As Christians, our great desire must be to live to the glory of God. How are we to promote such living? We need to have our thinking and behaviour shaped and changed by Christ through His word. It is therefore vital for us to be aware of the conforming power of the media, especially television, to shape us all. We must assess its influence. Should we watch it? Will it help us to become more like Christ?

The power of the media

What influence does the media exercise over our lives? It may surprise us to discover that total media consumption by the average Briton is 75 hours each week, with 98% of households having at least one television. It is therefore undeniable that the media and especially the television is a massive presence in our lives. Every day numerous conversations revolve around what was seen the night before. We are all influenced and shaped by the small screen. Indeed because it is such a familiar part of our world, we are in danger of underestimating its power and impact.

Imagine; we are watching television when we see a neighbour on the screen. What do we do? We call to the rest of the family to come and watch. Why? when we see this same neighbour leaving his house every day! Why must everyone rush to see him on the television? Somehow that two-dimensional image on the screen carries greater significance than the real thing! His appearance on television has elevated his status in our eyes.

The extent to which television personalities become part of our lives is astonishing. Many regard them as friends. Every week we spend many hours relaxing in their company. We observe their ways and listen to their words. We want to know more about them. It would be surprising if we were not influenced by them. But what sort of role models are they? Do they live lives worthy of imitation?

What is more, the traffic is all one-way. We like to think that we have a relationship with these "friends", but of course there is no relationship. If we discuss an issue with a friend, there is a free flow of ideas and at times a robust exchange of views. But we never have this opportunity with our media "friends". When ungodly opinions are expressed we are not there to challenge them. More often than not we are prepared to hear them out. Television is habit forming. So if we are exposed to such views often enough, for long enough, and these views are attractively presented, it will inevitably shape our thinking.

Nor is it only the words we hear on television that influence us. In the States in 1960, a debate took place between the two Presidential candidates, Nixon and Kennedy. Those who listened to the debate on the radio thought that Nixon had won, whereas those who watched it on television thought that the telegenic Kennedy had won. So often the medium is the message. We can be profoundly influenced by slick music, clever editing, jazzy camera angles and the like. We pick up the unspoken as well as spoken messages. And who are the people behind these messages? What is their agenda?

How critical are we really about what we see and hear? In 1990, the Broadcasting Standards Council found that children view television as a neutral reality. In other words, they view it as a window on the real world, neither good nor bad, just real. But television is neither neutral nor real. When we watch it, we are not seeing the world as it really is but as the programme maker wants us to see it. Behind the screen is an army of writers, directors, producers, editors, reporters, cameramen, technicians each with their own values and beliefs and each with their own agendas. Many of these people inhabit a media world with values and assumptions very different from our own. But it is they who decide what is relevant and what is not, what is good and what is evil. Furthermore, it is they who decide what is to be discussed, by whom and in which direction the discussion should move. The result of this is that an unbelieving man-centred consensus now dominates the airwaves.

When so much of our time is spent watching television we must ask the question into which image we are being changed? Is it the image of God or the image on the screen? What does Paul say about the unbelieving world in Ephesians 4 vv 18-19: ‘…having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God… who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to licentiousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.’ In other words, unbelievers are not interested in the worship of God or holiness or eternity. They are dismissive of the unseen realities. By contrast sin is the real power in their lives. But Paul goes on to say (20 – 24), that Christians have been saved from all of this. Therefore the Christian can no longer live as he once did. The person I once was has been put to death. There has been a decisive break with the past. I am now a lover and learner of Jesus. So are my viewing habits transforming me to be like Christ or conforming me to this world?

Let’s think for a moment about the British obsession with soap operas. It has been said that "the British spend 80 million man-hours a week watching soap operas, which is longer than it took medieval man to build a cathedral." Soaps link us with a fantasy world of fictitious communities. But these mythical worlds are filled with assumptions about ambition, success, happiness, relationships, morality, life, the universe, everything! But whose assumptions are they? Do they reflect the values of the godly? Certainly not! When soaps are written by non Christians is it any surprise that they carry the story lines that they do? They reflect the values of a fallen, cursed humanity! But as a Christian I am to make a clean break with that world and not reconnect with it several times a week through soap operas. I am not to spend my hours relaxing in the company of these communities embracing their values. As the Bible reminds us, we become like the company we keep: ‘Do not be deceived, evil company corrupts good habits.’(1 Cor.15 v.33)

And let’s not forget that television is about ratings. Writers seek to give their audiences what they want. So when Brookside ran a storyline involving incest, its viewing figures increased by 2 million. The world loves such stories, the same world that crucified the Lord of glory. Friendship with this world, through the soaps is, in James’ words, enmity with God. It militates against a close walk with God.

