Testimonies Against Television
November 21, 2023
David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
Following are testimonies that were sent to us by Christian parents who have gotten rid of the television. These are extensive and there is some repetition, but I believe that it is important to publish them in order to offset the status quo that exists even in most allegedly staunch Bible-believing churches today.
These were published in the first edition of Keeping the Kids: How to Keep the Children from Falling Prey to the World. The new edition, Keeping the Kids in the Social Media Age (November 2023), has a much abbreviated list.
These are powerful, real-life testimonies. The moral and practical benefits of giving up television are massive.
To a large extent, the internet and social media have overtaken television as the greatest negative influence in Christian homes and churches, and we deal with this extensively in Keeping the Kids in the Social Media Age,
https://www.wayoflife.org/publications/books/keeping_the_kids.php
The testimonies follow:
“Sick of the nasty language, barely dressed women and/or men, sexual content, drugs, drinking, murder, the commercials, the list goes on, we have not had cable/antenna hook up for about six years in our home and we LOVE IT! The result has been wonderful! We are no longer couch potatoes. We enjoy the quietness in the home. We enjoy each other’s company. We enjoy more time spent with Father God. We spend more time in prayer, reading God’s Word and being with the each other. We do more out of doors activities--walking trails, driving to the mountains, etc.”
“Being engulfed in front of a TV has nothing to do with family time. Real family time is getting closer to God and developing an intimate, passionate, and personal relationship with Jesus!”
“My dad was a deacon in an independent fundamental Baptist church that was a strong church. I am a strong preacher of personal responsibility, and am fully responsible for my wayward years, but sitting and watching ‘Cheers’ with my deacon dad and laughing as Sam and Norm and Cliff sat around the bar talking and drinking and chasing Diane surely didn’t help convince me that it was bad. Being a deacon, our family would go over to other deacons’ houses, and what happened at my house was the norm in that IFB circle. They’d all watch the ‘good’ Hollywood movies like ‘Superman’ with Christopher Reeve, despite the fact that it contained a few times of using the Lord’s name in vain, and couple minor swears, and of course Superman kissing very affectionately a woman who was not his wife or even his girlfriend. The adults watch it innocently and chuckle, but the kids see right through the charade and are able to discern that ‘this is directly against the things they show me in the Bible on Sundays.’ The deacons and their wives are not able to discern this same thing, so the kid can only conclude, ‘I must be wrong, this can’t be that bad.’”
“We have had television for about one year in the past 27. Besides not being fit to watch, it was a big waste of time. We feel that our family unit was much stronger because of the lack of television in the home. Our children got better grades when they were in Christian School. The teacher actually guessed that we did not have television. It is also a blessing to see our grown children and their families serving the Lord without having a television to hold them back.”
“I was engaged to be married in 2007 with the man who is now my husband. We had met in a liberal church before switching over to a Bible-believing church. He had a big screen TV and I told him that I would not move in with him after we got married if he put the TV in our house. He kind of thought I was kidding and was annoyed at my persistence (which I’m sure came across as very bossy) but relinquished to store it at his cousin’s for a time. After about six months of marriage he thanked me for being so adamant. It took a long time for him to lose his addiction to using it to wind down after work but if you can get away from it long enough you become re-sensitized to the filth on it. My daughter is different than other girls from families that have cable or satellite. She is not fashion or boy crazy. She does not try to fit in with the in crowd. She is a kid the way kids are supposed to be, innocent to the wicked world around her, and for that I give praise to God. ... I’m sure my husband would say that he doesn’t have to take time away from Bible reading to watch the hockey game or have the temptation to use the TV to ‘unwind’ instead of going to God for his comfort and solace, not to mention the incredible temptation to lust in pretty much every commercial and TV program. I believe that TV is Satan’s tool to steal our hearts and time away so we will not be of any use to God.”
“Having eliminated television, we have noticed a marked improvement in the children’s homeschooling and in their attitudes. Their conversations have also changed from what they watched to what they have done. We have a family devotion and Bible reading time, and the children read more. As far as movies, we first look up to see the content and mostly watch Christian movies. We also view videos about prophecy and Biblical subjects. We do not permit anything that has cursing or using the Lord’s name in vain.”
“We were compulsive TV watchers. Enslaved is actually the word, so I had to eliminate it. Now we have a lot of time for the family. We do Bible study after dinner every day and play games with the kids. My wife and I have more personal time.”
“When our children play they use their own imagination; it is not an imitation of what they have seen on cable TV. They are not singing the songs, doing the little dance moves, asking us what certain words mean; they’re not practicing the attitudes they see; they are respectful to their father; we’re not pestered to buy certain toys or food. Our children’s likes and dislikes are determined by the likes and dislikes of the family and not what’s been dictated by the TV. We read many chapters of the Bible daily, play with the children, and have all kinds of ‘projects’ going. We use a projector and a laptop to play movies which we may watch on a Friday night. We are also careful as to the message the movie portrays and the music.”
