Now that's just sick!

I don’t usually watch too much TV. If it’s on…it’s usually just background noise while I’m working around my home. For example…while blogging or getting ready for work in the morning I have the television on. More often than not…it’s on Fox News. Not just because I love politics and want to keep abreast of what’s going on in the world…but also the pickins are slim on good, quality television programming these days.

When I do get brave and put on a television show…unless it’s one I know from passed experience…that can be trusted, I keep my remote right handy. It’s close at hand, just in case I need to avert my eyes from the latest offensive material Hollywood is trying to pass off as entertainment or drama these days.

Now were talking some pretty sick stuff. Shows that you would swear came from the diaries of the BTK killer or Ted Bundy. Scenes of people doing wretched and awful things to one another in bloody and gory detail…brought to you, up close and personal in your home. And those images…don’t go away when you turn off the TV or change the channel. They are seared in you mind…for you to recall any time.

Case in point is Law & Order Criminal Intent. Last Sunday evening…and rerun again tonight the episode entitled “Unchained” came on. It starts out with a couple of guys standing on a boat or a dock. They are proceeding terrorize a man before they brutally kill him by tying him to an anchor and dropping it into the river. Of course he’s bound and can not free himself…all the while the chain is running out and will soon take him overboard to his death. And he’s not going quietly.

Like I said earlier…I can’t keep the remote close enough. Because I was in the middle of doing other things while the TV is on…I couldn’t get to the remote quick enough to not have the above image assault me.

Even just a few years ago…I really liked Law & Order…and some of the spin offs, Criminal Intent and SVU. I’ve always loved mysteries…so CSI was another program that drew me in, at first. But in what seems like a short period of time…these shows have become nothing more than offensive. In a very real way…it’s the spiritual equivalent of pollution…soul pollution.

I like a good drama or comedy…but what’s coming out now and passing as acceptable entertainment is nothing short of sick. Because the production quality of the programs and the acting is so good…it’s distracts you from the fact that the story is very poorly written, and often chock full of liberal, leftist propaganda. Every once and while the program may be well written…and reflective of a very sick and troubled mind.

Webster’s has a fitting description: a : mentally or emotionally unsound or disordered : MORBID b : MACABRE, SADISTIC . Yep…that is a very apt description of what’s on TV these days.

When I see these programs…what comes to mind is the passage in Romans 1:28-32:

“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

When you read that description…doesn’t it accurately capture what our society is like today? It captures everything from real life and the people we know and interact with, to the television shows and movies we watch…to the books and magazines we read…and it even winds it’s way into music.

So what’s a person to do? One who still likes some TV or movies? Well with cable…they actually have a few channels out there that have some quality programming, as long as you can brave the indecent and offensive commercials. One good development is all the good old TV shows or movies are coming out on DVD now. So at least we have some good alternatives.

Of course…one of my favorite options is radio…talk radio…with the likes of Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt, Michael Medved, Larry Elder and Sean Hannity. So there are a few good choices, for those seeking good entertainment or information.

Now if I was really wise…I’d turn it off all together and dive into the Word of God…and engage in and develop relationships with loved ones and friends. The question is…am I wise? Not always…but there is hope…and the Holy Spirit working away on special project, namely me.