Reflection: “Get More Like Jesus While Watching TV”

Clay St Lucia has just finished studying the book “Get More Like Jesus While Watching TV” by Nick Pollard & Steve Couch. The book basically looked at TV (or TV watching) in the context of Romans 12:1-2:

Therefore, I urge you brothers [and sisters], in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy & pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test what God’s will is – his good, pleasing & perfect will.

Below are some of the ideas that I found from the 7 chapters of the book, as well as discussions with Clayers on the book (of course, I may have missed some points – but what I got is below):

Chapter 1:

• This chapter compared the first 12 chapters in Romans to a TV serial, where each episode begins with a recap of the previous episodes. Just as each episode should be viewed in light of the preceding episodes in order to understand what’s happening on the TV program, so should Romans 12:1-2 be viewed in light of the preceding Romans chapters.
• Basically, the main message of Romans can be divided into 5 sections:- Our problem (Romans 1:18-3:20); God’s solution (Romans 3:21-4:25); Our new status (Romans 5:1-8:39); Old ways & the new way (Romans 9:1-11:36); & Changing channels: living God’s way (Romans 12:1-15:13).I like the “changing channels” bit – given the book’s title, a nice way of describing a change from the old self (under sin’s rule) to the new self (under Christ’s rule).
• God is interested in every aspect of our lives, including our TV watching.After all He created us, & then showed such love & mercy that He introduced His Son Jesus to redeem us from the consequences of human sin.So since we mean that much to God, every part of our lives (including our TV watching) matters to Him.
  

Chapter 2:

• As Christians, we are meant to offer our bodies to God as living sacrifices. So in the context of watching TV, we should discern what we watch. We should watch TV in a way that is consistent with offering our bodies to God/righteousness, rather than to sin.
• Our TV watching (just like every other aspect of our lives) should build our relationship with God, rather than damage it.

Chapter 3:

• It is possible for Christians to be holy & please God via their TV watching. We should discern what is good & what is bad (i.e. tempts us to do ungodly things).
• To please God & be holy via TV watching, we should understand what is it that God wants of us, what is it to be holy. Being holy means to be set apart in our hearts for God & not allow anything to compromise our relationship with Him. So, it may be ok watching or studying certain TV shows, provided that what we watch does not undermine our bond with God.

Chapter 4:

• TV is like alcohol – nothing inherently wrong by themselves, but we can either control them (which is ideal) or let them control us (which is not so ideal).
• God will call us to give account of what we have done with our lives – including the TV we watch. We should let God guide us with what & how we watch, & how we respond to what we see.
• What we watch will affect others around us – so we should be careful that what we watch will not stumble others or lead them further away from God.
• We need to consider what we watch means to us (i.e. its significance) & others, & how what we watch affects us & others. Watching TV can be an act of worship – what we choose to watch & how we watch can glorify God & celebrate the good things He has given us.

Chapter 5:

• Christians are expected to stand out from the world, i.e. not to conform to the pattern of this world.
• We need to know what the pattern of the world is, in order to then not conform to it. We need to identify ideas consistent with Biblical thinking & those that oppose it. We are meant to be distinct, & we ought to be different – purpose is to glorify God & do so for the sake of those around us.
• So, with TV programs, we should assess the worldview that it is trying to promote. Is what the program is promoting biblical?
• People say there is a lack of role model on TV. Perhaps it might be better for us to be role models in the lives of the people around us.

Chapter 6:

• To be transformed by the renewing of our minds, we need to take on God’s mindset – which means taking on the Christian worldview: (1) God the creator is in charge (2) Humans are designed to live God’s way (3) God reveals His way to people.
• As pastor summarises the Christian worldview: God made the world. Humans stuffed up the world & rejected God. God came up with answer – Jesus. Are we part of the solution or part of the problem?
• So, with watching TV, we are to think as we watch. God wants us to make the most of what He has given us, including our minds – we are to develop our minds with Him & devote them for His service.

Chapter 7:

• God’s will for us is: He wants us to experience His grace. He wants us to become more like Jesus & be presented before Him, perfect in Christ on the last day. He wants us to become His disciples. He wants us to be active in helping others to do the same things.
• Watching TV can help us to know God’s grace. Much stuff on TV shows a world that does not recognise God’s grace – that can serve to remind us of what life without Jesus might be like. We should remain thankful for what God saved us from, but not just content with leaving it at that.
• Watching TV can also help us become more like Jesus & also become better disciples. In a nutshell (& what I say might seem over-simplistic), that would involve testing our belief/faith with what we see, & thinking critically about what we watch.
• Watching TV can also help us help others become disciples. TV can form a considerable part of people’s conversations (whether they be work colleagues or other friends). It would be easier to get into those conversations if we have seen the TV programs being talked about, & being part of those conversations allows us to find opportunities to talk to people about Jesus.

So yeah, some good & interesting points. But in all honesty, I found a lot of them to be abstract/theoretical. That’s not at all to say that nothing practical can be gained from reading the book. Far from it. It’s just that personally, from a practical/applications viewpoint, the book has not yet had much of an impact on my TV watching or changed the way I watch TV – simply because I don’t watch that much TV these days (save the football & wrestling!). But perhaps I can put some of the above points into practice when I actually get more into TV in future.

Anyway, now I’ve had some time to look back at the book, it amazes me how Pollard & Couch can write a book about watching TV from 2 Bible verses! That’s certainly beyond my capability!