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)
This morning I started my day the way I have many before it. I woke up, did a quick workout, prayed, and made breakfast for my beautiful bride Amber and me. This morning I found it difficult to focus on prayer as the scenes from a movie I recently watched were echoing in my mind. The movie was a musical, a kid’s movie, but the songs were playing in my thoughts over and over, I couldn’t escape them; I couldn’t turn the music off.
This may seem incredibly silly to you, but the movie I’m talking about is Sing 2. For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, it is an animated musical. Believe it or not, I love the Sing 2 movie, even more than I enjoyed the original, Sing. The movie is chalked full of cute, bright, seemingly innocent music, dancing, and positivity. You might be able to tell from the clues I’ve already given you, but this morning I find myself convicted. Why? Keep reading.
I’ve said it many times that the enemy often attacks us through the arts. From the music we listen to, to the movies and TV we watch, to the books and other media we consume, there is a battle on for our hearts and minds. One particular song from Sing 2 was echoing in my mind this morning and the scene was playing out in my thoughts. The song in question and the scene are both incredibly sexually suggestive. In a kid’s movie? Exactly.
Some of you are going to finish reading today’s devotion with mixed emotions. Some of you, like me, love Sing 2 and other movies like it. You are going to ask yourself, “isn’t Daniel taking this a little too seriously?” That is the question I keep asking myself this morning. The conviction from God to me this morning is clear: often the enemy uses the seemingly harmless, cute things in life to create a foothold in our minds and lives. From here, the foothold Satan has strategically placed, he launches relentless attacks against our mind and morals.
In our focal Scripture for today, the Apostle Paul challenges us to “think about these things”. What are these things? Things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or worthy of praise. The song that is playing on repeat in my mind this morning is none of these things. The scene and the song are not honorable, pure, commendable, or worthy of praise. Instead, the scene and the song was sexually suggestive, impure, unholy, and unnecessary.
So… what’s the point? As silly as it seems, and as much as I love the movie, I can’t help but think about how it has affected me this morning. I was unable to focus when I was praying. I was unable to turn the volume down. I was unable to change my thought focus. I was dwelling on something that was seemingly cute and innocent that not only invaded my mind but is also influencing me and my family. I can only see one way to move forward… to delete the movie and explain to my children why we won’t be watching it again.
Think back to day 22 of our devotional, “Killing the Lion.” Imagine those things that you are thinking about as cuddly, cute little kittens. They are warm, fuzzy, and fun. They run around the world of your mind bumping into other thoughts, getting into things they shouldn’t be in, and keeping you up at night. They are only cute little kittens now… what happens when they grow into fierce, full-grown lions? The solution seems simple, get rid of, or kill the thoughts while they are weak and undeveloped.
You can keep thinking that the media you are consuming is no big deal. You can keep convincing yourself that you are a grown man or woman and giving up a show that doesn’t honor Christ is too fanatical. You can keep telling yourself that you can consume media unphased and unchanged. If I had to guess, this is why Satan is so effective at attacking us through the arts. You could keep pretending, or you could stop, pray, and seek God’s wisdom on the subject.
Today I want to challenge you to seriously ask yourself if what you are watching and listening to is honoring Christ. If you aren’t sure, use the filter below on whatever you’re thinking about.
Ask yourself, is this:
- True
- Honorable
- Just
- Pure
- Lovely
- Commendable
- Excellent
- Worthy of praise
For those of you who are still reading, if the answer is “no”, what are you going to do about it? Most will simply keep consuming these things until they’ve consumed part of themselves. But, and I’m hopeful for you today, some of you are about to make some changes. What do you need to do to kill the sin before it kills you?
Father, forgive me for thinking about sin as a game. Lord, forgive me for not seeing the true cost of sin. Jesus, I’m thankful that You paid the price for my sin. I pray today that You would open my eyes and ears to be able to see and hear how the things I watch are influencing me. Lord, I confess that often I want to ignore, downplay, or minimize how the arts can impact my life. Holy Spirit, please help me be courageous to get rid of things in my life that are harming me or my family. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
