Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

I was praying the Our Father this morning where this portion really stood out:

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"

I felt grief over it because of something that so many of us do, and so many professing Catholics and Christians continue to do without discernment or repentance.

We pray this prayer and yet we allow temptation and evil right into our homes, right into our minds!

Yes, I am talking about media:  TV, magazines, books, movies, video games, music, social media, memes, apps, and advertisements.

Now, before I go any further with this rant of sorts I remind myself that we have differing levels of sensitivities to such things.  I am more sensitive than most, so I have to work on not being judgmental towards those who may watch something I wouldn't be able to stomach."

However, I do believe there ought to be guidelines.  I think it is outright obvious that shows like Game of Thrones should not be watched by any professing Christian.  If you do not feel convicted about that show I do wonder about your walk with Christ and compromises in your life.  I also think that binge-watching is not a prudent use of one's gift of time on this earth.  This is self-convicting because while I don't binge-watch TV shows, I do find myself wasting time mindlessly scrolling through facebook.  I am actively working on stopping that and will confess that.

Fr. Chad Ripperger has a youtube video that gives some practical guidelines for Catholics concerning TV and movies:

I really really encourage all who follow Christ to prayerfully and carefully reconsider what they allow into their homes and set before their eyes.  Even if you fast forward through the sex scene or look away from the gore or know that the celebrated sin is a sin and you wouldn't do that, the movie industry doesn't know that you averted your eyes.  All they know is that you paid good money or supported through viewing what they put out and that means they should put out more of it, push the envelope further, allow more compromise, more sin, more normalcy of deviancy into their shows.

Just look at History Channel or Discovery!  They've gone from documentaries worthy of lecture halls in the world's most prestigious universities to conspiracy theories, fake news, and false-intensity lame programming that just repeats the same format.  We've gone from charming TV shows of relatable characters to the sex, blood, gore, greed, fantasy, and deviancy of so many TV shows of today.  And if that's not bad enough the commercials are vile.  Most of the time you can't even remember what they are advertising for!

I'm just as convicted!  My kids can operate a zombie game on their tablets like it is nothing, but reading a chapter in a classic novel is like pulling teeth.  They can discuss the kids on youtube playing Minecraft, but complain about going to church and just say, "I don't know," when asked what they learned there.  They can enjoy hours of Teen Titans Go (which I do think is cleverly written, but really, it is just fun, idle entertainment and certainly not for binging upon) but are bored to tears over a fascinating documentary on a subject children should find intriguing.

It makes us weird.  I know.  We don't fit in with normal society as well, but that's just it.  Normal society isn't normal!  It's a deficiency!  It is mistaken!  It is wrong!  If all we have to talk about around the water cooler is the latest 50 Shades of Grey movie, or what went wrong with Star Wars, or how to beat the latest Halo game, then we have become stupid.  Utterly stupid.  This is not what God gave us brains for.

Friendships have been broken up over Twilight!  Marriages have suffered from the porn-filled movies and TV shows out there now, or from video game addiction.  Psychologists are busy with people dissatisfied with their lives and the rampant escape from reality that we Westerners so heavily indulge in.  This is evil.  This is how evil works.  This is how evil infiltrates.  This is how evil gets into the homes and creates pockets of rot that we slowly come to accept as normal, neuro-typical, and even developmentally appropriate.

If you truly pray Lead us not into temptation, then LISTEN to the Holy Spirit!  Heed those convictions!  How can He deliver us from evil when we are the very ones opening the doors and letting evil in and giving it the seat of honor!?

Turn off the TV.  Turn off the smartphone.  Delete the apps and video games.  Save binge-watching for when you have the flu and even then be careful what you watch.

And remember, we should not be entertained by what the Lord calls sin.