We must come to the issue of what is true and false. God is the God of truth, and in a world of lies, we who are being remade into his image must love truth and hate falsehood. Now T.V. can keep us helpfully informed about many issues. However, we do need a healthy, sanctified scepticism. Think of yesterday’s headlines: there was no event out there labelled "news". On the contrary, out of the vast amount of information gathered, stories were sifted, edited, simplified and condensed. But who is doing all of this? Men and women, with their own values and beliefs. The scope for distortion, oversimplification, bias, and error, however unwitting is therefore enormous. We need to be aware of this. Let’s not forget that the way the godly man sees the world will be different to the way the unconverted see it. Remember, too, that the real news, God’s kingdom, so often goes on in silence and obscurity not in soundbites and headlines.

God is also a God of wisdom and reason. ‘Come now and let us reason together says the Lord.’ (Isaiah 1 v.18) But if we switch on the television, sit down and simply soak up the entertainment, there is little incentive to engage our minds. Sometimes we do need to unwind but the danger of being reduced to mindless, unreasoning, passivity is all too real. Our minds can become submerged in a sea of triviality and irrelevance. Reason is godlike; in Eden Adam reasoned, the animals did not. We should therefore engage our minds, develop convictions and love wisdom.

God created a universe pulsing with variety and complexity. He has made every human being unique, and each person is to reveal a unique aspect of the image of God. Television, by contrast, creates a world of sameness. It casts us into its own 2-dimensional image. Therefore anyone who does not conform to the mould is regarded as odd and out of touch. Instead of belonging to mainstream media culture, they tick all the wrong boxes. However, far from suppressing eccentricity and creativity we are to value them.

The Bible condemns any form of sexual expression outside marriage (Ephesians 5 v.3). So what are we doing watching it on television? The Bible is clear; we are to say no to crudity, dirty jokes, innuendo, suggestive language, and swearing. There is no middle ground. However, television is perfectly at ease with these things and is active in their promotion. Sexual behaviour once seen as wrong is now cast in a positive light. What is more, in the race for ratings, television pushes hard at the limits of acceptability. What shocked us yesterday is normal today; the unthinkable becomes acceptable. Who knows where it will end?

Which image? A love of order or disorder?

God is the God of order. He created the Universe in 6 days in an orderly and systematic way. As those made in his image we should love order and promote it in our lives. We are to plan our days and redeem the time. However, television is habit forming and time consuming. Programme makers want us to keep watching long after our programme has finished. TV can therefore lead to disorderly schedules; which of us has not been late or left something undone because of what we were watching? We have only one life to serve Christ and live for His glory. How many hours of it have we squandered before that flickering screen?

God is a Trinity. He is three persons yet one God, and we are to reflect this shared life of the Godhead by lives of togetherness and belonging, fellowship and love. Television viewing is increasingly becoming a solitary occupation. People now retreat to their own rooms to watch the programmes they want to see. Communication therefore grinds to a halt. While children stare at the screen, they are not engaging with their parents or with each other, and when it is turned off they are bored. Haven’t we all felt annoyance when someone has phoned or called in the middle of "our" programme? Haven’t we wished that our visitors would hurry up and leave so that we could at least catch the end of a programme?

Nor is this the only effect that television has on relationships. It often presents a twisted view of them. Men are often portrayed as weak or insensitive; women as assertive, manipulating, or sex objects. Teenagers come across as troublesome or as casualties and relationships that are an utter corruption of the divine image are portrayed as normal.

If the image on the screen is so much at variance with God’s image, what place should television have in our lives? Firstly, let us not forget that television belongs to this passing world. One day television and all its works will be burned up for God will make a new heaven and a new earth "in which righteousness dwells"(2 Peter 3 v.13). We should therefore live this day in the light of that Day. The realities of that world are to shape my priorities in this world. Is my television viewing making me forget the world to come? Is it fostering in me ambitions of which I will be ashamed on Judgement Day? Secondly, let us remember that we are called to deny self, take up the cross and follow Jesus. Not all television is bad, nor is it wrong to relax, but if we do not have mastery over it, we should get rid of it. We are to pluck out our right eye and cut off our right hand if these are causing us to sin (Matthew 5 v.29). Thirdly, we should consider that television has nothing to say about Christ. Is the true Christ ever portrayed on the screen? If we are to be transformed into His image, if His beauty is to be reflected in our lives, we must weigh very carefully the hours we spend in front of the screen. Is the television we watch promoting godliness or are we ashamed to tell others what we watched last night?

Finally, a text if ever there was one for the television:

‘Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.’ Phil 4:8.