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Day 5
The Teeter-totter Principle
By Al Menconi
During
a question-and-answer session after one of my seminars, a mother
voiced a concern that seems to be on every parent's mind:
"How
can I talk to my son about his rock music without making him feel
that I'm attacking him? He gets so defensive and he claims that
his music doesn't affect him. How can I get him to see the impact
this music is having on his life?"
I could sense the pain in
her voice. She knew she should do something,
but her son had resisted everything she'd
tried. She knew it was important to set
entertainment guidelines, but she didn't
want to destroy the connection she had
with her child.
The best means I have found for doing
this is to use a spiritual teeter-totter.
It's a simple but effective model to
understand how music and other forms
of entertainment can affect our lives.
A teeter-totter (or see-saw) is a straight
board balanced on a fulcrum. When the
center of the board is placed on the
fulcrum, it balances perfectly. When
weight is placed on either side of the
board, it will naturally tilt to the
side with the most weight.
On our teeter-totter, the board is
our spiritual life. The fulcrum is Colossians
2:8 which says, "Don't
let others spoil your faith and joy with
their philosophies, wrong and shallow
answers based on men's thoughts and ideas,
instead of on what Christ has said." This
is the balancing point by which we can
measure the weight/impact of entertainment
in our Christian lives. Any weight placed
on the board on either side of the balancing
point means the board will tilt in one
direction or the other.
Of course, nothing contradicts the
teachings of Christ more than the philosophy
of the Satanic Bible. People think this
book commands people to worship Satan
through blood sacrifices and black masses.
Actually the highest law of the Satanic
Bible is: "Satan represents indulgence,
rather than abstinence." In other
words if it feels good do it! The second
Satanic principle is to deny Jesus and
biblical values. Simply put in five words: LIVE
FOR SELF/DENY JESUS. This is
the philosophy represented on the left
side of the teeter-totter.
On the right side of our teeter-totter
is the philosophy of Jesus: "If
anyone would come after Me, he must deny
himself, take up his cross, and follow
Me” (Matthew 16:24 ).
Simply put into five words: LIVE
FOR JESUS/DENY SELF. Can you
see how the philosophies of the Holy
Bible and the Satanic Bible are total
opposites?
The teeter-totter now can become an
effective tool to demonstrate the impact
of entertainment on a Christian's life.
Does your entertainment lean toward the
philosophy – LIVE FOR SELF/DENY
JESUS? Or does it lean in the
opposite direction of LIVE FOR
JESUS/DENY SELF? Which direction
would you like it to lean?
Reflection: Where
does entertainment fit on the teeter-totter
of your life? What are the philosophies
of your favorite music, shows, games,
and entertainers? Are they closer to
the values of the Satanic Bible or the
Holy Bible? Do the lifestyles of your
favorite performers reflect a desire
to live for Jesus or for self? Do these
artists or programs teeter towards biblical
values or totter toward the Satanic philosophy
of life?
Response: Take some
time to think about the Reflections listed
above. Without being critical of others,
try to explain the teeter-totter to a
friend. Try putting together an actual
model teeter-totter – one that
will easily fit on a table or a poster
on your wall. Show your family what you
have put together. Explain the Teeter-totter
principle to them.
Verse of the Day: Romans 6:12-13
"Therefore do not
let sin reign in your mortal body so
that you obey its evil desires. Do
not offer the parts of your body to
sin...." (NIV)
This verse reinforces the fact that
we can and should control our environment—and
that our environment has an influence
on our desires. I don't know any Christian
who wants sin to reign in his life, but
I have talked with many who have confessed
that they are unable to stop their sinful
cycle. Maybe the problem is that we are
offering parts of our body to sin. If
we are, it just makes sense that sin
will control our desires.
Think about it. Are you offering your
eyes and ears to practices that you know
are sinful? Examine your entertainment:
music, television, movies, and video
games. Do they have philosophies that
are against biblical values? If they
do, then don't wonder why sin is in control
of your thought life, and eventually
your body.
The Bible says you will be ruled by
whatever (or whomever) you give in to.
I’m not saying that if you entertain
yourself with empty philosophies, it
will immediately rule your life. But
I have known many young men who were
controlled by their addiction to pornography.
They didn’t think just “one
little peek” would lead to addiction.
Any entertainment that gets to your
emotions – encouraging laughter,
applause, singing, taping your foot,
etc – is reaching your emotions.
The more that you allow something control
your emotions, the more likely it will “rule
your life.” According to this passage,
we have a choice. We are able to control
our evil desires if we refuse to feed
the sin nature within us. As Christians,
we are called to give our bodies to God,
not to the sinful practices found in
so much entertainment today.
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