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The Bible on Entertainment - PART 2 When Entertainment Becomes Sin

We want to know what the bible says about entertainment. First, let's define the word, "entertainment." As simply as I can put it, entertainment is any activity that brings an individual some form of pleasure.

Now, the next question is, is it a sin to enjoy pleasures or seek after pleasure? It depends. There are good things that bring us pleasure (love, sports , food, outdoor activities, hobbies, etc.) There are also pleasures that God forbids (drunkenness, sexual immorality, etc.)

So, at what point does pleasure become sin? Here's what I found in scripture:

Prov. 10:23 - "A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct"

Prov. 21:17 - "He who loves pleasure will become poor."

Ecles. 2 - "I said to myself, "Come now, let's give pleasure a try. Let's look for the `good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless."

Ecc. 7:4 the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

So, pleasure becomes sin when:

A. …we get a sense of pleasure while engaging in bad or evil conduct.
B. …we love pleasure to the point of overindulgence or excess.
C. …we seek after pleasure to give our lives purpose and meaning.
D. …we allow pleasure to become one of our heart’s main desires.

So, How does a Christian determine the types of entertainment to avoid?

Regardless of our own personal convictions, and I realize that their are many differing convictions on this subject. As Christians, we should seek out the principles in scripture and carefully apply them to every part of our life, including our choices of entertainment.

When someone makes a pot of coffee, they use a filter to make sure that none of the coffee beans get into the pot when the water is strained through the coffee beans. Without the filter, the pot of coffee would be ruined. We use filters in our homes so as to prevent dust from getting into our air-conditioner. Again, without the filter, the air-conditioner would soon be ruined. The idea of a filter is to allow something good to pass through while holding back something that is bad, or undesirable. The idea of a filter is perfect for illustrating the need to consult the principles in the Word of God to "strain" what we choose to entertain ourselves with, so as not to be "ruined" by the corrupting influences of worldly entertainment.

From my study of scripture, there seem to be five "filters" with which a Christ follower should utilize to make choices on the type of entertainment they expose themselves to.

1. The CONTENT filter
2. The DARKNESS filter
3. The CONSCIENCE filter
4. The STUMBLING BLOCK filter
5. The Philippians 4:8 filter

I will go through these one at a time. I will explore the Content filter in Part 3.

Part 3
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To view this entire essay in all it's parts click the link below:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dd39qkdv_128g6hwg3dr

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