By Shawn Lazar

Since having kids, my wife and I have time to watch maybe one show a night. It often takes two or three nights to finish a movie. But over the last four or five years, finding things to watch has become increasingly difficult. We’ve had to tune out more and more shows because of their increasingly sexualized content—especially LGBTQ content, even in shows that are supposed to be “family-friendly.” Have you noticed that trend, too?

If so, it’s not your imagination!

I’ve read that GLAAD, the leading organization advocating for homosexual issues, is aiming to have 20% of all characters on TV be LGBTQ by 2025. And Hollywood is bending over backwards to make it happen.

A while ago, Abby and I made the decision that once a show starts pushing an LGBTQ storyline, we stop watching. We probably should have made the same decision over other issues, but this is the one that really stung our consciences. As a result, we’ve had to stop watching a lot of programs!

Now, we don’t watch a whole lot of TV. Since getting married in 2005, I don’t think Abby and I have had cable for more than a few months. Instead, over time, we’ve opted to subscribe to Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime where we could pick specific shows to watch at our convenience. But that’s getting tougher.

Our kids watch Netflix. As Netflix starts producing more and more of their own material, the LGBTQ stuff is seeping into everything. Or rather, they’re intentionally putting it into everything so that it’s becoming unavoidable.

So last month we decided to cancel Netflix. However, I didn’t quite get around to doing it…until today. I found out that Netflix was showing a Brazilian movie depicting a gay Jesus.

That’s too much.

Part of the difficulty here is that we live in a mixed society, with people we don’t agree with. We have to find a way of living together. But there are limits. I’m not going to give money to a company that openly attacks my Lord and Savior.

We’re looking at alternatives, such as PureFlix or VidAngel.

I’ve been thinking more and more about what the Biblical doctrine of separation is, how it should be applied in the church, and how it should be applied in the modern world. It is clearer to me how it applies to our heart’s desires and intentions. It is not as clear to me how it should apply to how we relate to wider society.

I’m looking at how the Anabaptists do it.

I’m looking at how both old and modern Fundamentalists do it.

I’m still thinking, learning, and praying about it.

Paul said, “Be not conformed to this world” (Rom 12:2). And James said that pure religion involves keeping “oneself unspotted from the world” (Jas 1:27). If Christians keep watching this kind of stuff, the spots will keep forming.

In the meantime, #byebyenetflix; it’s just not worth it.

____________________

Shawn Lazar lives in Denton, TX, with his wife Abby and their three children.