Would You View It With Your Pastor Beside You?

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Would you view it with your pastor beside you?

Don’t act like you are unsure of what I am talking about. You know what “it” is. Everyone has “it.”

  • “It” is your regular media consumption.
  • “It” is that show you don’t miss.
  • “It” is that series that you binge-watch.
  • “It” is those videos you watch.
  • “It” is those pictures you scroll.
  • “It” is that site you frequent.

You know what “it” is, but would you view “it” with your pastor beside you?

If you think it would be awkward to view your media consumption with your pastor beside you, have you stopped to realize that God is always with you?

The image of your pastor beside you is a tangible way to process what you watch. You don’t need to fear him, but you might need to wake up to another reality. While it might be awkward to view your favorite media beside your pastor, it is audacious that we would view it with an uncaring realization that God always sees us.

  • No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Heb. 4:13).
  • The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good (Prov. 15:3).
  • “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD (Jer. 23:24).
  • You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways (Ps. 139:3).

When David was attempting to live free from entangling sin, he made a commitment: “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless” (Ps. 101:3).

Worthless. Don’t look at anything worthless. What could you view that could be lacking worth?

While I know that David’s words were written thousands of years ago, I believe they are needed right now just as much as ever before.

If the stuff you are viewing in digital or print format lacks worth, you are harming your spiritual sensitivity and distorting your normative standards.

  • Harming Your Spiritual Sensitivity – When you casually view sinful things, you are diluting your spiritual vitality. You must commit to fighting against the lust of the eyes (Job 31:1; Matt. 5:28; Prov. 6:25; James 1:14-15).
  • Distorting Your Normative Standards – As you continually fill your eyes with photoshopped bodies and scripted acts, you are distorting what is normative and good. As a result, what should be sufficient and celebrated in your life (like a spouse) becomes insufficient and disregarded.

Have you considered the worth of what you are viewing?

If you wouldn’t view it with your pastor beside you, I doubt you should be viewing it at all.

[For more teaching on this topic, check out the sermon, “Pursuing Personal Integrity.”]