Ear and Eye Choices

Can we LISTEN to and WATCH anything we want…AND if we can: How does this affect our lives?

YES – we “can” listen to or watch what we “want”. Even as a child of God, we still have the ability to make choices. Paul had that ability…and as a Christian, some of Paul’s choices weren’t very good ones! He tells us in Rom 7:15, “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”

When we say we can listen to or watch “anything we want“, that speaks of and sounds like it’s all up to us, that God has given no direction in these matters, and that we are “our own”…and some others might say rebellion.

SO: How can we answer the question, “Can we listen to and watch anything we want“? To find the answer, let’s look at it in THREE WAYS: 

I. WHAT IS OUR ATTITUDE?

What’s your attitude on what you bring into the “eye-gate” and the “ear-gate”? What we view and what we hear can be broken down into 2 categories: Things of God, which are ALWAYS GOOD, and Things of the World, which are NOT ALWAYS BAD. Yes, you’re “reading it right“! You’ve just read that an Independent Baptist preacher said there are things of this world that are not always bad! For example: Do guns kill people? NO – People kill people! SO THEN: What does a television do to people? NOTHING! [Now just follow along with me] TVs, computers, radios, monitors – they’re all inanimate objects! These all LACK the QUALITIES of a living thing!

When we come home, our TV doesn’t automatically turn on, it doesn’t ask me how my day went, nor it doesn’t even take out the dogs or trash (YET!!!)…because it’s inanimate! AH…BUT the question is: What is our ATTITUDE toward these inanimate objects?

We will say that the TV is brainwashing us and our kids. We will say that the internet is just as bad, if not worse than, Hollywood. We will call these THINGS “time-wasters“…and they are…IF YOU LET THEM BE! These things will corrupt you and your children…IF YOU LET THEM! Please, let’s stop displacing the blame! Is it the TV’s fault or the internet’s fault for corruption in your home? Don’t they come with an OFF button? Who’s in control here? You’re allowing these inanimate objects to control you when you have the ability to make godly choices!

II. WHAT IS THE AFFECT?

What’s the affect of what we listen to and watch? What’s the affect of what comes through the eye and ear gates? There must be a profound and lasting affect on us, because Paul said in 1 Cor 6:12, “…all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any“. Paul’s saying that he could become a SLAVE unto what would come through his eye and ear gates!

Now here’s something that needs to be asked: “Will what I see and listen to make me it’s SLAVE?” Something that has an AFFECT on us will battle for our AFFECTION! How can we become a slave to inanimate objects and the things we hear and see? When we lose our control! 

We become enslaved when we’re brought under the power and influence of something else! Here’s a great exercise to determine if we’re under the influence of what we watch or listen to…can you say, “Thank you, Lord, for what I’m watching or for what I’m listening to…and I give you the glory for it“.

III. WHAT KIND OF ATTACHMENT IS THERE?

Do you agree we develop an attachment to things that affect us? We do, and I would say that it does matter what affects us because there’s a great chance of attachment to them.

What do you like to watch and what do you like to listen to? What’s your attitude with it? What affect do those things have on you? What kind of attachment is there?

HONESTLY ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS AND YOU’LL KNOW WHAT KIND OF EAR AND EYE CHOICE YOU’RE MAKING!