Got something on my mind to share, I hope you get through it and it gets through to you.
Sometime last year I found myself passively mulling over whether to get a TV for my apartment or not. 'Twasn't that much of a big deal but the subtle indecision of whether or whether not was there. Before long, I had this funny thought bouncing around in my head ..."who needs TV when I have internet". My decision wasn't so difficult because I find a lot of things on TV nowadays a tad disturbing. Did I say a tad, nah..more like really disturbing. And I won't limit it to TV, I'll say its more like all of media. There's a vicious web of entanglement that is being spun and broadcast over and into people that they're not aware of. There's so much going on that the mere thought of it all makes my heart skip - in a bad way. To those caught in the web, this allegory fits; "you think you have sweet bread but you end up having your mouth filled with gravel".
This scenario I painted might have been an overly simplified approach to what I'm about to share because it's not so much about the TV. At the end of it all, I trust you'll get my point.
I have a lingering concern on how kids can grow up in this generation watching TV (and using the internet) and not turn out exactly the way they shouldn't?! We clamour about increase in unexpected teenage pregnancies, illicit drug use/substance abuse, outright inhumane crimes, daylight shootings etc. Its disheartening to find out some of what is going on with teenagers in schools. We ask how did such an innocent sweet-looking girl end up like that? I'll tell you how she did. Her path to destruction was a gentle but slippery slope of self-indulgence fueled by the deception of the media. It definitely didn't start overnight. It started with what the music video she saw the other night and the picture she saw on facebook on her phone last week and not to forget the series she watched on the laptop last year. And like that, every now and then she's been lied to and every little lie she has been told has led her here. The innocent girl is implicitly made to believe that she cannot be appreciated for her character, her gifts, her abilities, her skills and achievements without being sexualized. It is fast becoming a generation where (it is widely assumed) every young girl wants to be like queen B *I wonder who made her queen and whose queen she is). No thanks to Hollywood - and all the other '-woods' on the block, our young ladies have been taught somehow 'he' has to have the build of an athlete and if he doesn't talk smooth, forget it. Tall, dark and handsome is the 'dream man' ..and of course, he has to be rich. Having dropped me off at the house on first date night, he has to give the goodnight kiss on the front porch. There's the unspoken expectation that when he's ready to propose, he should get down on one knee to do it. It is normal for me to sleep with him (and by that I don't just mean sleeping on the same bed alright) if I would prove I love him. And it goes both ways, guys go like "We should even get you pregnant before marriage to be sure that you can get pregnant at all. I mean who buys a car without testing it?" *Really? Girls are now = cars?? "She's gotta have the curves in the right places" *the clause make me wonder which places are wrong to have curves in. I mean the human body is full of curves right? ..anyway never mind*. If, in my group of guys, I haven't kissed or slept with my girlfriend since we started dating/courting , I get the "really..what planet are you from?" look. Its been made to look like the new cool is to have concurrent/multiple sexual relations/partners, flirt, masturbate, be gay and the list goes on.
The average movie has 'x' sex scenes (x is an integer that has a value > or = 1). It, literally, doesn't take so much effort to access pornography anymore, I mean like you don't even have to trrrry *check out BBA or wait NO don't! TV shows being punctuated with *beep *beep every minute just to mitigate the disturbing effect of the f-word and others in its category. I could go on and on. All these are subtle stereotypes that the entertainment industry has tried to build into our imagination overtime. No one is putting it across that If only the tall guys get the girls, what happens to the short or better put, the not so tall guys? We're not making it clear enough that hourglass, guitar, apple, pineapple and whatever shape category they fall into our ladies are all beautifully and wonderfully made by God and we love them just the way they are. So just quit trying to make yourself what God hasn't made you already with all the cosmetic surgery and what have you just because you feel the need for affirmation. You're God's masterpiece and you're amazing just the way you are!
Can we face the fact that the problems we face today mirror the decadence our general sense of morality as a generation and civilization has suffered? It is apparent that the moral fiber of our society is now being controlled by media. Sadly, that moral fiber has been weakened by such a flurry and unprecedented level of nudity, obscenity, lewdness, profanity, violence etc in what comes out of the media. You have them coming from all directions at a thousand miles an hour. Appaling!
It used to be easier to watch TV with a kid in the room but nowadays who knows what you'll find *sometimes even ratings are not enough*. I have seen a little girl who couldn't as much as say her name with dance moves that belong only in a strip club *you can imagine my shock and please don't ask me what a strip club means*. In the bid to entertain/engage children, parents unintentionally open their children up to a lot of junk. Even cartoons nowadays are filled with cussing!! Did someone say haba..Oh you really should do your findings. It's no news that the child's first few years are very formative - in every sense of it. Habits, vocabulary, thinking patterns and mindset etc are all formed in the earlier years. Meaning the child, in trying to develop, relies on and more readily tends to imitate what (s)he sees and hears around. And here we are with all these 'dangers' all around them. Parents have the responsibility to guard and guide at least in those earlier years.. please filter it all! Then teach them. There's no better way to equip them against this than with the knowledge. And no, the media will never do a better job at teaching your kids for you. Teach them not everything seen on the TV or internet is appropriate. Teach them the truth in its purest form. Teach them who they are, and whose they are. If they don't learn it from you, they'll learn it from somewhere else. And guess what, the distorted (and destructive) version is what they'll most likely learn.
