Day 9 - TV: The Plug-In Drug

READING:Romans 12:1-2

It’s been aptly described as ‘the plug-in drug’. Which is quite an accurate description of what television can easily become in our lives. It’s estimated that in many countries of the world, by the time people reach retirement age they would have spent as much as 15 years of their life staring at a TV screen.

It’s assumed nowadays that virtually every home has at least one TV set. A colleague of mine, who doesn’t own a TV and hasn’t for years, had a major fight on his hands when he tried to convince the SABC that he really didn’t need to pay for a TV license. They could not accept that this was possible. He is a rare exception. For most of us, the TV is a fixture in our homes.

For the most part TV is used as a relaxing distraction. As you focus on the screen, your own thought activity becomes suspended, the details of your life recede and you become temporarily free of yourself. All of which, quite frankly, has its place. But listen to these insights of Eckhart Tolle, who writes:

When watching television, the tendency is for you to fall below thought, not rise above it. Television has this in common with alcohol and certain other drugs. While it provides some relief from your mind, you again pay a high price: loss of consciousness. Like those drugs, it too has a strong addictive quality. You reach for the remote control to switch off and instead find yourself going through all the channels. Half and hour or an hour later, you are still watching, still going through the channels. The off button is the only one your finger seems unable to press. You are still watching, usually not because anything of interest has caught your attention, but precisely because there is nothing of interest to watch. Once you are hooked, the more trivial, the more meaningless, it is, the more addictive it becomes.

Now, it would be just silly to suggest that TV is just trivial and meaningless. There are many programmes (well, maybe not that many) that are truly stimulating and thought-provoking or at least creatively entertaining in the best sense of the word. TV can offer challenging and incisive social commentary; and is a major source of news. Make no mistake, come the Soccer World Cup later this year, TV will be the primary tool connecting the entire world around that major sporting event.

But we should not be naïve about the norms and values that we subject ourselves to every time we turn on the telly. Crass consumerism, legitimising violence and distorting the place and purpose of sex are the unholy trinity that TV consistently serves up.

As people of faith we are called to a greater vigilance and awareness in this area. I am convinced that putting far stricter boundaries in place as to the use of television in the home, is one of the single greatest things we can do to help to transform our homes into the sanctuaries that God intends them to be.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

1. How much time, on average, do you spend watching TV each week? (Dare to be honest.) Do you think it’s worth it, or would you like this to change?
2. What are some of the creative alternatives that you could be doing in the time that you’re currently spending in front of the TV?
3. What influence is TV having in shaping your children’s picture of the world? How do you feel about this? What creative changes do you need to make?

PRAYER:

God of truth and life, we live in a world in which the presence and influence of television is a reality—a reality that so often seems at odds with the truth and life that we see in you. Give to us discerning hearts and disciplined minds in our use of television. Help us to establish the appropriate boundaries that will safeguard us from the addictive and destructive influence that TV will otherwise be in our lives.

We are painfully aware that there are many who appear on TV in your name, but who seem more concerned about wealth and riches and pointing fingers of blame than they are about the message of the cross.

And so we thank you and pray for those people and organisations who are seeking to use TV in truly wholesome and life-giving ways. We pray especially for the Mass Media Project who produced the Heartlines series, and we thank you for the means of grace that has been in our country. Continue to bless their efforts we pray. Amen.