Gospel.com Blog

Like all technologies, television can be used for good or for evil. It can broadcast art or profanity or some mix of the two. Whether you adhere to the tv parental guidelines or some other system, we’d like to know: How do you determine what’s okay to watch on television?

Share your thoughts!

Have you given something up for Lent? We’ve talked a bit about the common practice of choosing something in your life—a habit, a particular type of food, etc.—and voluntarily foregoing it during the weeks leading up to Easter.

Among my own circle of acquaintances, two things seem to come up frequently as things to give up during Lent: unhealthy food (soda, fast food, etc.) and television.

I’ll leave the food topic alone for now (and I should note that not everything people choose to give up for Lent needs to be “bad” or unhealthy); but the practice of giving up TV is something I’ve also seen written about a lot online. (And feel free to substitute another entertainment medium—your iPod, video games, online video, etc.—for “television.”)

Most of us have from time to time had the feeling that we invest too much of our lives in passive entertainment, to the detriment of our spiritual and personal growth. If the idea of going cold-turkey on your TV sounds weirdly intriguing, here are a few resources to help you think it through:

• Revive Our Hearts has a standing 30-day TV-free challenge that encourages Christians to turn off the TV for a month and observe the resulting effects on their personal lives. You can sign up for daily emails and read a number of helpful articles at the challenge website; and they also host a great series of radio shows about bringing your family’s television under control.
• Al Menconi has written extensively about the challenge of keeping TV-watching and passive entertainment balanced healthily in your family life. For starters, read his list of 10 steps to control TV in your home, and see his many articles about how entertainment affects us.

If you read through these resources, you’ll notice something important about them: the point of these efforts is not to arbitrarily cut TV out of your life, or to feel holier-than-thou because you don’t watch American Idol, or to rob your life of fun. It’s not about banning TV in your house forever, or making you feel guilty for watching your favorite show. It’s about becoming more aware of the way you use your time throughout each day and week.

It’s an experiment you can try any time of the year, not just during Lent. How about it?

Your best bet for family entertainment on DVD this week is a collection of Big Idea’s new made-for-TV episodes of 3-2-1 Penguins! The collection is titled Save the Planets! and features three of the most recent episodes aired on NBC and Qubo. Says Greg Wright, “If you’re a fan… have no fear. If anything, the pace is quicker, the jokes come faster, and the laughs follow right behind. Honestly, this is some of the funniest stuff I’ve seen on DVD in a long, long time.”

Also new on DVD this week:

• The Genius Club
• Reprise
• The Promotion
• Then She Found Me
• Married Life
• Outsourced
• Hidden Secrets

Visit the DVD releases page at Past the Popcorn for details on these and other titles.