Secret of Contentment Part VI

The most damaging thing we can put before our eyes is pornography. Pornography has the potential to destroy the purity of the unmarried and the faithfulness of the married. It is a breeding ground for discontentment. The lines between pornography, entertainment, and media grow more blurry every day.

Some men can't accept a real woman just the way she is because their concept of what beauty is has been badly distorted by media and pornography. Some men have a twisted concept of sexuality, they are discontent with their wife because she isn't like what they see on TV, in the movies, in advertisements, and in magazines. I am not blaming men, unless they are the one in charge of the advertising campaign, or are the editor of the magazine, or are producing or distributing porn. I am simply pointing out the reality that men are under attack in our society.

Women are also under attack. Women can't accept themselves!! We spend billions on beauty products every year. We diet, we binge and purge, we visit plastic surgeons. Some of us dress provocatively. And most of us dye our hair. All in an attempt to live up to the idea of beauty that society places on our gender. We are discontent with ourselves. The entertainment industry, as I discussed at length in my series on movie heroes, has also caused women to be discontent with mortal men. We want our man to be sculpted, sexy, sensitive, smart, and sophisticated. But that is not enough. We also want a man who is rich and generous!

No wonder we are all so discontent!!

There are so many TV shows and movies that “push the envelope” further and further. Our culture is like the proverbial frog in the pot of water that is being heated gradually, and now we are being burned. If we don’t get out, and quickly, we are going to be destroyed.

Do not fool yourself into thinking, “If it is on prime time television it is OK.” It is not OK. Not only are many of the characters morally bankrupt, but also what is shown visually ought to be illegal. I can’t think of a single show where an unmarried woman is choosing to remain pure. In fact, the only example I can even think of is “Donna” from the original 90210.

Even in movies that are supposed to be for the whole family, sexual innuendos abound. We try to comfort ourselves with the belief that these comments go right over the heads of our children, but are these movies really appropriate entertainment? Anything that gives the message that sex outside of marriage is OK, or the message that a woman without a man is “incomplete” is inappropriate.

Any media message that makes you feel in any way that a life of purity and devotion to Christ is not enough, in other words, if it incites discontentment, it is not worth your time.

We must guard our contentment by not allowing our eyes to dwell on something we do not or should not have. Anything that you want more than you want Jesus is a High Place and must be demolished. If you catch yourself looking at a person (real or fictional), a lifestyle, or any material thing you know is not for you. Stop looking at it. It is clearly an act of your will to do so.

Keeping your physical eyes pure is an important first step in finding the secret to contentment.