Before we proceed, could we pause and take a look at the lives of thesepeople we allow be the models, I mean those we popularly regard as 'celebrities'. Without bringing them under the microscope, I believe terms like libidinous, broken, deceitful, hateful will conveniently come up in trying to describe them. They're either involved in one scandal or the other, divorced or something. The idea of the make-and-break circuit would perhaps paint a better picture of the married/family life some of them have. Ever so often, you read the headlines "Another celebrity found dead in his apartment:substance abuse most likely cause". And we trust these people to actually show us (and our children) how to live?! They don't know the least of what living means! Let me take it a step further. To make it worse, a lot of them actually belong to one cult or the other.
There was this day I walked into an eat-out place to have a quick snack. Couple of minutes into enjoying my snack and mindlessly staring into my environment, my gaze rested on the big screen couple of metres away from me. At some point in time, I became aware of what I was watching and the fact that there was something wrong with it. Initially, I couldn't quite figure it out. I just knew that something was terribly wrong about it. It wasn't even the kind of 'wrongfulness' you find in a horror movie; this had a distinctive shade of horror and repulsiveness you normally wouldn't find in a normal music video. It smacked of darkness - I could literally feel the darkness oozing out of the screen. I wouldn't even try to describe what it looked like. It had my thoughts rambling for a while and then it struck me! She was one of them. On some other day it happened again, with another artist. Then it became fairly obvious. It was definitely an on-slaught from the pit of hell! All of the shaking, gyrating and twerking *I'm surprised I know that too* and all whatnot has now gotten way out of hand! If you still love watching those music videos and still listen to music from those artists, I suggest or rather I implore you to stop. Its all mind control! And in case you're not sure who I might be talking about uhnHun Ima mention names The Rihannas, Kanyes, Timberlakes, Mileys, Katy Perrys, Beyonces and the list goes on and on *you probably know the rest. sorry my list ain't that long.. don't watch that much TV* :D
I'll put it in perspective very quickly and maybe this will break it down.
While writing this, I remembered a cartoon I watched couple of years ago. In the cartoon, there was this evil genius that was trying to build a monster that'll wreak a lot of havoc on the world and fulfill his dark desires. His method was build the monster, hardwire the monster with an evil nature then unleash the monster on the world. How does he achieve the hardwiring? Simple, immediately after creating it, make the monster watcha movie full of violence and bloodshed. He was so sure by the time he was done the monster will wreck damage on anything it was told to. Simple right? Somewhere along the line,he made a fatal mistake! Mistake was, the monster watched a nice funny movie and ended up being exactly the opposite of what the owner wanted to make it. Picture a bullish gross looking creature with a warm disposition and a loving heart that is ready to give a hug at the slightest provocation. That guy knew a secret a lot of us aren't aware of and if we are we chose to ignore it. It was simple, The mind is it! the mind is the remote control. That's why scriptures talk about renewed mind, guarding your heart. You know why? Because out of it are the issues of life. As a man thinks so is he. That is where your very life (personality, character, behaviour, habits, philosophies, values) stream from. You say ..but I can't do without music! There's tons of good music out there *consult me and I can send you some recommendations..and yes genre does not matter*
I hear you say "but I watch it and nothing happens.." yea that's right nothing has happened yet. And that is because you don't sow a seed today and reap the harvest tomorrow. Give it time and you will see its destructive potential. They are designed to attack the mind in its most vulnerable moments. And guess what all humans have vulnerable moments. Rather than add to you, it actually takes away from you. You think you got honeycomb in your mouth? I assure you it'll end up being bitter wormwood. Wake up! Mount guard over your heart. Work on feeding your mind with the right things. So how do I know which is the right thing? Simple rule of thumb is:Whatever is good, honourable, pure, noble, lovely, beautiful,excellent, commendable. Ask yourself how honourable or commendable do I honestly think this is? Engage yourself with something worthwhile. Find a challenge. Read a book. Learn a skill. Embark on a short term project. Write a blog. Watch a documentary. Take a walk. Pause and think - meditate.
Its really a mind thing. Mind over matter, they call it?
One more thing, I learnt a sect of those people call themselves something that sounds like light; indirectly claiming to have illumination. #Newsflash Jesus is the only true Illumination. He is the light that lights every man that comes into the world. Let everyone know that there's only one True Light and His name is Jesus. Every other kind of light and every other party or individual or thing that claims to be light apart from Him is nothing but darkness! We can't be afraid of the dark because we have His light! Darkness cannot comprehend this light we have - this light that we are in Him.
Sometimes it could look really complex and daunting but a lot of times it all boils down to a question as simple as this "will they influence you or will you influence them?" Be the light!
P. S there's a blog I encountered recently in which the blogger discussed and analysed the deadly consequences of watching TV.. and yes he used the word deadly. Find link below
