Should I Quit TV? (The Hidden Impact of What You Watch)

You're listening to the Provoke and Inspire podcast. Welcome to Provoke and Inspire podcast, everyone. David is. Thank you. Yeah, yeah. You're welcome. You and your blurry background. I think you should try an experiment in which you were blurry in your background was clear. That could be really cool, actually. Yeah, I'm still waiting on my neon provoking inspire light. Yeah, well, there has to be something to distinguish me from the rest of the goons. You know, I have to have something that that lets everyone know what is abundantly true, which is that I am the best, right? As I already mentioned, this is the Provoke and Inspire podcast. This is very rare, but David is not here. In fact, I'd say it probably goes in order of consistency is by far. Me let's be honest. Then probably David, then Luke, and then for various personal reasons, Chad comes in a distant form. I'm, uh, surprised that I beat you, Chad. I'm not. Because Chad did, like, take an entire year off at least once, so that kind of puts you way behind the eight ball. Okay, we have no David's random story, so unless someone is now, let's not. I'm not opening up that floor. That's too risky. So hey, I prepared one. Hey, I'll tell you what, dude. I might actually have a risk this time. Here's what we're gonna do. I'm teasing the topic. Then we're going to do a risk. The topic for today was based on something that I, you know, as I was reflecting on the new year that was to come. I don't know about you guys, but I tend to get in a more reflective phase where I'm thinking about the year that was. I'm thinking about the year to come, and one of the sort of convictions that came over me was I was reading this book, and it was a really dull, boring book. I don't even really remember the title. What's it called? I'm not gonna mention it because it wasn't. You don't even remember the title. One of my New Year's resolutions, in all honesty, is to read less crappy books. I have this weird OCD thing where once I start a book, I really hate not finishing it like it feels. I don't know what that is, but now I have a new policy I don't. I wish I did had that OCD thing? I have that problem. Like. Well, it's like a trophy man. Yeah. Me too. I'm with Luke. Okay, well, I have that problem. So my new philosophy is I give it one chapter, and if it's good after one chapter, I will, I will go ahead. But I give myself the option to bail after one chapter. So I was skimming through this book. It wasn't that great. But one of the things that the guy said in this book is it was related to how he curates his media watching habits, how he doesn't just watch mindlessly. And as I read this or skimmed through it, I did feel this sense of conviction that really a lot of what I watched was fairly reactive. It wasn't very intentional. Courtney and I, my wife, we have a routine of kind of watching a little bit of TV before we go to bed. And when you do this a lot of nights a week, you kind of tend to always have to find what's next. What are we going to watch? And so you just kind of are always looking for recommendations or someone says something or you're through the Netflix algorithm or whatever. Um, but I just kind of realized I'm like, man, for something that, you know, in theory, takes so much of your time. Now, whether it should is another question. Don't you think you should be more intentional, more mindful, more aware? Should there not be at least some sort of plan? And so in this book, he talks about how he curates his content, and he's very cautious and deliberate about the things that him and his wife will watch. They don't just watch whatever they have a process of like, is it high quality? Is it edifying, you know, is it good? Because let's be honest, there's a lot of crap TV. So is it actually good art? And so what I decided to do is to take the entire month of January and not watch anything. And so I'm about nine days into a month long TV show. How's Courtney? Is she on board with this? She didn't really care. She loves to read. And so, like, she's just kind of like, yeah, okay, whatever. So she just reads more. You know, it is weird though, I gotta say, like, when you get in a habit of, no, we won't watch for hours, we'll watch for maybe half an hour before going to bed. But it is weird when you have that kind of as this automatic wind down routine, when all of a sudden you're just like, we're not going to do that. And like, how do I wind down now? Right. Well, you just kind of go. Well good night. You know, it's weird. And then you lie there waiting to see what happens. Look, in the end of the day, what I decided is I needed a month to reset because I. This was coupled also with the podcast I listened to, where it talked about how we spend our time and we get, you know, five hundred and twenty five thousand minutes in a year and X amount is spent on this, and X amount is spent on this. And I was like, man, if I'm going to be watching, you know, and again, the question is do you want to watch this much? But if you're going to be watching two, three, four hours of media content a week, it better be good stuff. And there better be some godly parameters and principles that I'm applying to this. And so what I wanted to talk about today is this whole thing. What do we consume? How do we consume it? What does the Bible say about it? Is there a missional component to this? Do we need some degree to be aware of what is being consumed in culture? So like Paul, before the Athenians, we know of the unknown altar. We're not completely ignorant to the voices of culture. And so there is a pretty broad and deep multilayered conversation to be had here. And so I'm excited about that. I think it's going to be very edifying. And frankly, in this