by Shawn Lazar

“Hey,” my kids yelled as I turned off the TV. “We were watching that!”

“Not anymore. This show is teaching bad things and we’re not going to watch it.”

I was talking about Supergirl.

Up until this Saturday, my kids and I had enjoyed catching up on past episodes, and watching Supergirl fighting off the colorful bad guys. I thought it was good for my daughter to see that girls can be superheroes too.

Then Hollywood had to ruin it.

In the second season they introduced a lesbian character and in the episode we were watching, it became evident that Supergirl’s adopted sister was “discovering” that she, too, was a lesbian and was going to “come out” to Supergirl. And there were my four and two year old, watching it all.

So off went the TV.

Frankly, over the years it has become harder and harder to watch anything. By the time the kids are put to bed, my wife and I have about one hour to ourselves, before we go off to bed. We usually turn on the TV, catch up on a favorite show, and start folding laundry. But recently, my wife and I have frequently had to stop watching shows we enjoyed—so-called “family” shows—because partway through they started pushing homosexuality.

This time it was Supergirl.

A few weeks ago it was Superstore, a mildly funny comedy, that started attacking Christians as bigots for being against gay marriage and transgenderism.

Before that, it was The Catch.

Before that, New Girl.

And before that…well the list has gotten long.

And those are the “family friendly” shows! I’m not even mentioning the sitcoms that obviously glorify homosexualism, or celebrate immorality.

It seems like every TV show has to have a gay character, with a prominent homosexual subplot, promoting perversion, and denigrating Christians.

But it’s not just the homosexuality. Hollywood presents all kinds of sexual immorality as completely normal. And for years I’ve tolerated it.

Do you remember Seinfeld? Funny writing. I would watch reruns all the time. But nowadays I can’t. I realize now that every episode has Jerry, or Elaine, or George sleeping around. Making jokes about it. Presenting it as normal.

I don’t need to tell you that in Hollywood, fornication is the rule, not the exception. And sad to say, over the years, I became desensitized to it.

I wasn’t shocked by it.

I wasn’t grieved by it.

But in the last couple of years, I’ve found my conscience waking up within me, especially because of the way Hollywood has been pushing homosexualism in every single TV show. In funny way, I’m glad they have, because they’re showing their hand. They’re showing their true purpose. I can see the agenda more clearly now and it has caused me re-examine the dullness of my heart regarding the perversion I see on TV.

How should I be reacting?

I think about the example of Lot living in the midst of Sodom. How did he react to the depravity around him? Peter tells us,

Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) (2 Pet 2:7-8 NIV).

Lot was distressed by depravity. He was grieved by it. He was tormented. Shouldn’t I be too?

Shouldn’t you?

And if we’re not, why not?

Paul said, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:1).Our minds need transforming. That takes on new meaning when you consider how much TV the average American watches per week (here is the statistic, broken down by age):

2-11: 24 hours, 16 minutes.

12-17: 20 hours, 41 minutes.

18-24: 22 hours, 27 minutes.

25-34: 27 hours, 36 minutes.

35-49: 33 hours, 40 minutes.

50-64: 43 hours, 56 minutes.

65-plus: 50 hours, 34 minutes.[1]

Now, by contrast, how many hours are you in Church per week, hearing God’s Word? One hour? Two?

And beyond that, how many hours do you spend in personal Bible study per week? 30 minutes? An hour?

Now compare that number to how much TV you watch. Let’s say you’re an average 50 year old who spends 44 hours a week listening to Hollywood, and 3 hours a week listening to God’s Word.

44 vs 3.

Who is going to be winning the battle for your mind in that case? Hollywood or Christ?

Please understand, one way or another, your mind is going to be transformed. The question is, which way will it go? Will it be transformed Godward or worldward? Will you develop the mind of Christ, or the mind of the enemy?

Is it any wonder there are so many 40, 50, and 60 year-old Christians who are still spiritual newborns? How can they grow if they spend the majority of the time feasting on Hollywood’s rotten food, instead of on the Word of God?

How can I grow?

I’ve been reading Charles Finney’s remarkable autobiography. I came across a particular story that pricked my conscience. Finney met a girl who was struggling, really struggling. In fact, she was in spiritual torment and didn’t know what to do. So Finney asked about her family. She told him they were regular church-goers.

“Do you have family prayer at home?” Finney pressed.

“We used to have; but we have not had family prayer for a long time,” she answered.

Concerned, Finney immediately went to see the family.

“Do you see the state that your daughter is in?” Finney asked the father. “And are you awake, and engaged in prayer for her?”

The father replied he was not. He was backslidden, and wasn’t praying for his daughter.

“You must establish family prayer, and build up the altar that has fallen down. Now, my dear sir, will you get down here on your knees, you and your wife, and engage in payer? And will you promise, that from this time you will do your duty, set up your family altar, and return to God?”

A “family altar.” Do you know what that is? It’s not a literal altar. It’s a figurative one. It’s a time that you set aside for prayer, worship, and teaching, within the family. The idea is that every Christian family is like a little church, and the parents, especially the father, has the responsibility of raising children up in the faith. Having a family altar is about actively pursuing God as a family.

Do you have a family altar?

Not me. Not beyond quickly praying before meals and before bed. We don’t have a common family worship time. I study and pray on my own. So does my wife. But not together.

In fact, instead of having a family altar, I wonder if I actually have a family idol in the form of TV?

How about you?

How many of us, instead of praying in earnest as a family, are more earnest about being entertained by Hollywood?

My wife and I have discussed cutting the cord and getting rid of TV. We need to get out of Hollywood. And I think maybe that’s not far enough. It’s not enough to simply cut the cord. We need to build the family altar.

How about you?

[1] See http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/average-american-watches-5-hours-tv-day-article-1.1711954