Shut That Thing Off

I was completely amazed at all of the noise surrounding the change in our country. It wasn’t about the economy or taxes, health care or foreign policy; it was about the change from analog to digital…television.
Once again, I was amazed. Call it ignorance or maybe even stupidity but I really could not have cared less one way or the other.

My wife and I have not had television in our home for nine years now. Yes, you read me correctly, no T.V., nine years. Yes…we’re fine, and thank you for asking.

Now, I know what you are thinking, you are saying to yourself that I am a pastor and that I have developed some religiously legalistic position against television, and probably have about 50 scriptures that I could quote in order to defend my position, and possibly even reveal to you the eternal damnation of the “box.”

No, not really, I just have found other things in my life that are far more valuable, like my wife and children, and the time we spend together talking, laughing, playing games, and being together. Since my opinions for or against television are not based on my beliefs in God, I would like to offer you some un-biased viewpoints to consider.
One day a parent came into my office and asked if I would speak to his son about his attitude, his disrespect, rebellion and so on; I said I would. I first asked him, the father, what his son had in his room.

My suspicions were that the young man had a television, phone, stereo, and possibly even a computer in his room, and I was right…all of the above. I asked this parent why he would give his son every reason in the world not to listen to his father and then demand his attention. There was no answer.

I humbly suggested that if the man wanted his son back he would have to take drastic measures that would include taking every thing out of the boy’s room that had his attention, his time and respect, and not to give it back until the young man had re-invested in the family.

Unfortunately the father left my office unwilling to do what I suggested, angry, and offended that I would even suggest such a vile thing. He never got his son back and the rest of the story is quite tragic. I realized that the issue was not with the young man at all but with the father. He believed the lie that he could set his children in front of a television and ignore them for years, and that everything would be alright. It wasn’t and it will not be.

If T.V. does nothing wrong but set there being left on all day it has done enough; far enough because it causes us to disconnect and to ignore those beautiful people in our homes that we are doing life with.

Here is a test question; when was the last time you told one of your children to hush because you could not here your “show,” or when was the last time that you ignored your husband or wife while they were in the same room with you? Have your children ever had a fight over the remote? Did you experience any stress or anxiety over the change over from analog to digital? Just asking.

I do not want to alienate you; I just want to challenge your thinking on this issue because it is important. I will be writing more about this in my next few columns because I want to get you thinking a little, not really about the evils of television, but more so about the precious moment that you are giving up that really belong to the ones you love. I will leave you with this thought.

I had a young man come to me one day who was upset that his dad never spent time with him. He felt alone, unloved, and even a little suicidal.

I asked him about his dad’s daily routine and he told me that every day his father came home from work, turned on the television, and sat here until he went to bed, never talking with the young man about much at all. I instructed the son to go home and pack up every television in the house, all of them, there were seven!

I knew the father was going to be upset and I prepared the boy for that but drastic times call for drastic measures. I told him to be seated in a chair in front of the place where the T.V. was normally located, to have the remote in his hands, and when his dad got home, to sit him down and say…”dad, I love you, and I really need to talk to you, what I am saying is that its me or the television, you choose.”

The boy got his dad back that day.