world, who does this not apply to? Because whether it's on your phone, whether it's Netflix, whether it's one of the billion streaming services, we're all consuming a lot of media. And I think this is a good month to stop, to pause, to ask why? To ask what? And to kind of reset in a way that would be God honoring. So that's the point of today. Uh, but first we have Chad took a risk. Hey, there used to be a really cool intro for Chad's risk. What happened to that? Yeah, there used to be. Chad hated it, though, wasn't it? Punching through the awkward with Chad Johnson. There it is punching to the awkward with Chad Johnson. Oh, I can't believe you had that on cue. That's so embarrassing. So good. You know how many times we've been asking for soundbites to come back? Now we know they're all there because you just pulled that up, like, click. Amazing. So I started reading this book because Aaron Pierce told me I should. And it was one of three books that Aaron said, hey, if you're going to rejoin Steiger, you got to read. And I was like, oh, really? Come on. But I started reading it and I'm genuinely blown away. I'm like, I know you've never read this book. No. I've never. I'm fifty two years old and I've never read How to Win Friends and Influence People. It's so good. It's like, I mean, there's a reason back in like, the nineteen forties that had already sold fifteen million copies. Wow. It's that good. But I got to the chapter where it was talking about showing appreciation for people and giving people your undivided attention. And so much of what I have read in this book reminds me of the one thousand risk journey that I had been on, where I just tried to really give my heart to people in front of me. So I get my rental car at the place where I'm at, and I just start. Like applying the ideas from the chapter I had just read where I was just. I was like, intently giving her my attention. I was asking her questions, and we just end up having this incredible conversation over how she burned three of her fingers over the Christmas holiday. And it just, I don't know, like five minutes later, she said, you know, this is really unbelievable. Nobody ever talks to me like this. And I said, I said, well, are you a psychopath? Yeah. I said, can I tell you why? And she said, sure. And I opened up my bag and I said, I'm reading this book. And and in the book there's this chapter about, you know, and I explained it to her and I said, but, you know, it really reminds me of who I used to be as a Christian who just stopped and really tried to pay attention to to people regularly and, you know, blah, blah, blah. So, um, so then I just asked her, I said, you know, if this would have been the old me, this is the time that I would have asked you, like, how can I pray for you in twenty twenty six? And, uh, and she again, she's like, wow, this is this conversation keeps getting crazier. You know, I haven't really been following Jesus in a long time, and I would love to start following him again. I was like, wow. Like, well, there you go. This is my first risk in a long time, and it's a doozy. So we pray together. She commits to reconnecting with Jesus. And, uh, and it was just it was so beautiful. So there was a Starbucks right across from the Hertz rental, and I was going to get a coffee and I said, hey, do you want a coffee? And she was like, sure. So I got her a coffee. And it was just such a cool moment. And then I had another one at the valet at the hotel where I was at this like young, cool, moa looking black guy with dreads. I just was like, dude, I'm gonna go for it. I'm gonna test the waters of prophetic words again and pull out that old trick that was, I see you as the kind of person who. And I just I just was like, hey, man, I had no clue what I was gonna say. I just said, hey, man, I see you as the kind of person and who. And then I was like, oh boy. I was like, Lord, please help this not be complete BS for his sake and for mine. And all of a sudden I started saying all this stuff about him, you know, and like how he puts other people first, how he's like a servant leader, how he's gonna like the Lord's going to use him in leadership. And I was just like, man, Jesus loves you so much. Can I pray for you? And he was like, wow, no one's ever asked me to pray for if they can pray for me. He said, sure. So we pray. I put my hands on his shoulder and prayed for him and he's like, where do you go to church? I was like, man, I live in Chattanooga. All that to say that stigers have courage. Uh, principle or core value, plus Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, plus the goodness of God, uh, maybe has me back to risk taking. And it was. It was fun, man. It felt like doing drugs again. For the first time. I was, I was so I was so thrilled. And I'm not doing drugs even though I'm, I'm, you know, being goofy about it. It's Friday afternoon. That's my frame was like a drug for me. But what was even more like a drug were drugs. Um. It was. Yeah, but I'm just. But I am really grateful. God's good. And it was it was cool to take risk again, because it's been a long time since I've taken any risks. That's really cool. Chad, from the moment you said where you described it was about having undivided attention, I suddenly felt convicted. I had to give you undivided attention as you told that story, But so I did know. Isn't that hard. But that was amazing. It's hard to do. It is true, man. That whole thing of like, the simple courtesies, you know, because he even talks about smiling and remembering people's names and never being right and or like, you know, not winning arguments or going in to win arguments. And I mean, it's such beautiful principles, not condemning people. Yeah. And it is amazing how much of those common courtesies have