Discernment in the Secular
Allow me to start this article with a statement that may, for some, be controversial: not all secular media is bad, some of it even has great messages for the Christian.
Now, if you feel convicted to only consume Christian media, go for it! There is plenty of high-quality media out there by Christians and for Christians that also directly support our creative brothers and sisters in Christ. However, if you avoid secular media out of fear or out of a sense of “if it touches me, I’ll be contaminated”, I am going to lovingly offer that the fear or the moral superiority is a far bigger problem in your heart than the secular media. Yes, caution is needed when consuming any kind of media, but the sin is not what you consume, but how you respond to it (Matthew 15:11). You need to be cautious in guarding your own heart from doing evil and injury but avoiding secular media simply because it was made by “others” with no solid reason (i.e. “this piece of media blatantly glorifies xyz sin”). If you are unsure, pray and seek God’s council! He will give you wisdom if you ask for it, even for TV shows and movies!
The philosophy that secular media can have good messages for Christians ties back to the fact that all stories have both a theology and a morality. Sometimes they are bad, sometimes they are good, but it is not only entirely possible for a secular story to have good morality for the Christian, it is also not unexpected. Romans 2:15 states that:
“They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.”
Humans have God’s law in the form of their conscious; that is why there are almost universal cultural and legal mandates against stealing, fraud, adultery, murder, etc. The most un-Christian community or nation may glorify sin and commit horrible atrocities, but even among that mire, there will still be echoes of God’s law and commandments in what they create.
Note: some pieces of secular media are irredeemable garbage. No hate to the creators — our fellow image-bearers and human beings who Christ also died for — but humanity is a fallen, sinful mess. While I believe that most pieces of media have at least some redeemable qualities that the Christian can see and take to heart, there is a lot of media out there that should not be touched with a ten-foot pole. So, take the advice of this article when navigating secular stories, but don’t go looking for diamonds in cow manure. Learn to recognize when a piece of media simply is not worth your time and effort. If you feel unsure, ask God for wisdom and seek the counsel of other, faithful Christians around you!
So, how do we take a piece of secular media and pull it apart at the seams? How to we identify what media is worth our time and effort and what media is best left alone? This can be done in about two stages, first externally, then internally.
External
The goal of this stage is to pluck apart the story itself by asking a few questions about its purpose and nature.
What message is the story trying to get across? Is it God-honoring or selfish, sinful, and idolatrous?
Are there any good, Godly values in the story (i.e. selflessness, patience, love, nobility, etc.)? How much of the story is focused on these values and how much is focused on sinful values?
Are there any sins being shown in a positive light/something to achieve?
Why was the story created?
Once you have answered these questions, it should be fairly obvious whether or not the piece of media is suitable for the Christian audience. If the story glorifies sin or holds in high honor amorality as its main concepts, then it likely isn’t an acceptable thing for the Christian viewer. If, however, it doesn’t overtly encourage or glorify sinful behavior, then it might be worth a shot.
Internal
Now, just because a piece of media passes the tests for the average Christian, doesn’t mean that it is the right media for you. No story, no media, is without sin. No person, neither you nor I, is without sin (except Jesus). When we assess a piece of media for its value to us as a Christian, we absolutely must ask “would the sins in this media lead me to temptation?” Does the piece of media exacerbate or encourage your own pet sins in any way? This can be anything from drunkenness, inappropriate sexual relations, greed, idolatry (media can become an idol in and of itself!), anger, anxiety, theft, gossip, immodesty, pride, addiction, etc. etc. etc.
If a piece of media causes you to sin or aggravates your own internal temptations, no matter what it is, or how much you love it, you must remove it from your life immediately. Do not play around with any of that nonsense. No matter how others around you react, no matter if others look down on you for giving it up, no matter how much money you have spent on merchandise, no matter how much you have molded your life around it: it is not worth what the repeated temptation is doing to your spiritual life. If you want that closer relationship with God, you are going to have to lay it at His feet like a sacrifice.
With any piece of media you are feeling uncertain about, pray for wisdom and seek God’s counsel on it!
