PSALM 101 AND THE SEARED CONSCIENCE PT. 2

"I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; 
  I hate the work of those who fall away;
  It shall not fasten its grip on me."  Psalm 101:3

About nine years ago the pastor of the church I attended challenged us to write this verse on a piece of paper and tape it to our television screens.  Nine years later I would say that you probably couldn't turn on the TV and still abide by this verse; most everything on TV is worthless today. 

As I was reading this psalm this morning I began to realize that we (I include myself, too) have become so encultured that we can't even discern what is acceptable and what isn't.  Now I don't want to fall into legalism but I do believe the Bible calls us to be wise, prudent and most of all holy in all our behavior.  Just for a minute, imagine that the world is represented by the sewer.  The things of this world, as 1 John 2:15-16 describes, the lust of the eyes, the flesh and the boastful pride of life are the sights and smells of the sewer.  As Christians we are called to set our minds on the things above, a la Colossians 3, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, as Romans 12 says.  If we as Christians climb down and get in the sewer sooner or later the things we see there and the things we smell there will seem to be normal.  If you remember from science class, even the raunchiest smells start to fade the more you expose your smeller to them.  So the more we continue in the sewer,  our ability to discern what is holy and what is profane will quickly begin to disintegrate.  Let me give you a real life example.  On the plane home from Europe last weekend there were two very bad movies playing.  The first was Starsky and Hutch starring Ben Stiller.  I knew enough about Ben Stiller movies to know that I didn't want to watch this film even though I was desperate for diversion as my fanny fatigue reached levels unknown.  Not only are Mr. Stiller's films usually laced with sexual innuendo but a film set in the 70s is surely to include many references to and images of loose women and casual drug use.  Unfortunately many of my fellow believers on the plane were watching the movie and sometimes laughing.  And even more unfortunately I was lured into watching the next bad movie, Welcome to Mooseport.  Even two Oscar winners couldn't save this wretched piece of filmmaking.  During this film we were exposed to a former President who was power hungry and ego driven who had just divorced the first lady.  The town hero was a buffoon of a man played perfectly of course my Ray Romano.  He had been dating his girlfriend for more than six years and they were involved in pre-marital sex.  The fact that I am uncomfortable using the word fornication to describe their relationship proves how much of the world is still in me.  I'd rather use the PC terms than the biblical ones.  Praise God for the brave men and women at places like VisionForum and the Highland Study Center among others who are not afraid to call a spade a spade.  Anyway, back to my point.  Allowing ourselves to watch such worldly and banal entertainment just for the sake of diversion does something to our spirits.  And that something is captured perfectly in a quote by John Piper --

"It astonishes me how many Christians watch the same banal, empty, silly, trivial, titillating, suggestive, immodest TV shows that most unbelievers watch.  This makes us small and weak and worldly and inauthentic in worship."

I'm sorry if these thoughts aren't as put together as they could be.  I guess my concluding thought would be this.  If our identity as Christians is that we are children of a now reigning and conquering King of Kings and Lord of Lords, shouldn't are sensibilities be radically different from the world?  Shouldn't our tastes and desires be radically realigned to the holy and truly beautiful things of this world?

Perhaps we don't realize that there is a whole other world outside the sewer.  Let's climb out and take a peek.