Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8 (ESV)
Chuck Klosterman, pop culture expert and author says this about media and entertainment: “Pundits are always blaming TV for making people stupid, movies for desensitizing the world to violence, and rock music for making kids take drugs and kill themselves. These things should be the least of our worries. The main problem with mass media is that it makes it impossible to fall in love with any acumen of normalcy. There is no 'normal,’ because everybody is being twisted by the same sources simultaneously.”
It’s a tragedy in today’s world that there’s no sense of this “normal.” Hollywood and Big Media celebrate the degradation of our society; they lift up and publicize the abnormal and sinful. They celebrate the most morally compromised and confused among us. The enemy has risen up and negatively influenced each and every aspect of America, especially Hollywood and those whom we have trusted to report facts, arguably the most influential aspect of today’s culture.
If we were to truly pray and then act upon Philippians 4:8, there would be no more twisting and perverting the news and entertainment that gets broadcast and shown all over the country. We need to pray for those in these industries. We need to pray they will focus their efforts on things that are true, things that honor God and his creation, things that are just and fair, things that are pure, things that are lovely and commendable, things that are excellent, and things that are worthy of praise to God the Father.
Those that are in in these industries and struggle daily to be pure and devoted to our Lord’s commandments deserve our prayers. Pray for their courage and integrity this day. Pray that God will bless them with gifts to shine in this ever-darkening world. Pray His light will shine through them.
PRAY FOR THE MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES TODAY
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.”
Luke 10:38–40
In her book The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom told the story of asking her father about something he didn’t think she was old enough to understand. She wrote: “He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case off the floor and set it on the floor. ‘Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?’ he said. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning. ‘It’s too heavy,’ I said. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘and it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It’s the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger, you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.’”
Many times the burdens that we carry are self-imposed. We find ourselves weighed down, not because of the duties and obligations we have, but because we have taken on things we should not. A prime example of this kind of burden is worry. But whatever the source of our burdens, we are invited to lay them down at Jesus’ feet and stop carrying the weight. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:29).
Today’s Growth Principle:
Do not allow yourself to be encumbered by burdens you were never meant to carry.
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