanted to highlight that because the people who put out media don’t really care about you or have your best interests at heart. Most artists don’t care if their message is terrible--- they just want to make more money off of you! When you realize that a lot of the music and movies you watch MIGHT have garbage values, it reminds you to pay closer attention to what the message is before you hit play.
And you could say, "But it’s just a fun song with a good beat! Really, can it be that bad"?, but when you’re singing or thinking about those lyrics over and over—it can influence your thinking and can influence your own values. I don’t want my kids growing up believing that as long as they look hot and have lots of money to spend on whatever they would like, that's all that matters, and I definitely wouldn't want my daughter to be dancing like Ariana Grande in that video. We're God's sons and daughters! How do you think he feels about it?
God wants us to make wise choices when it comes to what we put in front of our eyes or what we put in our ears! We need to think about whether or not the messages are positive ones. We need to ask ourselves if the stuff we’re watching on our screens is leading us to sin, tempting us, or pulling us away from God! Is the media we’re consuming good for us? Is it making God proud? Is it celebrating things that are good and right, or is it celebrating sin (actions and choices that are the opposite of what God wants for us)?
The good news is that God offers us forgiveness and a brand new start! We can make better choices starting today!
I wanted to highlight that because the people who put out media don’t really care about you or have your best interests at heart. Most artists don’t care if their message is terrible--- they just want to make more money off of you! When you realize that a lot of the music and movies you watch MIGHT have garbage values, it reminds you to pay closer attention to what the message is before you hit play.
And you could say, "But it’s just a fun song with a good beat! Really, can it be that bad"?, but when you’re singing or thinking about those lyrics over and over—it can influence your thinking and can influence your own values. I don’t want my kids growing up believing that as long as they look hot and have lots of money to spend on whatever they would like, that's all that matters, and I definitely wouldn't want my daughter to be dancing like Ariana Grande in that video. We're God's sons and daughters! How do you think he feels about it?
God wants us to make wise choices when it comes to what we put in front of our eyes or what we put in our ears! We need to think about whether or not the messages are positive ones. We need to ask ourselves if the stuff we’re watching on our screens is leading us to sin, tempting us, or pulling us away from God! Is the media we’re consuming good for us? Is it making God proud? Is it celebrating things that are good and right, or is it celebrating sin (actions and choices that are the opposite of what God wants for us)?
The good news is that God offers us forgiveness and a brand new start! We can make better choices starting today!
DISCUSSION FOR HOME
1. Parents, take the time to sit with your teen while they watch a channel or show that they like. Afterwards, talk to them about it. What is the message in the story? Is there anything in it that celebrates sin? Does it have content that features sexuality, profanity, or excessive violence? Does it promote values that are contrary to how God wants us to live? Discuss what the positive messages might be in it.
2. Parents, ask your teens what their favourite song is right now. What's the song or video that all of their friends really love? Take the time to look at the lyrics (and if you dare-- to watch the music video together) and discuss some of the same questions above.
3. Remind your teens that God wants us to make right choices when we "consume" media. He doesn't want us to focus on things that celebrate sin or things that promote values that are the opposite of what he says is right. Take the time to pray together and ask God to help you and your teen make viewing and listening choices that reflects your faith and values.
No comments:
Post a Comment