Defeating the Media Monster!

We are living in a day where technology is “parenting” the next generation on how to act, think, establish priorities, and make decisions. Let’s just be honest, the media monster is eating our families alive and seeking to spiritually destory! The Media Monster is all over the place! The L.A. Times recently reported that children, ages 8-18, spend nearly 8 hours per day on media! Click here to read the article. That is enough hours to be a full time job!

Before I inform you on how you can guide your family in a high tech world allow me to submit 7 wrong reasons why we allow media into our homes:

1. Peer Pressure - We as parents as well as our children live in the “fear of man” from day to day. So we obey it by allowing media into our homes. “I want people to think well of me and my children. I don’t want them to feel left out.” Read Prov. 29:25.
2. Acceptance- In many cases we don’t want our children to dislike us. We want them to be our friends. So we quickly do what they say. Friendship with your children is not achieved through giving them what they want, but by biblically parenting them! Deut. 6, Eph.6, Col. 3.
3. To Eliminate Conflict- We are tired of the fighting, begging, and saying no. So we “give in”  in order to remove the conflict (or at least we think so!).  
4. To Spoil- Oftentimes we want our children to have it better than we did. That’s understandable, however, if that is the reason for allowing media into our homes we are not “bring[ing] them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4).
5. To “Show Off”- Our sinful love and desire for money and things can cause us to show off our success and we oftentimes use our children to do that.
6. For Instant Communication- Let me explain, of course communication between family members is needed and in some cases necessary. I understand that. However, I believe we use this reason to justify media and really it’s a subtle way of saying we don’t trust in the sovereignty of God. Frankly, it could be a failure to know our God!
7. Convenient Babysitter- This may not be the case for everyone, but it is for some. We are so busy with our careers, pursuing home projects, and other things that parenting our children is not something we have a lot of time to do. So we provide media items to occupy them. We are missing out on a wonderful opportunity to parent the next generation, because of our selfishness!  

Now, before I tell you how you can biblically guide your family in a high tech world allow me to present 5 challenges the Media Monster brings into our homes:

1. Perversion- Allowing many outlets of media into our home increases the avenues in which filth can enter our homes. This challenge robs or threatens our purity!  2Tim. 2:22 - “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Rom. 16:19 - “…wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.”
2. Deception- The media of our culture is constantly proclaiming Satan’s lies about love, happiness, and life. Additionally, media provides ample opportunity for harmful communication (gossip, lies, slander), deceptive profiles (be someone else), and develop inappropriate relationships. This robs or threatens our integrity!
3. Obsession- All forms of media tend to become dominant in our lives. In other words, we become “slaves” to our media items. These things literally become obsessions that hold us hostage and threaten our purpose! 1 Cor. 6:12 - “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
4. Disconnection- The Media Monster is so prevailing in some families that is has overrun real family connections. There is less time for eye-to-eye contact, heart-to-heart conversations, and genuine interaction because of the abundance of media demanding our attention! We are familiar with everything in the world except each other! This robs our family! (Eph. 6:1-4).    
5. Emptiness- This is the result of the previous 4 challenges. Uncontrolled media will leave us “chasing after the wind.” (Eccl. 1). This robs our identity!  

SO…how do we biblically defeat the Media Monster? I will tell you in my next post! Thanks for reading!