“I got saved when I was 19 and used to watch television 8-10 hours a day and 26 hours on the weekends. When I started going to church and then through Bible College, where there were no televisions, I realized how much it had influenced the way I thought and perceived life. When we got married we decided not to have a television and have been thankful for it. It was only on deputation when we had more access to TV’s and found when we turned them on that hours would easily be wasted, even just watching FOX News. Not to mention having to continually turn the commercials off. It got so annoying you either wanted to just leave it alone and not turn it off or miss something if you did turn it off. Unfortunately, leaving it on would win, and being aware of this we solidified in our minds we would not have a TV in our home, or cable for that matter. Both the programming and the commercials are written by non-Christians who are trying to influence others with their pagan humanistic philosophies and lifestyles. Cheating, illicit sex, drugs, homosexuality, teens in adult situations, Darwinism, cussing, and all kinds of things Christians shouldn’t be setting before their eyes. Numerous times, even on ‘conservative’ FOX News, they had a story on prostitutes and actually showed a video of pole dancers.”
“We first disconnected cable subscription, thereby reduced viewing time. After that, we realized we would benefit from eliminating the TV altogether, especially with the commercials aired during an otherwise decent program. We find that the time is better used because the children play together more. My wife and I communicate more and better now that we do not have the television to capture our attention. Our children are also now ignorant of the current trends and shows, for which we are grateful. The children play together more and better.”
“I have found that I am more aware of bad language, improper dress and behavior, etc., out in the world than when I used to watch broadcast television. I believe television dulls the senses in these areas and we become calloused and complacent concerning things that should be offensive to a Christian. I do more Bible study in the evenings or just spending time enjoying the outdoors with my wife. People have a hard time believing we don’t have cable or satellite TV, but I have not missed it. I knew the Holy Spirit was not comfortable watching and listening to what was on commercial television. We even tried just subscribing to nature and family channels for awhile, but the commercials on those channels advertising other networks were just as bad as the shows themselves, so we had to give it all up.”
“Eliminating commercial TV has had a three-fold benefit for us: 1. I am not de-sensitized to evil. Every three or four months I take my car to the Honda dealer in town for maintenance and in the waiting room is a TV tuned to CNN. I am shocked at the commercials. If no one else is watching it, I turn it off. 2. Contentment. Because I am not bombarded with commercials for more stuff, I am content with what I have. (A specific application of this contentment is that my first car lasted me 19 years.) 3. More hours in my day.”
“Over 15 years ago when we did have TV we noticed that everything contradicted what we were trying to instill in our family. It was full of the worldliness that we were trying to keep our kids away from. We noticed that even the commercials were wicked. The kids would begin to mimic what they watched. We have never regretted eliminating TV from our lives. We haven’t watched for over 15 years and would recommend doing the same to anyone. We have played many family board games, done crafts, exercised, and most often had family read-aloud times. Mom finds a great book to read aloud. She uses expression and different character voices to make it even more interesting. As the family listens, we laugh and cry together. It allows us to discuss the book after the reading, and we find that everyone looks forward to it. They even beg for it! As for videos, we watch mostly on weekends. If there is any cursing, sexual situations, New Age, disrespect to authority, etc., we throw it away. We have the same rules for Internet as we do for DVDs/movies. We have received some criticism from extended family members. They mock our decision by telling us we are too overprotective. It has hurt the children as it comes from their grandparents. Also, when they have seen their pastors watch regular TV it has caused them to become disappointed that a man of God has not seen the obvious sin. We are to abstain from ALL appearance of evil, and TV clearly has plenty of evil. Regardless, it has given us an opportunity to show the children we live to please God, not man, and we are all responsible for our own choices.”
“My husband and I grew up on TV, too much of it, and as we started our family while attending the church we go to now, we knew pretty early on (when our first two children were toddlers) decided that we shouldn’t get the kids used to having cable and that the TV would be on only when a video or DVD that mom and dad OK’d would be shown. We didn’t want them saying, ‘Oh, it’s 3 o'clock, time to watch . . . .’ We wanted TV time to be in our control as well as what they would and could watch. The result is they aren’t sitting in front of the TV watching endless programs and then getting irritated at us for making them FINALLY turn it off. We haven’t had negative feedback in our church circles, because we attend a fantastic Baptist church with a great pastor whose preaching is very black and white, (much like yours) and preaches about the repercussions of watching too much TV, or any TV really since there’s very little he can even recommend watching.”
“We got rid of the television 31 years ago when our oldest was four. It was a time waster, and the four-year-old was demanding to watch a favorite show of his when it was supper time. We did not want the TV to run our family schedule. Along with home schooling, that has been the best decision we have made for our family. Our family felt closer together; the children had time to develop hobbies and did not have the interest in worldly music, Hollywood, clothing, etc. It definitely led to the better opportunity for them to develop spiritually without those distractions. Our kids did a lot of reading, playing games together and developing their hobbies like piano playing and 4-H activities.”
