The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in our family. Mom taught me to love the Word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it but the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries, and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening. He was like a friend to the whole family.
He took Dad, my brother, and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even introduced us to several movie stars.
The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn’t seem to mind, but sometimes Mom would quietly get up while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places, go to her room, read her Bible, and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave. You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions but this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them.
Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house – not from us, from our friends, or from adults. Our long-time visitor, however, used occasional four-letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm.
To my knowledge, neither of my parents ever confronted the stranger. My Dad was a teetotaler who didn’t permit alcohol in his home – not even for cooking. But the stranger felt that we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I know now that the stranger influenced my early concepts of the man/woman relationship. As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet my father seldom rebuked him and never asked him to leave.
Decades have passed since the stranger moved in with us. But if I were to walk into my parents’ home today, I would still see him sitting there waiting for someone to listen to his stories and watch him draw his pictures.
His name? We always just called him TV!
If the gentleman is still living, can you imagine what he thinks of the “stranger” in 2025! And now the stranger has many siblings: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and so many others too numerous to list. Of course, television, movies, and social media did not exist during Biblical times, so there are no direct scriptures mentioning it, however, the Word of God does provide principles that can be applied to media consumption and entertainment. These principles of God always emphasize discernment and a focus on things that glorify him and the avoidance of behavior that is harmful to our souls and go against our walk with Him.
Philippians 4:8 encourages us to focus on what is true, what is noble, what is pure, what is lovely, what is admirable. Ephesians 5:3-7 warns us against even a hint of immorality and participating in ungodly works. It implies that we should avoid content that glorifies or promotes sin, violence, and immorality. Proverbs 4:23 emphasizes the importance of guarding the heart and mind with all diligence.
It can sometimes be challenging to know which way to lean in choose what to watch or listen to. In those cases, James 1:5 provides critical advice. It tells us that if anyone lacks wisdom, they should ask God. He can guide us in making right choices.
The Bible does not forbid Christians from watching movies or TV or browsing and participating in social media, but we should not be controlled by it or indulge excessively. And of course, there is much Christian content to be found in media also. We just need to be wise and make choices that align with biblical principles and promote spiritual well-being.