This article describes how to live in a way that uniquely demonstrates the gospel. This article expands on the idea first presented in Gospel-Worthy Walking.
Can a Christian watch R-rated movies or shows rated TV-MA? Can a believer listen to songs or podcasts with explicit warnings? Is a follower of Jesus allowed to enjoy hobbies outside of church? The world has more entertainment choices now than ever before, and many of those choices can literally be at our fingertips during all hours of the day. People have access to more games, music, hobbies, shows, and sports than any generation before us. With so much access and variety, how are Christians to make entertainment decisions that honor the Lord without living in a bunker separated from the world?
Everyone wanting a clear “yes” or “no” in this article is going to be disappointed. Yes, there are entertainment choices that are sinful and are to be avoided (lust, coveting, drunkenness, jealousy, envy, and idolatry, to name a few) in your life. But what about entertainment choices that aren’t clearly black and white? The Apostle Paul referenced entertainment options like physical training, athletes, farming, and poetry, and he didn’t condemn them. So how does a Christian navigate the gray, morally neutral areas of entertainment without crossing the proverbial line into sinful behaviors?
Two Dangerous Ditches
Christians tend to delve into one of two ditches on this topic. First, you must be on guard against legalism: Be careful to avoid making rules where Scripture is silent on matters relating to your righteous standing before God. Your justification before God is connected to Christ’s finished work on the cross, not your religious rule-following. The Apostle Paul said it this way: “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh” (Galatians 3:2-3)? Being declared right before God and becoming like Christ in this life are all a work of the Holy Spirit. It’s absolutely critical that you do not link your pursuit of right entertainment choices to your justification.
Second, you must be on guard against prioritizing your religious freedom above Christ. While liberty is a wonderful benefit of a Spirit-filled life, there is a clear danger when liberty becomes the goal of life. In his response to the religious rule-stacking Judaizers, Paul also tells the Galatians, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). Freedom is part of your calling as a Christian, but that freedom should not be viewed as an occasion to disobey the Spirit of God to fulfill the desires of your flesh.
There is a danger in thinking that you have a license to do whatever you want when the Bible is silent. There is danger in trying to play too close to sin-infested waters. You know that looking at pornography is wrong, but can you watch an implicit sex scene in a Netflix show? How much shady behavior in a movie can there be before it becomes sinful? How explicit can song lyrics or a podcast be before they’re too explicit? How much violence is allowed before it’s too much violence?
Christian, be on guard from prioritizing freedom at the expense of the call to walk worthy of the gospel we’ve received.
The goal shouldn’t be to get as close as you can to the line in order to enjoy some type of adventure-seeking Christianity. It’s not about how close you can get to sin but about how close you can be to the Lord.
Not What, But Why
If your highest goal is to dabble as closely to sin without being damned by God, you’ve missed the joy of intimate closeness with your heavenly Father, made possible only by the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. This is the real issue you must get to when making your entertainment choices. What you consume is important. Why you consume those things gets to the heart of the matter. Don’t end your entertainment decisions with general questions like, “Is this show ok to watch?” or “Should I be watching this reel?” A deeper question is, “Why do I want this right now?” This question is the start of heart revelation.
Consider the why behind these examples: “Today was hard. Let’s just watch a show tonight.” “I’m stressed. I just need to find a mindless podcast to listen to.” “I’m so frustrated with that relationship. I’m going to get away and work in my workshop or play golf.” Have you ever found that reality was so hard that you just wanted to entertain yourself with something easy, some fantasy, that helped you escape from your difficult circumstances? This is the reason your why is so important. In those examples alone, you can see the potential for all types of entertainment to become idols of escape and joy replacements. When your soul isn’t satisfied with that hard conversation from earlier, the frustrating relationship, or your present reality, it’s easy to look for the true satisfaction of your soul through entertainment.
The problem is that your search for happiness in entertainment alone always leads to emptiness and dissatisfaction. Entertainment promises endless joy, but the Lord is the only one who can actually fulfill that promise. David once said this about God, “You make known to me the paths of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). In God’s presence is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, but Christians somehow believe that entertainment will somehow please us with joy unending. In his book, The Weight of Glory, C.S.Lewis says, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” So all of us are far too easily pleased, particularly through entertainment, as we seek happiness outside of the Lord. A mature believer must consider why he or she is pursuing certain entertainment pleasures, not just what should or shouldn’t be consumed.
