Did You Get The Point?

I've been quietly reading and trying to decide what I think about Dr. Bauder's articles on Entertainment that have been posted on SharperIron. I must admit that I will need to go back and re-read them all, now that the final installment is out, but as I read the newest post today, I find myself essentially in agreement with one portion of what he's written:

To the extent that theater is a moral phenomenon and to the extent that it appeals to the appetites, I suspect that our ability to evaluate it is similarly limited. At any rate, I have noticed this in myself: the more I expose myself to theater (whether stage or screen), the more of it I want and the less thoughtful and discerning I become in what I want. I can easily allow myself to be captivated by stuff that I know is wrong. If someone challenges me, I find that I respond viscerally rather than rationally. If my wife snaps off the TV, I am instantly irritated because I want to see that ungodly stuff. If I continue exposing myself to profane perspectives and depictions, they quickly carry over into the real world, and I find myself no longer shocked at sin.

Sounds depraved, doesn’t it? In fact, it is. My depravity takes only a bit of stirring up, and it is ready to go. The point is, however, that I don’t begin by seeking out theater that will give me wisecracking attitudes, foul language, inhumane violence, or risqué double entendres. I start out looking for a bit of amusement. I want a diversion, and I begin with something that looks innocent. Once that choice is made, however, the slide begins. How far it would carry me eventually, I don’t know. And I hope I never find out. That’s one reason why I have chosen to distance myself from the medium.

Maybe I am the only one whose depravity works this way. Perhaps what I’m admitting is so unusual that others are never bothered by it. They may even find it bizarre. I have noticed, however, that when the topic of theater comes up, contemporary Christians tend to react just the way that I do when my wife snaps off the television...Merely to raise the issue is to ask for abuse.

I've noticed this myself - just the other day as a matter of fact. I was going through some old videogames and wondering why I'd even bothered to buy some of them that were obviously wrong for a believer to own. The answer? It started out quietly and slowly - with just a little diversion, or something to help me unwind.

I'm not going to come out and say that all theater, TV, music, or whatever is sin. What I am saying - and what I think the point is - is that we need to be sober and vigiliant because not only do we have an adversary in the Devil and his legions, but within our own selves. I hope that the people who read this article get that point before we all engage in Christian Jihad on someone who points out the 'beam in our eyes'.