been eroded and how now they are such outliers, and they distinguish you so much that they're profound evangelistic tools because, I mean, essentially it boils down to just caring about people, right? It's not some technique, but it's it's the practical outworkings of seeing the person in front of you as a person and treating them accordingly. So, dude, I love it. I hope this comes back in a strong way, man. Yeah. Me too. I mean, he literally in this chapter, I'm trying to I'm trying to find it right now, but of course I can't. But but he literally said the title of the chapter was um, How to Interest People. And then he said he talked about Jesus in the, um, maybe it was the chapter before it. Anyway, he said he basically uses the Golden Rule as like, if all you do is follow Jesus's principle of treating others the way you want to be treated, you will never not win friends and influence people. And I was like, wow, I don't know if he was a Christian or not, but I mean, that's a powerful statement, dude. Well, that's awesome man. I like I said, I think I'd like to see that come back more and more like as God continues to have you in this role and I think revitalize a lot of those early days. Keep taking them risks, man. I know when they've been part of this podcast, they've been huge. Well, it's it is like when I first said yes to this role, I knew that instantly. It meant I needed to publicly repent. And I think that that there is something powerful about repenting and admitting you're wrong and admitting admitting that you have not been where you were meant to be. And when you step back into something, it's like the Lord. The Lord honors that. And so. Yeah, thanks. It's good to be here. So the moral of the story is do risks, not drugs. Um, yeah. That's going to be the new one thousand risk intro. I like that, I like that. Yeah. Ben's Ben's taking some notes right now. Yeah, well, I'm making I'm making a t shirt, drugs, another t shirt. Do risks, not drugs. I like, do risks too, because it's just not super good English, dude. Yeah. Do risks, not drugs. Yeah, yeah. Tigers for tigers. All right, so tigers from tigers. Let's transition to, uh, what are we feeding our minds with? And as I already said, media consumption, for better or for worse, is a significant part of every modern person's life, whether it's for work or for recreation. We are constantly consuming media. And I would argue that we're also living in a crazy age of entertainment where because of the streaming services and the money that's being poured into all of them and the competition among them. I it reminds me of Vegas. If you've ever been to Vegas, these hotels just look like really rich dudes just having like bleep you contests like, oh, you got a cool hotel. What about this? And then the next one's like, I can get even more over the top. That's kind of what all these streaming services seem like. And the reality is I mean from a pure entertainment perspective, like the amount of content that's being cranked out, high quality, multi episodic series all the time. I mean, first of all, it's impossible to keep up with. And from a purely entertainment perspective, I could see how you just become completely lost in it all because there is truly so much good things to watch. But look, I'd love to start with you and ask like, do you like find this to be something you like, think of consciously? Have you already sort of have parameters in place? How do you view your relationship to the kinds of TV shows and movies you're watching. And then we can kind of break it down from there. I thought you were just going to ask me, do you watch TV? So that would have been a more simple. Well, you strike me as someone that probably wasn't allowed to a lot as a kid. Yeah, we called them homeschoolers. Yes, I was in the Assemblies of God in Brazil, so I wasn't allowed to. No, no, I grew up I did grew up enjoying entertainment. Um, I was gonna say, you know, when you're talking about be a curator of what you watch, I was thinking, I think I have a curator at home. My wife is my curator. You know, she's very particular. So that's. Which is great. You know, it is great, but she's very particular about what we what we should watch and what we shouldn't. And so I think she keeps me under control, which is probably what I need. So I'm thankful for my wife. Although one of the problems I have is, um, I confess I am a bit of a fan of Stranger Things, and she does not like that. She's she thinks that that shows too violent for her. And so I always like I sneak it. So when she goes out with the kids, I watch an episode and then she'll come back and she's like, you've been a naughty boy. So no, but I think, um, I think you're right. I agree with your premise that in today's, um, age, we really need to think that one through. And if you just kind of let it go without any thought, it's so easy to just slip into either too much, um, you know, taking, taking content in or or it being unfiltered in the sense of what kind of stuff we watch. Um, I, you know, one thing I've been observing with curiosity is I feel like I could be wrong and you guys can challenge me on this, but I have a sense that there is a little bit more control or filter on what's generally just put out in public now than there was before. like, I remember a time when I was always afraid of trying to watch some new show or whatever on Netflix or whatever streaming platform, because they tended to not control so much what was what the content was, especially like sex scenes and that kind of thing. I've always felt like the first episode of a new show would tend to have some kind of quite explicit sex scene to to catch the audience or whatever. And I feel like that's shifted a bit. Like there's less of that. And I also feel like