Our Pastor informed us this week during our live streaming service that New York State is lumping churches in the same category as live concert venues. Our state officials are projecting that possibly we will be allowed to assemble by the end of June. Apparently, our Governor Mario Cuomo sees little value of church gatherings. He recently said, “Our behavior stopped the spread of the coronavirus. God did not stop the spread of the virus”, As reported on CNN News 8:53 a.m. April 14th, 2020. Jesus said in Matthew 10:29 that not one sparrow falls to the ground without the Father knowing it!
This lockdown has been a great trial for all of us. Sometimes the high point of each day is planning and enjoying our next meal! Television and movie viewing during this pandemic have understandably hit an all-time high! I am amazed to realize how quickly time flies by when I am watching a movie or my favorite television program. If the forefathers of a few decades ago could see the big screen televisions in multiple rooms of our homes, they would no longer call the TV a “one-eyed devil” but a “multiple headed beast”!
ATUS, an arm of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), conducted a survey from 2013 to 2017 and found that the US population aged 15 years and older spent an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes a day watching television. Please keep in mind that this survey did not include the watching of movies and television programs on smartphones or tablets. Comscore reports that “Viewing of the big four broadcast networks increased this year nearly 19% from this same time in 2019”.
We must be aware of the potential negative effect this increase of television and movie viewing could have on our spiritual lives. If, as I suspect, we are currently spending 3 hours a day watching television, but only one hour a week viewing online church, the resultant 21:1 ratio should raise concerns!
In a recent article for The Christian Post, entitled “Have you heard of your better third?”, I used a play on words, spinning off of the commonly heard “better half” phrase to highlight the fact that we are a three-part being. We are made up of a spirit, which is the part that lives forever, and a soul, which is essentially our mind and thirdly, a body. The part, which is regenerated by the wonderful experience of being “born again” is our spirit man. Your spirit man, as I pointed out in that article, is your “better third!” All of our Christian experience and growth and maturity in God, have to do with building up that spirit man. Jude 1:20 explains it this way; “But you, beloved, building up yourselves in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.”(NKJV) This is the main purpose of church services. Church was instituted by God in order to teach, instruct and guide us spiritually. However, when other things monopolize our time, and we minimize our time with God, our spirit man can and will grow weak. As worldly activities begin to take up a majority of our time, our love and connection with God and His Holy Spirit start to disappear. It is then tragically we set ourselves up to fall into the unholy practices of the world which we originally were saved out of.
Modern marketing is an intelligent yet seductive science, which uses the latest technology and consumer information to sell products and services. Mass media has multiple agendas, all designed to affect both your thinking and your spending. Monies made through the television and movie industry bring in trillions of dollars of revenue each year. Within that framework, however, the enemy of your soul has one agenda; to try to pull you away from your close walk with God! As we stay at home during this season of a national lockdown we must be very careful that watching so many hours of media does not pull us away from Jesus’ heart.
We must all realize the weaknesses of our flesh. For men, it is the power of the physical attraction of scantily clothed women. Many shows and movies, sadly some of them “Christian”, are cleverly video crafted to make a lot of breast or buttock shots of attractive models passing by. These shots are all designed with one motive, to seduce men to watch so that they will see the commercials or to clever product placement within the production itself.
For women, in most cases it’s the power of the on-screen romance that many long for. The truth is that whether it’s a “Hollywood” or a “Hallmark” romance, those expertly crafted stories are made up by experienced writers and bear no resemblance to the real world or lasting marriages. The known selling power of these programs and movies is huge and psychologically provable.
In contrast God’s house has always offered an atmosphere of holiness, a building which has been set apart for God’s service. There is something extraordinarily spiritually precious about praying in God’s house. The truth is that praying or worshipping in your house, although sometimes necessary, will never completely suffice. Let us heed this caution to prevent the devil from tripping us up during this mandated time of stay at home necessity due to the fears of this pandemic.
I want to encourage believers everywhere to ask the Lord to “Search me, oh God, and know my heart: try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23,24(KJV) Ask Him to cleanse you of any impure thoughts that may have crept in while you have been watching a higher percentage of media programming. Spend more time than ever in personal devotions and spiritually edifying productions. When we do finally get back in our churches, let’s come back full of God and not full of the world!
