I typically do not watch award shows on television. As I get older I realize that I am more and more out of touch with what is "hip and happening" in the entertainment industry, but I am really okay with that. Thus, I missed the Grammy Award show. Hearing about it on the radio this morning and looking at a few headlines on the internet proved to be sufficient coverage for me.
I also missed the Pro-Bowl football game yesterday. I caught about a minute of the half-time show and quickly switched channels. There were enough gyrations by the performers in those sixty seconds that I needed no more. How do we maintain custody of the eyes when we are bombarded with less than pure entertainment on a regular basis?
The headline on the USA Today website stated, "The 2018 Grammys were an out-of-touch embarrassment." I figured they were referring to all of the political commentary contained therein since that is what I had been hearing about on the radio. That was an inaccurate assumption on my part. The USA Today article was addressing winners and losers of the awards--not the political statements being made by the performers.
So how does the football half-time show and the Grammys impact us? It depends. Each of us carry baggage in our lives. The hurts, the struggles, the poor choices, and a laundry list of other things that complicate our lives can weigh us down. Some of this is thrust upon us against our will; other things weigh us down because we allow ourselves to be drawn off the path that leads to God. Sin can be some real heavy baggage. Does a suggestive half-time show impact our path to maintaining purity and chastity in our lives? Does the political commentary at an award show make us angry?
I have resisted the urge to watch much football this year because of the politicization of the sports world. Sporting events should be entertainment--nothing more, nothing less. I don't need overpaid millionaires playing a sport attempting to indoctrinate me to their way of thinking. Many of them have very little credibility upon which to stand in proclaiming a particular morality for the rest of us.
If the athletes themselves aren't providing enough angst for us, leave it to the half-time performers to fill in the gaps. Can anyone sing a song without suggestive gyrations being a focus of the show at one of these events? Common decency isn't too common in our world today.
As I review the baggage I carry in my own life, I am aware that much of it has been added due to my own poor choices. Television is one such area where I allowed the baggage to accumulate. What have I gained in my life by watching television. Obviously, it can be used to learn about places all throughout the world. We can learn about our faith from religious programming. There are good things to be gained from watching TV. However, what have the sitcoms taught us? What have we learned through years and years of watching particular shows? What did society learn from a character such as Archie Bunker? Roseanne? The cast of Friends? That doesn't even begin to touch some of the more hard core things on cable TV. Has my life been enriched or impoverished due to watching TV through the years? I think I can answer that without much hesitation.
As we draw near to the beginning of Lent, I invite you to clean house in regard to your personal life. What are the things that are adding weight to the baggage you are carrying? How will you be set free from the things that are hindering your relationship with Almighty God?
I am starting my Lenten journey early. It is time to walk humbly with our God!
I also missed the Pro-Bowl football game yesterday. I caught about a minute of the half-time show and quickly switched channels. There were enough gyrations by the performers in those sixty seconds that I needed no more. How do we maintain custody of the eyes when we are bombarded with less than pure entertainment on a regular basis?
The headline on the USA Today website stated, "The 2018 Grammys were an out-of-touch embarrassment." I figured they were referring to all of the political commentary contained therein since that is what I had been hearing about on the radio. That was an inaccurate assumption on my part. The USA Today article was addressing winners and losers of the awards--not the political statements being made by the performers.
So how does the football half-time show and the Grammys impact us? It depends. Each of us carry baggage in our lives. The hurts, the struggles, the poor choices, and a laundry list of other things that complicate our lives can weigh us down. Some of this is thrust upon us against our will; other things weigh us down because we allow ourselves to be drawn off the path that leads to God. Sin can be some real heavy baggage. Does a suggestive half-time show impact our path to maintaining purity and chastity in our lives? Does the political commentary at an award show make us angry?
I have resisted the urge to watch much football this year because of the politicization of the sports world. Sporting events should be entertainment--nothing more, nothing less. I don't need overpaid millionaires playing a sport attempting to indoctrinate me to their way of thinking. Many of them have very little credibility upon which to stand in proclaiming a particular morality for the rest of us.
If the athletes themselves aren't providing enough angst for us, leave it to the half-time performers to fill in the gaps. Can anyone sing a song without suggestive gyrations being a focus of the show at one of these events? Common decency isn't too common in our world today.
As I review the baggage I carry in my own life, I am aware that much of it has been added due to my own poor choices. Television is one such area where I allowed the baggage to accumulate. What have I gained in my life by watching television. Obviously, it can be used to learn about places all throughout the world. We can learn about our faith from religious programming. There are good things to be gained from watching TV. However, what have the sitcoms taught us? What have we learned through years and years of watching particular shows? What did society learn from a character such as Archie Bunker? Roseanne? The cast of Friends? That doesn't even begin to touch some of the more hard core things on cable TV. Has my life been enriched or impoverished due to watching TV through the years? I think I can answer that without much hesitation.
As we draw near to the beginning of Lent, I invite you to clean house in regard to your personal life. What are the things that are adding weight to the baggage you are carrying? How will you be set free from the things that are hindering your relationship with Almighty God?
I am starting my Lenten journey early. It is time to walk humbly with our God!
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