there's a bit more control on social media. Like, I feel like you have to kind of look for stuff if you're gonna see things that that are either gruesome violence or sex. Um, you know, explicit sex, that kind of stuff. So now I could be wrong, but that's the impression I get. If it's right, I'm glad that our culture is learning a bit like, you know, trying to shift that. Um, but anyway, those are some of my initial thoughts. I don't know if you're right. I think it just depends on the platform. It depends on the show, obviously. I mean, I guess I guess for this conversation, one of the things that stood out to me and I'd love your input on this, Chad, is I feel like for whatever reason, we've had conversations like this before. You know, we had our episode about Game of Thrones when that was a big thing. And should Christians be watching Game of Thrones? And I remember having a lot of people kind of annoyed or feeling judged or whatever, that we would point that out because you'd have, you know, just I would see these friends or people I knew on social media who I knew were sincere followers of Jesus. Also posting about the latest Game of Thrones episode. And then when you look up the basic description of it, I mean, it's just the level of like explicit sexuality, violence, sexuality, not to mention just the violence itself is pretty intense. Before that, I remember it was the whole Fifty Shades of Grey thing and all these like particularly women who would like post about that and like you'd be like, I think we did an episode on that one as well, didn't we? Yeah, we may have. Well, no, that was the famous. That was the famous, uh, interview that we did. Oh, right. Chad. Did it ever go public? What do you mean? Wait, you don't remember this? You don't? Did it go public? No. Wait, wait. What happened? What happened was we interviewed a certain, uh, Mr. Craig Gross, and, uh, you don't remember this? And he had reviewed one of those movies. Him and his wife had attended the cinema and watched said film and written a. Oh, that's right. Written a public review. Okay. Now I. Yeah. Well that's right. Now it does all come back to me now. So. But anyway, I guess the reason why I bring that up is it feels as though there can be this weird, uh, dissonance where followers of Jesus, you know, care about what the Bible says are trying to live faithfully for Jesus. And yet when it comes to what they watch, when they're sitting down and there's a screen between them and whatever it is, as long as it's not outright pornography, which most people would either hide or, you know, at least say that they're not, you know, wanting to or willingly looking at or whatever. There seems to be this weird disconnect where it's like, oh, whatever, it's just TV, or it's just a TV show, or it's just a movie. And so all the standards go out of the window and I don't know, do you? Does that resonate with you, Chad, your experience or your observed experience or, you know, how do we how do we view all of that in light of the, the, the dissonance between our biblical standards and what people seem to be willing to publicly declare that they're watching on a regular basis? I guess the first thing that I'll say is that I finally feel much better about myself, because, uh, Luke is technically worse than me because he watches stranger, he watches Stranger Things in private, you know, like he. I do appreciate that confession, by the way. I watch Stranger Things, uh, in, you know, you don't hide it, right? I take my TV out front and watch it. No, I have actually thought this is a really interesting topic, Ben and Luke, because I did just watch through the entire Stranger Things five, and I found myself Frustrated by how often they took God in Jesus's name in vain. I don't recall that being as much a part of the first four seasons. Dude, it seemed like a purposeful agenda. It was so over the top it did. I've only watched a couple episodes. It's wild. Anyway, I've been thinking through this quite a bit just because as I've stepped back into life with Steiger, I've recognized that the core value of, um, both seeking God and then striving for holiness, like those two core values, um, call me to a higher level of living than if I was just working for Furnace Fest or doing a regular marketplace job where where most likely no one that I report to or am working with would would be that surprised by what I was watching. Um, but in my family, this has always been because for the last six years there has been transparency about my emotional affair, about my addiction to pornography, about all the help and and work that I've done in that world. My family knows anything where there's like explicit sexual content. It's like, let's just not like, I just don't want to. I just don't want to put my heart there, you know? And, uh, and I do wonder if if the Lord might be deepening that work both on in the area of like, sexual content, but, but also in the area of um, his like, like violence doesn't I don't know it doesn't I don't feel as much of this as it relates to violence. But then again, I don't really watch stuff that's like super violent, uh, intentionally, but but like war movies and stuff. I mean, there's a lot of violence there. But anyway, uh, all that to say that when it comes to God's name in vain I do. I find myself being really like. Like I want to I kind of want to curse back at them, which is probably not the right response, but but but like, don't do that. You beep beep, dude, I think you're the way, the way you articulate and talk about this. I think it's fitting because there's this weird thing that happens when it comes to this conversation. And I would love to dig into this because obviously, first of all, I'm also a hypocrite, right? I'm sure I've watched things that