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We live in an entertainment-driven culture. Everywhere you go--every village, town, city, and country--there is some form of entertainment. As Christians, figuring out what entertainment we can be involved in can be confusing. We are commanded to be in the world and not of it, and advised against a look at life that says "eat, drink, and be merry," but does that eliminate all entertainment?
The Bible does not give specific mandates or commands in regards to entertainment. But there are some principles that we can find in the Bible to establish a Biblical philosophy of entertainment. Each Biblical principle that I have found manifests itself in a question that should be asked of each form of entertainment. I will not be looking specifically at forms of entertainment that directly contradict the Bible, such as pornography, music with sexual content, or getting drunk. Rather I will be dealing with what I will call amoral entertainment, entertainment that in and of itself is not wrong. This may be television, music, movies, sports, or another form of entertainment like these. Let's jump right in!
1. How will this affect my relationship with God? (Prov. 21:17; II Cor. 6:14-15)
Proverbs 21:17 - He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
II Corinthians 6:14-15 - Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Our relationship with God should be paramount whenever we consider participating in a certain form of entertainment. God should always be first in our lives. This is the principle behind Proverbs 21:17. This verse does not speak of the man who enjoys going to a baseball game once in a while or the woman who enjoys watching her weekly television shows. This verse is speaking of the man who puts his sports above God or the woman who lets her tv replace her relationship with God. While a form of entertainment may be good in some respects, it becomes wrong when God is below that entertainment.
In II Corinthians 6, we see a series of contrasts of good things and bad:
• Righteousness vs. Unrighteousness
• Light vs. Darkness
• Christ vs. Belial (Satan)
• The Believer vs. The Infidel
• The Temple of God vs. The Temple of Idols
Each of these contrasts leaves us with the same question: do we have a relationship with God or the world? Again, is our relationship with God first in our hearts rather than our relationship with the things that self wants. If participating in an activity takes our focus off our relationship with God, we must not participate. If going to a sporting event turns someone into a cursing maniac, should he go? No. If watching cable tv tempts one to pay for a channel that he knows he should not watch, should he get rid of cable? Absolutely. The things that hinder my relationship with God may be different than yours. We must each safeguard our relationship with God individually.
2. How will this affect my mind and my thoughts? (Phil. 4:8)
Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Stemming directly from our relationship with God is the question of how entertainment affects our thoughts. Our thought life is the hardest part of our lives to control. When God saw man in Noah's day, he judged them not only because what they did was evil, but also because "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Man's thoughts must be controlled and must be good.
Paul advocates this control of the mind in this verse. He wants the people who read his letter to have true, honest, just, pure, lovely, honorable, virtuous, and praiseworthy thoughts. If their thoughts did not line up with these characteristics, he wanted to help them change. Not for his sake or because he said so, but because it is honoring and pleasing to God to have good thoughts.
3. How will this affect my relationship with others? (I Cor. 8-9; 10:31-33)
I Corinthians 10:31-33 - Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
While we must each take our own relationship with God and our own thoughts into account, we must also take into account the relationship with God and thoughts of others. In I Corinthians, Paul addresses one of the many issues that had come up in the Corinthian church. Some members of the church saw nothing wrong with eating meat offered to idols. Others believed that this was an act of worship of those same idols. Paul himself said that the eating of that meat was not necessarily a sin. Here, however, is the sin: when someone who was ok with eating that meat became a stumblingblock to those who was not ok with it. As Christians, they had the liberty to eat that meat. Some knew, as Paul did, that it was not sin. But Paul pronounced a great principle in the last verse of chapter 8: "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend." Paul was willing to never eat meat again if it meant that he did not cause his Christian brothers and sisters to sin.
What about us? Is there a bigger "meat offered to idols" situation in Christian circles today than entertainment? There are many forms of entertainment that we can participate in, and, as I mentioned previously, the things that hinder our relationship with God should be banished from our lives. But we must also be aware that there are those who have different standards than we do. And we must be careful not to violate their standards and their conscience.
Let me illustrate this principle from my own personal experience. Growing up, I was not allowed to listen to any contemporary music at all. It was the standard that my family held to. As I grew older, my mom started allowing me to make some of my own choices as far as music, as long as I did not violate Biblical principles. However, while I was allowed to listen to more contemporary music in my personal life, I was not allowed to listen to all of this around my dad or my grandfather. Not because it was bad. Not because they would hate me for it. But because they hold to a different standard, and I would violate their convictions.
4. Is this an appropriate time for this activity? (Ecc. 3:1-8)
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 - To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
This final question takes right after the previous one in the issue of using discernment in choosing our entertainment. Rather than the who this time though, we will be dealing with the when. There will be some occasions where a form of entertainment is appropriate and other times when it is not. For example, it is not appropriate to be listening to the 4th quarter of the Alabama-Auburn football game during your great-aunt's funeral. And it is definitely not appropriate for a man to be scrolling through his news feed on his phone while his bride is walking down the aisle. Those things can be good at an appropriate time but are extremely detrimental when used in the wrong context.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
What does this mean for our entertainment? First, it means that there is no definite answer to what will be right as far as entertainment goes, nor will there ever be any standard that is 100% right for every person. Second, it means that we must form convictions about entertainment that follow Biblical principles. God has written down many principles in this world that He wants us to follow. It is now that through careful study and prayer that we must form our convictions. Finally, we must use discernment in our use of entertainment, with who we use it around and when we use it.
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