Three years ago, Steph and I decided to cancel our TV subscription and try Netflix instead. We did this primarily for two reasons – we were getting tired of all the filth and profanity on TV and secondly, it would save us a few bucks. For the most part, we were happy with Netflix because we were able to watch our kinds of shows and without all the commercials. Last year we switched from Netflix to Amazon Prime, once again because it was cheaper. Still, we weren’t entirely satisfied. We were able to watch good, wholesome shows and movies, but something was still missing. Our solution was to take the month of January and watch nothing at all. That’s right – no TV for a full month (some of you are probably gasping right now).

One month later, having met our goal, I can honestly say we barely missed the TV at all. TV for us was almost exclusively an evening activity, after the kids went to sleep. It was our time to relax and kick back, but the problem was it was costing up precious time to talk with one another. The funny thing is that just this morning Steph was even talking about getting rid of the TV all together. I don’t think we will be going back to our old TV watching ways anytime soon.

In the book, Don’t Waste Your Life, John Piper offers the following:

Television is one of the greatest life-wasters of the modern age. And, of course, the Internet is running to catch up, and may have caught up. You can be more selective on the Internet, but you can also select worse things with only the Judge of the universe watching. TV still reigns as the great life-waster. The main problem with TV is not how much smut is available, though that is a problem. Just the ads are enough to sow fertile seeds of greed and lust, no matter what program you’re watching. The greater problem is banality. A mind fed daily on TV diminishes. Your mind was made to know and love God. Its facility for this great calling is ruined by excessive TV. The content is so trivial and so shallow that the capacity of the mind to think worthy thoughts withers, and the capacity of the heart to feel deep emotions shrivels.” (page 120)

I would encourage you to examine your entertainment viewing habits. I am not saying you should give up TV and entertainment completely, but simply to take a serious, sober look at your entertainment consumption. Our Lord only gives us a short time here on earth – may we use every moment to His glory.