are not appropriate or whatever, but I'm having this conversation honestly, transparently putting my cards out on the table, taking the month of January off to say, okay, I'm guilty too. Let's just start there so that you don't feel this like Pharisee vibe. For me, I'm guilty too. Cool. I can wear that label if you want to give it to me. Now, as followers of Jesus who are claiming to submit ourselves to biblical standards, what are the biblical standards that we should adhere to? And what I find odd about this conversation is that for some reason, when it comes to media consumption, it always gets put under this vague personal, well, conviction of the Holy Spirit. I as if there are no absolute standards. Like, again, I'm not trying to call you out, Chad, but you even you articulate it in a way that seemed to suggest, well, for me and for for my current circumstances or not, everyone not, you know, if it doesn't bother you and I. Why is that? Why is it when it comes to overt violence, uh, foul language and explicit sexuality, do we relativize it and make it seem like it's just between the person and God, as opposed to there's an objective moral standard, and we're all imperfect, but should we not at least claim that this is the standard we're attempting to adhere to? What am I missing about this? I mean, I think the problem is that it's that's very difficult to do, especially in the world we're in with, like the amount of different content and platforms and different things. It's, um, if you start trying to draw a line, I don't know how you would do that. The most simple way to do that is what the sort of, you know, I joked at the beginning, but more kind of traditional, only churches. Gangsters like TV's bad don't watch TV. Right. And so TV is a sin. I mean, some churches that I remember when I was growing up in Brazil, there were churches that that was their policy. It was like watching TV is a sin. Now, that's that's an easy way to solve it. You kind of go, well, that's there's an absolute right there. But if you don't take that absolute then, I mean, what are we going to do? You know, make a list of the shows and movies that are that are okay and the ones that are not. Yeah. Steiger. Steiger. Approved films. So it is hard. I mean, I get what you're saying. I get Steiger. I approve them. Like, I get what you're saying because, um, it's frustrating or difficult to be in in a place where either that's not talked about or it's very, uh, you know, relativistic and kind of just so easy to be, um, what's the word? Cavalier? Where nobody really cares. Yeah. And so so so so that's, um, that that's that's why it's hard for me. I don't know how to do that. I don't know, like, even, you know, when you have, when you start having kids, you have to you have to filter. Then you have to start making decisions all the time, like, oh, how old's my daughter or my son right now? Can they watch this or can they not watch that? You know, it's it's complicated. So I don't know I don't know if I have an answer for you on that. I think that's great. Luke and I at some point want to find out what jacket that is you're wearing, because it looks really cool. And the whole time I'm confessing envy. But the for example, two examples one Hacksaw Ridge. Tons and tons of violence, war, violence, bloody, you know, bodies being blown up, all kinds of stuff. But an incredibly deep, spiritual, uh, powerful storyline of someone who is so convicted about how they're going to treat, uh, war and, and violence and all that. And so, so that's one and then two. I think it's what you just said a minute ago. Ben is like not being Pharisees. It almost feels like if we do the like, here's the approved Provoke and Inspire approved list to Luke's point. Like at what point does it just become a religious undertaking? Like there is so much violence and even sexual depiction in the Bible. And I'm not saying that there's sexual depiction in a pornographic sense, but some of the things that are in in the Bible, like the, um, the prophet is it I think it's Elijah that calls the bear out to maul the, the, you know, the kids that are taunting him. I mean, it's like there's some crazy violent stuff, obviously Old Testament, but still, it'd be a little weird to be like, hey, don't watch the violent stuff on TV, but it's fine to read the violent stuff in your Bible. Yeah, but again, I think these are somewhat simplistic ways to look at this. If I'm being perfectly honest. Like, obviously we know there are vast differences between descriptions in the Bible and the huge spectrum of entertainment that is, you know, pumped out there for us to consume. Obviously, there's also massive variations in the quality of art or the purpose of the reason why a particular thing is being depicted or displayed, whether it's sexuality or violence or otherwise. I guess for me, I can hold two truths in my mind at the same time. One being I'm a hypocrite and always will be, that ultimately, my obedience to God is a personal thing in the sense that I am not called. I feel like I'm called to hold others accountable, brothers and whatever. But but ultimately, I am responsible for my own obedience to God, and it's grace that saves me and not my works and all those things. I can hold all that to be true, while also having the ability to recognize that the Bible surely creates some standards that I can look to as a grid to determine a no. That's too far. I'm not going to do that. And frankly, I think it also comes down to my relationship with sin. Do I what do I want out of this life, ultimately? It's like, okay, yeah, sure. You probably can watch whatever you want. I just feel like really like, do we not have a a more Olympic athlete mindset when it comes to this to say that I, I am going to not just have a