Lord of Our Entertainment

I have to give full credit for the title of this post to Heather Wood who used this phrase in an Instagram story to promote the #ClearlyChristianReadathon. Thank you for using this term as it's been in my head ever since I saw it!

In thinking about what it means to have Jesus as the Lord of my life, this clearly and obviously extends to how I fill my time and what content I consume. Although my reasons for being more intentional with my reading were initially pragmatic (as in if I die soon, did I waste a lot of time in my life reading things that weren't even that great?), I also see how it can both reflect my walk with God and shape what it becomes.

Though I'm sharing a lot of content about the Clearly Christian Readathon, I'm encouraged to think of all of my entertainment choices in the light of eternity. While I've certainly struggled with this at different times in my life, it's been hitting me in a different way now. I confess that even quite recently, I have chosen to mostly stick with Christian or "clean" forms of entertainment for the primary reason that it was sanitized, not necessarily that it glorified God. I'm not saying that this is the worst reason, but that I clung to it because I found the materials both safe and comfortable. I knew that I wouldn't be exposed to certain things like gore, gratuity, or worse, which meant that I didn't have to question my entertainment choices. In a way, my brain could go into auto-pilot without a lot of thinking involved.

However, I've recently been convicted by the notion that I might be settling for milk, rather than solid food in my content consumption (very loose reference to 1 Corinthians 3:2). Even if some of my entertainment choices are safe, are they good or the best? One example is that for years, I've watched a lot of Hallmark movies, even borrowing them from the public library back in the day when they weren't as broadly aired on TV. However, this year, I don't think I've watched too many. I'm not saying that Christians shouldn't watch Hallmark movies, especially compared to some of the other content out there, it's more that I've been busy with other things that have more purposefully pointed toward God instead. I've also found it refreshing to be actively engaged in whatever I'm reading, watching, or listening to, rather than passively consuming it like I did with the Hallmark movies on in the background. In thinking about this choice, I've been wondering if I'm making a mental shift from "good enough" to craving what the very best or the most excellent may be. This is the language that I've adopted in the last few weeks where I'm constantly asking that of the next book that I read: is this book amazing at pointing to God or just barely passable? Let me just say that it's definitely helped with my TBR pile!

I recognize that making this mental shift isn't as easy for me as I sometimes just want an escape, and am willing to settle for something easy to consume, whether that's a rom com or something equally light. However, if Jesus is the Lord of my entertainment, am I going one step further and doing what is needed to ensure that the material is also honouring to Him? One thing I've observed is that there is a more recent shift in reading Christian romance to reading closed door romance. Christian authors can of course write closed door romances, but given the choice between the two, would I rather read something overt about Jesus or something that may hint at a Christian teaching but is quite covert? I'm at the point in life now where I would rather be challenged in my faith and grow in my understanding of God than to surmise that something might allude to Him.

With Jesus as Lord of my entertainment, I need to move from my need for comfort to being willing to be challenged. I no longer want to settle for average materials, I want ones that so clearly glorify Him that my mind is continually filled with praise toward Him. I don't think it means that I'll never read generic books or watch Hallmark movies again, but I hope it means that I'll do a better job of prioritizing what's more important in an effort to grow as a Christian. I'm also cognizant that just because a book or movie explicitly references God, it doesn't mean it's the best either. If you've read a few of my recent reviews, you can see how it's an imperfect process to choose what to spend time in. Lord willing, I pray that I may have more discernment going forward and that I can become more sanctified as a result of being in His Word and in His teachings more. May the Christian books I read be for His glory alone.