Before Your Very Eyes

This past Christmas, our daughter Selah became very fond of the classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas. We loved watching this together, and we especially love the part where Linus tells the true meaning of Christmas. She still asks to watch it and knows all the names of the characters.

We decided to rent the Valentine's Day episode of the series for her to watch, and she was very excited to see the familiar characters on a new adventure. However, as the show progressed, I began to feel a tug in my spirit as the characters began speaking harshly and mockingly toward one another. As cute as it was to hear Selah saying, "good grease (grief)", she also started saying some of the lines from the show that we didn't like so much. So, we sent it back.

This is a sensitive issue, and you have to decide what works best for you and your family. For our family, we have decided to carefully guard what we allow our children to watch in this way. If we would not want our children to mimic what we see and hear on screen, we don't allow our kids to watch it.

When they are older and want to watch things we disagree with, we have decided to preview the show first, then sit down and watch it with them, discussing what is inappropriate about it. We want them to learn how to discern for themselves what is inappropriate and why, rather than just "no because we said so".

The challenge set before us today is to take a look at what is on the television in our homes and pray through what parameters you and you husband will set up for your family as well as how to teach your older children how to discern for themselves what they watch.

Turn away my eyes from looking and worthless things, and revive me in Your way.
Psalm 119:37

Father, I pray today for wisdom and discernment in how we spend our time in front of the television and what we set before our eyes. May we seek to honor You with what we watch and teach our children to desire to do the same. Please help me to make these choices in a way that brings You glory and impart that wisdom and discernment to my children. May we set no evil or worthless things before our eyes and may You heal and restore from any images already set before us that do not bring You glory. May we honor You with our minds, hearts, and eyes, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.