casual, cavalier attitude about this if it risks polluting my mind and weakening my spiritual life. Well, so then then I would go to. So this is how for me, practically, we can do it. Because I know I was saying before in response to, to you that it's like, you know, is it even possible? Like, how would we do that? How would we create some kind of, um, clear rules around, you know, what you consume, what you don't. For me, what I, what I get in the Bible is something more about. And maybe this is what you were. You were. You were challenging before, Ben. But like, the the can we can we be in a place in a state where we're hearing from God and we, and we do filter things by conviction of the Holy Spirit and by by making decisions as as we see different content, we're like, okay, now that's something that I is not going to do me any good. And and so for me, I'm thinking of like Romans twelve, um, that verse about renewing your mind. Right. So Romans twelve two says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is his good, pleasing and perfect will. So there's this. There's this concept in the Bible that the more I get to know God, the more I spend time with him. It actually does something to my mind and my heart, and it's actually possible for me to start to understand what his will is and how he sees things. And that, to me, has always been an amazing concept that the Bible is actually telling me that I, as a human being, am capable of starting to comprehend some small aspect of God's heart and his will and what he considers good and pleasing and etc. and and it's also the concept carries with it that that it's a thing you grow in, a thing that you develop in. And so I feel like that creates a context where rather than the Bible giving me a very black and white and clear set of rules, do this, don't do that. Which it does to some extent, but it's not everywhere. It also teaches me learn to know God's heart. Learn to grow in your understanding of of of how he sees things so that you can filter the world around you so that you can, uh, test and approve what God's will is. That's what that verse says. And so I think that that's probably the closest we can get to setting a absolute standard of how how to filter and curate, as you said, content. It's and this is how it goes for me and and it's I think it's the same for everyone. It's the same for me. This. So if I'm, um, if I'm not spending time with God and I'm not going into his word and not spending time in prayer, and I'm just kind of getting a bit undisciplined in my personal life, then my sensitivity to what I'm watching and consuming just just goes down. Right. I just don't it doesn't it doesn't I don't seem my heart doesn't care as much anymore when I start turning back to him, and I spend more time with him and more time in his word, I care more about those things and it feels like that sensitivity increases. Which is why doing something like what you're doing now, Ben, this month of January, where you said, I'm going to do a media fast, I'm going to it's like you're turning your mind back to God and switching something off to try to heighten your sensitivity again to what is good and what comes from God. So that when you said it yourself, when you go back to consuming content, you'll probably find that it's a different, uh, different experience. And so there's something there for me in that. Yeah. And I guess I just, I reject the straw man depiction of a more conservative approach to media consumption is just a relic of Amish people, or weird homeschoolers or conservative Christians, like, as if the only version of disciplined, godly, intentional media consumption is this outdated, prude Pharisee. And I'm like, really? Like we're going to cede that territory to that depiction of reality as opposed to what I feel it is, which is I trust and love God more than I know and trust myself. I believe that he has a design for my life that is vastly superior to anything that I could possibly conceive of. And I don't have to wonder if the entertainment industry is built and designed and motivated by things that are, by definition, not godly. Can God use the media world to produce beautiful works of art? Absolutely. But by and large, it's not driven by things that are God honoring. Therefore, you would think that I would want to be the kind of person that goes, okay, God, what do you think about this? And then maybe defer or err on the side of less, err on the side of higher standards. Err on the side of when in doubt. No. You know, and again, I started this by saying I'm a hypocrite and I'm happy to wear that label. But I'm taking this month to reevaluate because I don't want to get to the end of my life and go, did I need to do that? Like, yeah, I guess I could, I, I guess it was okay within the culture I lived in to watch all that crap. But did it really make me a more loving person, a better witness, a better father, a more a more faithful son to to the one who made me. To me, I just I just want to reclaim the intentional media consumer as a healthy vision and not as a moralistic prude, because I think that's a way to dismiss it as a valid option when I think it should be something we're calling each other to. Yeah, I think I'm my devotional this morning from Colossians two, uh, verse six says, therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. I mean, I think that that probably if we just applied sincere prayer and consideration of how does this affect my faith? Like, does this build me up? Does it encourage me? Does it pull me into a walk with Christ that that is, um, going to be more amazing and more powerful and all that than just that step alone, You know, it's like, I think the fact that you are taking time to ask the question is enormous. And most of us, myself