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Monday, August 21, 2017

The Company We Keep

It is a proverb of ours: "Birds of a feather flock together." It's in Scripture, too. Paul wrote, "Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals." (1 Cor 15:33) It's not like Paul was offering something unusual. Solomon wrote, "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." (Prov 13:20) The psalmist wrote, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers." (Psa 1:1) All the same idea.

We know it's true. We are shaped by the company we keep. There have been studies that show that the longer a couple is married, the closer they begin to physically resemble each other. It's the nature of the human being. Spend time in "the counsel of the wicked", "the way of sinners", and "the seat of scoffers" and you'll become wicked, sinning scoffer. It's just the way we are.

And, yet ...

In many endeavors, such as sports, we know that the way to improve ourselves is to do things with others who do what we want to do well. I learned more about playing tennis from losing to good players than by beating lesser players. You can learn more about the Bible from a good Bible teacher than from a casual reader. Spending time with those who have something valuable to offer on something you wish to obtain, whether it's skills or character traits or whatever, is the best way to obtain it. Would you like to know the secrets, for instance, of longevity of marriage? You probably won't find it spending time with the fellow that has been divorced 5 times and is working on his 6th. We know this.

And, yet ...

Who we spend time with, who makes up the cadre of closest associations, where our largest amount of time is spent -- these things will determine a lot of how we think and live. So why is it that we spend a lot of our time where we know we're being lied to? Why is it that we pay so very much attention to "the counsel of the wicked", "the way of sinners", and "the seat of scoffers"? "How?" you ask? We do it with our televisions and other choices of entertainment.

Television belongs to the world. They set the standards. They set the messages. Occasionally a Christian one might sneak through, but, if you're paying attention, it would only be extremely rarely. Every show that addresses the question of origins -- life, the planet, people, animals -- addresses it from an absolutely evolutionary way. "Evolution is true. You doubt it? You're just a stupid loser." But they don't even need that judgment in it. They state it long enough and loud enough that it's true, and everyone will believe it's a fact. Look at every representation of Christians in the media. Almost without exception they are caricatures at best and, most often, outright assaults. Look at the standards offered by the media today. If you were to judge life in America by what you see on television, everyone everywhere is having sex all the time. You'll find cop shows about cops who are solving crimes and having sex with each other. You'll find doctor shows about doctors and nurses who are taking care of patients and having sex with each other. Then there are lawyer shows ... well, you get the idea. Then throw in the underlying and unavoidable message that "gay is normal and morally acceptable" sifting into every corner of your television experience. We are being lied to. And we choose to imbibe the kool-aid.

We call it "entertainment". Better, "amusement", with an eye to the origins of the word -- "a" for "not" and "muse" for "thinking" ... "not thinking". We swallow it whole, laugh at the humor, indulge in the drama, and rarely ever consider the message. We are commanded not to be conformed to this world (Rom 12:2), but we drench ourselves with their values. We are told to "be transformed by the renewing of your minds" (Rom 12:2), but largely avoid putting much in that would transform our thinking away from the world's thinking. We nod at the command not to be friends with the world (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15) and find ourselves inviting the world into our living rooms nightly for an indoctrination session. Why?

In the words of three little known lepers, "We do not well." (2 Kings 7:9) Or in the words of James, "My brothers, these things ought not to be so." (James 3:10) If the Bible is true and Paul was correct when he said, "Bad company ruins good morals", then we might want to put some thought into our choice of nightly entertainment. If it's largely your television, then it's largely lies from the world that we're shoveling in all while we're claiming to want to be transformed into the image of Christ. Doesn't make much sense, does it? Some might even suggest that it's unbiblical.

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