While praying for His disciples Jesus said of us “…they are in the world, but they are not of the world.” “In” – “of” – those two short prepositions highlight a really big difference. We exist in this present fallen world. We can’t help it since we were born here and except for the hope of an end-time rapture, our only exit is death. This world we are in is full of the results of sin with evidence of man’s fallen nature found everywhere. It is our burden and struggle to deal with it. Yet Jesus also said that we are not “of” the world. In making that distinction the Lord made it clear that there is to be a distinction between unbelievers and believers and that there should be a clear and obvious contrast between them. In the book of Romans Paul said that the believer is no longer a “slave to sin”. We don’t have to sin or live lifestyles that reflect the fallen-ness of the world. The contrast between Christian and non-Christian lifestyles should be glaring. Yet when you look at the lives of the average Christian found in the churches of America it is often hard to tell the difference.

I say all that because during my exercises this morning I was thinking about the practice (that has become so ubiquitous in American society) of leaving the TV blaring all the time. It is something I would expect of an unbeliever (after all unbelievers are of this world), but what concerns me is that I see most Christians practicing the same thing. They turn on the television in the morning and it blares for the rest of the day. We should consider that the content of what is broadcast over the cables and airwaves is almost entirely the image of the antichrist. With the exception of a few good programs (punctuated by unsavory commercials) the programming of American television is hostile to Christ.

So, are you participating in this? Does your lifestyle include the constant blaring of the image of the antichrist in your home? I’ve had lots of people tell me that they just want it on for the noise. That’s a lame excuse – that “noise” is entering your thinking in a nonstop flow whether you are paying attention to it or not. The old adage “garbage in, garbage out” applies here.

I have two suggestions: First, if your living room is arranged around the television set then the television is the center of your household. That ought not to be and needs to change. Sell your big screen TV and buy a small model you can easily pick up and carry around. Then store it in a closet. When you want to listen to the president’s speech, watch coverage of a natural disaster, or just watch an entertaining video, take it out, set it up, watch your program, then put it away. Second, learn to discern good programming from bad. Check out the many online sources for reviews that come from a Christian perspective. Be in this world without being of it.