included, are are not playing the the place of Pharisee. We're just playing the place of like, we don't care. You know, it's just like it's like out of sight, out of mind. I don't think about it. It's like I've been living this way for so long, I don't think about it. So to to pause and actually think about it and to be challenged like that's, um, it's kind of offensive because no one really wants to be challenged, myself included. But then like, you recognize like, huh, maybe there's something to this, you know, maybe I should be challenged because for so long, I just kind of go along with, you know, everybody else. Yeah. And I think it just it comes under a broader heading of just. I want to live an intentional life. Right. Like, I think life is moving. Right? And it is happening to you or you are you are imposing your will or ultimately God's will and his design for you onto the life that you're living. And for me, I had just felt this sense of why am I unquestioned pattern of constantly watching TV like, and I don't mean hours a day like, it's not like I wasn't doing anything else, but just that little pattern of every night, twenty, thirty minutes. I'm watching TV and and almost to the point where if a show, we'd kind of be, like, anxious when one of our current shows was ending, like, oh, we gotta find another show. Um, but but, you know, really like. And even I gotta be honest, dudes, even in this last set of days, there's been a liberating feeling to just be like, we're just going to go to bed, because at the very least, we're going to bed earlier. Like, at the very least, that's beneficial. And so to me, it's not judgmental. It's just living intentionally. Like, I want to be intentional with every part of my life, with my relationships with, with my diet, with with my vocation. I life is either happening to you or you are saying God in your wisdom and by your grace I want to live intentionally. And so that's what this comes down to. And I remember, um, hearing a long time ago, Chip Ingram, you guys remember old Chip Ingram? Uh, he talked about how he just made a decision many, many decades ago. I'm not watching R-rated movies. I'm just not doing it. And he talks about how it often came with this lament of, oh, but this movie, I've been told, is it's good. It's. Yeah, it's X, Y, and Z, and it's got this stuff in it, but oh, it's so the Lord of the Rings Extended edition. Those are great. I think. No, no. What kind of version of Lord of the rings are you watching, Chad? We call it the heads Will Roll Edition because there's so many. But think about that. Like Shawshank Redemption. Um, Braveheart, uh, Hacksaw Ridge. Glory. Like the movie, like, so. So I get it. But he. Now that to me falls into what you're saying, Luke in the category of I, I don't think that has to be universally enforced, but he has just made the decision. That's what he's going to do. And he's even admitted it's come at some quote unquote cost. But that's an example of him attempting to live intentionally. There's a there's a story that's, uh, well, convicted me when I first read it, and it's always kind of stayed in my mind, um, when it comes to the amount of consumption and how we use our time, and it's the David Wilkerson story. I don't know if you guys, uh, read The Cross and the switchblade. Um, but it's, you know, it's a classic, amazing story of God moving powerfully and, and, uh, kids getting saved in New York City. And the whole thing started by David Wilkerson, who was a pastor in somewhere outside the city, in the countryside. And he I can't remember exactly the details, but he just decided one day he had this habit of just watching TV each evening, and he just decided one day, you know what? I'm gonna instead of watching the TV. I'm going to go into my office and and have some time of prayer. And he kind of committed to that. And it was during those times of prayer that God drew his attention to this news report of gangs in New York, and God started really speaking to him. And that's how his calling came and how he went to New York and started doing that. And that's always convicted me when, when, when I feel like I'm getting into a rhythm of just too much of that, I'm like, man, David Wilkerson, you know, he he chose to not watch and to to pray instead. And but I'll be honest like that. That is a battle for me. Um, always has been an ongoing because I also know that rest is important and finding a way to unwind is important. And let's be honest, that is an easy way to unwind, to like, okay, I'm just gonna I'm gonna watch something and, you know, and, and I think, um, you know, so I've sometimes tried to think of. Okay, what are other ways I can do that? What are other things that can help me unwind so that I balance it out and stuff. Um, and I think I've, I've, I've tended to live by, by, um, not being, being careful to also not get legalistic on that because I know that creating a lifestyle of, um, just where everything is always so intentional and optimized create kind of a stress or a weird vibe where you, um, you know, you send in other ways then. And so, so I think, I think we've got to find a way of of unwinding. We need to I think entertainment is part of God's creation as well. I think that finding ways of enjoying and relaxing and having fun and laughing and you know, so yeah. So yeah, I don't know, I'm starting. No, no. Lots of random things. But that's but that story always hit me from David Wilkerson. Yeah. No. And I think there's nothing wrong with that. And I think I again, I don't think this is a binary thing. The one extreme is the throw away your TV and burn it. The other extreme is unguarded, untrammeled. No limits, no limitations. Obviously, I think most common sense would. People would agree that either extreme is