Getting Deep
Knowing the dangerous ditches you could fall into, and more importantly, knowing the real temptation to find joy in entertainment rather than the Lord, what questions can you ask as you consider and filter your entertainment choices in a meaningful way? I hope that a little acronym will be easy to remember the next time you search for a show, consider a podcast, or scroll through social media. Here’s how to think about your choices in a D.E.E.P. way:
D: Devotion
In Romans 6:4, Paul says, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” If you allow it, sin can reign in your life, and the result is that you will obey its passions. Are your entertainment choices leading you to be more devoted to Jesus or sin as your king and master? The answer to that question doesn’t have an all-of-the-above option. Jesus said it himself, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24a). As you consider what entertains you, you need to ask: Will it increase devotion?
E: Edification
First Corinthians is a letter Paul wrote to a divided church. It was a church marked by squabbles over who was right and wrong and what was right and wrong. Paul would often talk to this church about edification or building up, because they were regularly doing the opposite. When discussing what foods they could eat, Paul says, “But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Corinthians 8:9). His challenge was for the Corinthians not just to consider themselves in their choices of liberty. The body of Christ was important to him, and should be important to you as well. As you consider your entertainment choices, you must consider your spouse, children, and brothers and sisters of less spiritual maturity. Will your choices cause others to stumble and do the opposite of edification?
Considering others is important, but Paul doesn’t deny that you should consider your own edification too. In 1 Corinthians 10:23, he says, “ ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.” In Christ, there is great freedom in your entertainment choices, but you must consider whether the media or hobby has a spiritual benefit, even for your own life. You may be free to do it; however, it may be more of a spiritual gamble for your walk with the Lord rather than a spiritual investment. How do you do that? The late John MacArthur once said, “And guard against the inclination to complicate your decision-making process. If you need to devise a complex system of causes and effects to manufacture a distant potential for spiritual benefit, it’s a good indication that the activity you’re trying to excuse isn’t truly beneficial.”
Your entertainment choices should build up your walk with Christ and other believers’ spiritual maturity as well, and Paul would add one more thing to be edified: “Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved “ (1 Corinthians 10:32-33). Is your choice leading others to be saved? Your decisions either put the light of the gospel on display or hide it. As you consider what entertains you, you need to also ask: Will it increase edification (for me, others, and the kingdom)?
E: Endurance
Paul and Jesus aren’t the only ones who can help us think through these decisions. The author of Hebrews said, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2). Believers are not simply to throw off sin in their lives, but they are to cut out non-sinful bulk in their pursuit of endurance in this life. There are entertainment choices you are free to participate in, but you must realize that there are non-sinful things that can entangle you, trip you up, and lead to you struggling to finish the race set before you. John would say it this way, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17). Not loving the world leads to abiding forever, and there is nothing better than remaining close to the Lord and enduring the race set before you for eternity. As you consider what entertains you, you also need to ask: Will it increase endurance?
P: Praise
In one of the biggest summary statements Paul ever made, he told the Corinthians, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Was there freedom in eating certain foods? Sure…as long as the glory of God was the goal. Are you allowed to watch a video on your phone, listen to a podcast, turn on the TV, watch a movie, participate in a sport or hobby, work at your workbench, play a video game, and listen to music? Of course! And whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. The problem is that entertainment choices are often void of a desire to glorify God. They are void of a desire to be intimate with the Lord and full of selfish desires to exalt self rather than God. As you consider what entertains you, you also need to ask: Will it increase praise?
Final Challenge
Veritas, let’s think about our entertainment choices in D.E.E.P. ways. The next time you’re deciding what to watch, listen to, play, or read, ask:
Will this increase…
If the answer to any of those questions is “no,” don’t abuse your freedom. Instead, find your joy and delight in the all-satisfying pleasures forevermore of King Jesus, the one who is better than any temporary pleasure that entertainment could offer and the one worthy of your life.