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Purity Spotlight
How to Manage Television Time
Extracted from episode 42 of the Pure Sex Radio Broadcast (To listen to this episode, or subscribe to the Pure Sex Radio podcast, visit www.puresexradio.com)
Television, as with most technological advancements, has expanded our horizons for both good and evil. Through television we can share life-saving messages around the world in the blink of an eye. And through such technology we are made aware of many distinct and amazing cultures and people. Unfortunately, television also serves to distribute thousands of hours of hard core and soft core pornography directly into our living rooms.
The following are just a few statistics of the damage that television is inflicting on lives throughout the United States:
The average American watches more than 4 hours of television every day. This represents two months of non-stop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, TV watching per year!
99% of households own at least one television.
Children spend over 1600 minutes per week watching television, as opposed to only 3.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with their parents. That is over 26 HOURS in front of the tube, versus less than 5 minutes engaged with Mom and Dad.
Children will see over 200,000 violent acts on TV by the time they are 18 years old.
The average American adolescent will view nearly 14,000 sexual references PER YEAR on television.
75% of prime time network shows include sexual content.
In my opinion (and it is just an opinion), I believe the television has caused just as much damage as pornography and sexual addiction, if not more, to the health of family relationships. Television has only been around for roughly 60 years, yet its impact has been significant and far reaching. At best, the time a family spends watching TV is time not spent engaging one another in conversation (usually). At worst, families who have multiple televisions throughout their home are splintering their relationships or even developing full blown addictions through isolated, often indulgent, viewing of mind-numbing TV programming.
And the issue of managing television time is not simply to protect our children. We adults need to take inventory of what we are allowing into our minds as well. Just because we are adults does not mean we are somehow immune to the deceptions present in TV shows.
What, then, are some practical things we can do to better manage the television time in our homes? The following are four practical ways to improve managing your TV time.
1. Lock out specific channels. Most cable and satellite providers allow parental controls. Use this feature to block the content from specific problematic channels. And not just for the sake of your kids, but for yourself as well. Some good channels to begin with are MTV, VH1, E!, and IFC, just to name a few that contain high sexual content.
2. Have a pre-planned strategy for TV time. Approach your television time like you would a business relationship. Schedule when you will watch, for how long, and on which days. Do not just plop down and begin channel surfing. Have a plan!
3. Have an escape plan for temptation. Be prepared in case you come across a tempting scene or program. Some ideas include:
Turn off the TV. (Sure, it's a novel idea, but very effective)
Leave the room
Call a friend
4. Have a TV termination policy. If the above boundaries do not work, and you prove to yourself that the television is too powerful an opponent to your purity, pull the plug - literally. You may want to implement a "3 strikes you're out" policy. If you cross the boundaries too often, the TV needs to get put on the shelf in favor of other, purity-promoting, activities.
Does this stuff sound extreme? Maybe. But, remember, Jesus was a radical. He said, "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Jesus sets the bar high. So high, in fact, that apart from His life living through us, we are totally incapable of achieving such purity. Jesus expects us to take seriously what we are ingesting into our minds. Therefore, let us be as extreme as we must be in order to honor Him and remain untethered to this world.
To listen to the Pure Sex Radio episode this was extracted from, visit www.puresexradio.com.
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Respond to this article here.
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Real Answers to Real Questions
Real Question: I am married and work in a local church. I understand the importance of not spending time with women alone. However, as a man recovering from homosexual desires, should I also limit my time alone with men?
Real Answer: Thanks for contacting us and asking such a good question. To be honest with you, I think the fact that you are asking this question signifies a need for there to be some sort of hedges in your life in the area of alone time with other men. But I don't think you need to go overboard in setting up such protections. You know yourself, and you also know what most tempts you (if you aren't aware of this, counseling may be in order).
In such arenas of temptation, this is where you set your hedges up. For instance, you may be fine at the office at church to meet alone with another man, knowing that there are staff members present in other rooms and so forth. On the other hand, you may know it could be tempting for you to invite a man over to your house for coffee when your wife isn't present.
I encourage all the guys I counsel to think of support in terms of community. Rather than attempting to get all support through one-on-one interactions, it helps to engage a handful of guys on a deeply intimate level emotionally and spiritually. Even Jesus had this type of philosophy in dealing with his disciples. There were the twelve, but he had his "inner three" of Peter, James, and John. He lived, and shared, his life in the context of community.
My encouragement to you would be to keep a balanced approach. We most often get into trouble when we try to cling so tightly to some rigid rule for behavior that we miss the bigger picture of growing closer to God and others.
It may also help for you to regularly plug in with a confidential support group to help you process these feelings in a safe place. For help in locating a group in your area visit http://www.bebroken.com/bbm/links/group_links/index.shtml.
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Do you have a real question you need answered? If so, email it to us at questions@bebroken.com.
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