not right. I think, again, it lies somewhere in the middle. I think we've probably gone a little too far in the unguarded quantity, and I think we could all benefit probably from doing a little bit less and maybe a quality over quantity approach. And maybe it's as simple as creating a system, you know, like I was joking about the book I read and how I didn't like it. You know, one of the things I've been working on in this new year is, okay, I heard this story of a guy who went into a library and there was like ten thousand books or something absurd in this library, and he was really proud of himself because he read twenty five books a year or whatever. It was, thirty a year, which is, you know, ninety five percent more than the average person. And he was like, in my entire life, I wouldn't even make a dent in this library. Right. And so he had this dread, like, I only got so many books left. Like I'm only gonna read. I don't know, three hundred more books in my life or five hundred, whatever it is. And so he it was an illustration of saying, I want to be I want to pick good books, I want to pick good books. And so I guess my point in this for you, Luke, and for me and all of us is let's create some parameters, some way of finding the good stuff. Because there is good stuff. There is great art movies that might even have some of these edges in it that, you know, like I think of Josh Porter, dear friend of mine has been on this podcast. You know, he'd be banging on the table being like, I watch all sorts of filth. Um, he's very he's very. Yeah. Man, that guy likes horror flicks. But the point is, the point is he's he's pretty far on that end. I don't know if we completely see eye to eye, but the point is, he doesn't watch crap. I know that he watches good art. And so, at the very least, from just a human perspective. Let's find some way to to curate. Maybe you have the perfect curator in your wife. Maybe you can sneak your filth, your little, you know, your smut on your own when no one's around. Every time. Every time you guys say curator, I think of Keurig and I'm like, thirsty for Keurigs are speaking of doing it right. Keurigs are not doing it right. I'm sorry, but Keurigs are like, no, it's basically one step above avoid. I have no idea what you guys are talking about. It must be an American thing. Chad closes with something pithy and relevant, will you? Pithy and relevant. Well, my title is Stranger of Things, and, uh, maybe for today. Maybe, maybe what we're really called to be is, you know, strangers in this world and, uh, not married to it. So that that is kind of what where I feel conviction, you know, am I marrying the world? And am I just kind of espousing the, the the things that cultural, uh, the culture around me, you know, loves and appreciates and but but then at the same time, I really, really like Stranger Things other than some of the content from season five. Yeah. And again, I'll say I said it once, I'll say it again. It is. It's bizarre, the level of blasphemy. It is almost like like it's it's really the point where I'm like, you're writing that script. You know, when you're writing and you realize in the same sentence you use the word, you know, extra parenthesis too many times. Right. Luke? Like, does that happen to you all the time? Yeah, that happens to me all the time. So you got to find you got to go into the thesaurus and you got to find a different way to express extra perennius. It's almost like it was in there so much that even just from a semantic perspective, you're like, bro, like, pick a different word. This doesn't make any sense. What are we doing here? But anyway, I dude, I like it too, man. I it's not that I don't like it. I'm with you. I miss my opportunity today because of you guys. Because, you know, Anna's just arrived back. I know this was your. You're in the corner with your trench coat on like Oh, I used my hour to do a podcast instead. That's good. Right? Wow. And maybe that's how you know, you're. Maybe it helps me unwind talking to you. Anya comes home. Luke, where are you? And you're like, I'm in the cupboard. Are you watching that? Stranger things again get whacks you with a newspaper. Stranger things again. I hate those monsters. Yeah, yeah. I gotta say, though, just from a pure entertainment evaluation perspective, the arc of that show is weird. Go back and watch the third episode of the first season. You don't even recognize the show. It's gotten so violent. The swearing, the like. It used to be kind of creepy and mysterious and nostalgic, and now it's just like G-d this and blow a guy's head off. I'm like, what are we doing? They basically butchered season five, but everything up until then was pretty. Yeah, well, I guess that's it was a nostalgia. I mean, I did grow up in Brazil playing RPG and listening to metal. You know, so it was. Yeah. So in other words, you didn't have friends, is what you're saying? Yeah. All right, we gotta go. I mean, this different friends. Imaginary friends in the Upside Down. Uh, look, boys, that was great. Love, y'all. Twenty twenty six is well and away here. And, look, it's not too late to join me. There's, what, twenty one ish days left in the month of January? Jump on the bandwagon. Cut it out. No TV, no movies. Not to be honest, I watched sports still. So speaking to my outlet. Nice. I don't think that counts. You can disagree with me in the comments. Um, but that's it. I think this was an edifying and interesting conversation. Let us know if you agree. Disagree on all the socials wherever we at Provoke and Inspire podcast. Org is the email address and David should be with us next week. That's it y'all good. Hopefully we got a good horizontal outro video. Let's see. Yeah let's hope.

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