An engaged couple boasts that their marriage will allow for adultery by both spouses. High school students are sitting around discussing their sexual exploits when a counselor approaches the group and tells them homosexuality is ninety-nine percent natural. A teacher who is upset that her seventeen year old son has a male sex partner is admonished by the vice president of her school to get over her homophobia. A man who was found guilty of shooting an abortionist rationalizes his crime by saying, "When I looked through the scope, it was like the Lord slipped his hand inside mine. Like a glove you know, and put his finger around the trigger." A man uses God's name in vain some twenty-eight times.
Every scenario I just described appeared on prime time television in January.
Poison control.
When I was in grade school a government agency came into our school and taught our class extensively about the dangers of poison. They taught us how ordinary everyday household cleaners, detergents, and medicines could pose a significant threat to our lives, if ingested. They gave us a package of poison control stickers and told us to have our parents place those stickers on everything in our house that was lethal. I distinctly remember putting those stickers everywhere! I put one on my brother's bunk bed, on cans of paint and solvent in the garage, and on all the household cleaners.
But my parents and I never put a poison control sticker where it was needed most. We never put a poison control sticker on the television set, the VCR, the radio, the stereo system, the eight-track (remember those?) or my Sony walk-man. Experts say that the most dangerous kind of poison is the kind that is most accessible! The most dangerous poison is the poison that looks harmless on the surface, that sits out in our living rooms, and that we allow our children access to.
Desensitization.
The truth is that we treat our television sets more like candy than poison! We have grown numb to the threat of television because we have been desensitized. We don't react to the poisonous programming of television because our television sets have trained us to be passive and disengaged. William Bennett recently wrote a little book entitled the Death of Outrage. The title of that book describes perfectly what is happening in homes across the United States. We don't really care anymore. Nothing gets under our skin. Nothing gets us spitting mad. Nothing offends us. Very little incites us. In fact, quite the opposite is true. We keep tuning in each night for just a little more. Can't-say-no parents let their children dictate what they will watch, when, and for how long, and even give their children television sets to watch in their bedrooms! And yet television programming continually spirals lower and lower.
A case study in media desensitization: homosexuality.
For several decades the media has been desensitizing us to homosexuality. A long time ago the sitcom "Three's Company" hit the airwaves. Jack Tripper was the roommate who pretended to be a homosexual so that his landlord would allow him to live in an apartment with two women. The program was a big hit. The show got America laughing about homosexuality.
But then Hollywood began writing homosexual characters into the background of various sitcoms and movies. At first people were fired up. But then they got used to the idea so long as these characters weren't the lead characters. But then came Ellen Degeneres. With Ellen, these characters moved out of the background and into the foreground. These homosexual characters became the lead characters and their homosexual lifestyle became the main storyline. In the last year reality television shows like "Survivor", "Big Brother", and "Real World" started including real life homosexuals, not just actors.
A theme in these shows is getting contestants to overcome their homophobia and embrace homosexuality as a normal natural lifestyle. In recent months a concerted effort has been made to actually show homosexual acts on television. For example, MTV has two college age men laying in bed together kissing. There is talk of starting a twenty-four hour cable television channel devoted to gays and gay issues. Shows like Bill Marr's "Politically Incorrect" have blatantly attacked people, and especially Christians, who believe homosexuality is wrong.
Over the years the television has been the vehicle used to change the American mind. And so what we have experienced is a gradual numbing of our consciences to the degree that we don't even flinch at blatant acts of immorality or innuendo. Jude 1:23 (NIV) teaches that as Christians we should hate, "even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." In contrast, must-see-television teaches us to love the sleaze and keep asking for more. Television trains us to tolerate and even embrace the very sinful acts that we should hate and be fighting against! Television teaches us to apologize for having Christian morals.
Another case study in media desensitization: Harry Potter.
It's not just the television set. It is also the movies and the books that we read. A significant number of parents and church leaders have embraced the Harry Potter books. As you know, the first four Harry Potter books hit the world like a tidal wave. Over thirty-three million copies of these books have been sold. The series occupied the New York Times bestseller list and is being translated into forty-two different languages. The recently released Harry Potter movie opened up in a record-breaking number of theatres around the world. Now there are lunch boxes, backpacks, and posters with Harry Potter likenesses.
At first Christian groups embraced the series, praising it for its ability to captivate young readers who often are reluctant to read. Others dismissed the series as nothing more than pure and innocent fantasy. But now the tide is beginning to turn. Just because these books are fiction doesn't diminish their ability to influence the beliefs of young people and adults.
In these books witches and wizards are portrayed positively. In contrast, from Harry Potter's perspective, ordinary blinded, biased humans who don't believe in witches and wizards or who think witches and wizards are dangerous are negatively referred to as muggles. Phyllis Curott, a self-proclaimed witch, told ABC News that she finds value in the Harry Potter book series. "Sure, you see are seeing witches in Harry Potter do things they don't do in real life. But it is positive. They are friendly. They are good. The book might change the way people feel about us."
