I have some friends, Gary and Charity, and they have a great strong family of three kids and they have taken in Uncle Spencer as well. They have a television. They LOVE Monday night football. They are still a great and strong family. With this series of posts, I am not trying to throw a guilt trip on people who watch TV. That is not the goal of this post. I am trying to wake up people who use television to fill a void of story within their own life.
Gary and Charity use television in their home to spark conversations, and even the spontaneous wrestling match. They get to take sides on who they want to see win and banter back and forth as a family. When they are watching television, they are not disconnected with each other. Television can be a BAD thing when everyone in the house has one in their room and everyone is separate watching their own shows and not interacting.
There is the BIG difference between a family like Gary and Charity, that uses television for interaction and family time, and a family that uses television for distraction and scattering out. So take a look at what television is inspiring you to do. Does it draw together the family and spark conversation and interaction? Or does it cause scattering, fighting, bickering, or disconnection.
What I guess my challenge to any reader I have, is to look at your time spent in front of the television and ask
1. is it used to build and sustain relationships with my family?
2. how much is used to inspire me to live out God's adventure for my family?
3. is my family comfortable with silence once in a while?
4. can I turn off the television without going into withdrawal?
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