After reading the books, children's imaginations dream of having access to the power that Harry Potter has. Through these books children are introduced to the tools that today's witches and wizards are using. They learn how to cast spells and mix potions that mirror the real life practices of witches and wizards. For example, in the first book Professor Snape teaches about the power of potions that "creep through human veins bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses..."
Other occult themes in these books include spiritism, astrology, and palmistry. Librarians report a significant increase among school children in requests for information about the occult. Numerous Harry Potter websites are hyperlinked to the websites of practicing occultists who seek to ensnare children with the dark arts and curse casting.
The Bible is crystal clear about the place of the occult in the lives of Christians. Deuteronomy 18:9-12 (NIV) says, "When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you."
The media and the Christian mind.
Intentionally or unintentionally, our culture has launched an all out frontal assault on our Christian minds. Through surround-sound technology, high definition television, state of the art graphics, clever marketing ploys, the internet, satellites, DVD's, and walkmans, our culture has learned to harness the power of our thoughts and imaginations. By harnessing the power of our thoughts and imaginations even for thirty seconds, advertisers know they can begin to change our behavior.
This is why thirty seconds is worth a million dollars during the Super Bowl! By controlling the education system and rewriting history textbooks, and by reworking definitions in psychological textbooks, liberal groups have effectively trained up a generation of youth to promote their values. By controlling the media and dictating content on news programs and sitcoms, producers have fashioned a culture that tolerates virtually everything. This tolerance includes abortion, adultery, promiscuity, fornication, divorce, violence, homosexuality, pornography, lust, and atheism. Just name it!
The battle of the mind.
For centuries God has been calling upon Christians to reclaim their thoughts and harness the power of the mind for noble purposes. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) Paul says, "...we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." In Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV) Paul says, "...set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
In Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV) the apostle Paul says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me— put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
Most Christians have greatly underestimated the power of the human mind. Most Christians fail to acknowledge that the key to unlocking life change is to first train our thoughts on those things that are of Jesus Christ. The mind is the seedbed for all evil. When evil is sown in the thoughts of the mind, evil sprouts up. We reap in deed what we sow in thought. The mind is also the seedbed for all that is good. When righteousness is sown in the thoughts of our minds, good fruit sprouts forth. We reap what we sow.
I want you to see your thoughts as one of the realms of spiritual warfare. When most people want to stop a sinful habit, they focus on behaviors. They say, "Okay, I'm tempted. What should I do now? What would Jesus do?" When they fail, they beat themselves up. They heap on loads of guilt and shame. Have you ever been there? I know that I have!
Consider a more effective approach. In Matthew 5:27-30 (NIV) Jesus says, "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. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."
What is Jesus teaching here? Well, he is not teaching us to mutilate our bodies! Jesus is teaching us to cut sinful behaviors off at their source. An adulterous act has its origin in the lustful thoughts of the mind. A roaming eye and disobedient hands feed those lustful thoughts. James 1:14-15 (NIV) says, "...but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
Fight sin first in the mind.
To stop a sinful habit you must first stop a sinful behavior. But to stop a sinful behavior you must first stop a sinful thought. To stop a sinful thought you must avoid the situation that produces the thought. To fend off a sinful thought indefinitely you must discipline your hands, feet, eyes, and body to continually avoid that situation. And you must also replace that thought of evil origin with a thought of righteous origin. Righteousness is the result.
In Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV) Paul is giving us the criteria that should guide our thoughts. He says "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me— put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
The early Church frequently gathered for times of intense Bible study, scripture reading, prayer, praise, song, worship, memorization, and meditation. By training their minds they knew that they were in fact training their bodies, training themselves for obedience, and training themselves for righteousness. And so they filled their minds with things that were truthful, honorable, right, pure, lovely, excellent, and praiseworthy. They were filling their minds with things that accentuated the goodness of Christ. They harnessed the power of their minds so that they could train their bodies for obedience instead of for unrighteousness.
You can overcome that plaguing sin in your life by taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Jesus Christ. Don't fill your mind with the poisonous manna from Hollywood. Fill your mind with Christian music. Memorize scripture. Read scripture. Study scripture. Meditate on Christ's example. Pray to God. Worship every chance you get. Attend Bible school. Get in a small group or study cell. Go to the women's ministry. Go to the men's ministry. Spend time with God's people. Reflect on the godly example of other Christians. Read Christian books. Sowing these types of thoughts will produce the spiritual change you desire. Such thoughts will free you from the grip of habitual sin and spiritual defeat.
In closing, consider Colossians 3 with me for just a moment. Colossians 3:5-11 lists all the ungodly behaviors we should put to death. Colossians 3:12-17 lists all the godly behaviors that we should clothe ourselves with. Colossians 3:1-4 tells us the secret to unlocking this transformation. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
Sounds like a good starting point to start chipping away at sin. Get your thoughts in order.