“I believe that commercials are harmful, but more harmful is the general belief system that is perpetrated in movies, like ‘Supernatural’ -- where is God in their lives? ‘Big Brother’ or reality TV -- don’t they have anything better to do with their lives? ‘Supermodels’ -- what are they teaching our children, shallowness and superficiality? Having said all that, I must admit that the mindlessness of TV is very attractive and seductive, and it does take willpower to push the ‘off’ button.”
“We have found the children are not questioning our authority like they used to. They do not follow the latest fads that come and go on TV, and are consequently less likely to ask (i.e. nag) about having toys or other commercial items that might go with favourite TV shows. We are not allowing social trends into our home that teach anti-biblical consequences (such as promiscuity), so our children are much more innocent and wholesome than otherwise would be the case. I am a stay at home mother (we home school) and have found myself to be far less influenced by worldly concepts and dictates. We previously used to let the children watch television during the day when Dad was not at home. They now spend that time on schoolwork, working around the home, or playing creatively. My husband used to watch TV at night after the kids were in bed, but he now has time to spend with study and doing things around the house. We watch carefully selected movies on DVD/video that are God honouring, uplifting, and don’t expose us to violence, swearing, promiscuity, or other worldly concepts/sins. We do not watch a movie just because it has a Christian theme, as a lot of these are still exposing us to evil influences. We tend to review our library of books and movies on a regular basis, as we have found our criteria have become stricter over time. We noticed that even shows we had thought were ‘safe’ such as Playschool, were still carrying a lot of worldly themes, and the children would always ask for more TV viewing rather than doing something useful or constructive.”
“The programming was becoming so evil and it definitely was not upbuilding or worthwhile. We tried watching the news at five o'clock, and during the commercials we would put a piece of cardboard over the screen. Finally, we stopped that habit. The result is peace of mind and freedom from a worldly influence which is neither encouraging or uplifting. We read, or walk, sew, play games, study the Word, work on household projects, write notes and letters to people to encourage them, etc. We watch wholesome videos or DVD’s, and we are very careful about what we watch. Sometimes people will look at us like we are ‘strange,’ but we don’t want to put anything evil before our eyes or hurt the Lord in any way. There was an experience at a church we attended for six and one-half years. There was a gathering at the pastor’s home and there were some very bad commercials during the program, and I quietly got up and left. No one else did.”
“There is violence in just about all programs, and the worldly philosophy conditions our thinking away from and dulls our sensitivity to spiritual things. Entertainment for me personally easily becomes an idol and a growing awareness of my accountability before God of how I lead my family and the example I set was a big reason for giving up TV. Since giving up TV, we have become more sensitive to worldly music and programs. When we visit our in-laws we have a lot of trouble finding a quiet refuge. We spend some time with family devotions after the evening meal and play some board games. Our son has been learning the piano and he often does school projects at home. Our son and daughter play more together. As for DVDs, the selection is very limited. We tried some ‘Little House on the Prairie’ DVDs that I remembered from TV 20 years ago, but they require some discussion as they have some subtle themes that trouble us. We have been listening to some Christian Internet radio stations that have very good music and news stories.”
“My husband and I eliminated the television 15 years ago. The original reason was that we found ourselves wasting time in an ever increasing evil medium. We would sit down to watch a 30-minute show and find ourselves in the same spot two hours later. As our family grew we felt that a TV ban was very important. First and foremost the TV is evil; it is the devil not much in disguise. When we do happen to see the TV on vacations or in homes of others, it is shocking to us what is being seen by children and adults on a daily basis. We are embarrassed, shocked, saddened, but to others who see it every day it is nothing. Second it is a waste of precious time. The benefits of no TV include better relationships, quality time with children, prayer time, play time, good work ethic, separation from the world, a wonderful library, many projects being completed, extended family events, positive productivity, wholesomeness, quietness, and we feel that it is pleasing to the Lord.”
“We have not had commercial television for over seven years now and our children have grown up the later part of their years without being influenced by what others think or feel we should have in our lives or what they should be doing! Our son was 14 years old and our daughter was 11. For two years prior to the commitment to not have the TV as a focus in our lives, we had always given reasons for having it as valid, but they were so wrong! We wish we had done it years before. We have more time for one another and a house less selfish in all aspects of our day-to-day lives, not just who wants to watch what and when but the TV is not the centre of our lives. There were many reasons why we eliminated commercial television from our family. We didn’t want our children being influenced by the latest trends and philosophies, from the teaching of children’s programs and showing them that smoking is cool to the idea that it is OK to be gay to the promotion of evolution as fact in wildlife programs! We knew that it was an influence in all our lives, taking the focus off of the family and away from our walk with the Lord.”
“We eliminated television because we did not feel in control of what we watched; we felt guilty from watching wrong programming; it was consuming too much time; and we wanted to spend more valuable time with the children. It has been wonderful. My daughter now consumes books; I don’t deal with nagging guilt about that program I just can’t stop watching. It’s a huge burden off of my shoulders. Now we read together, bake together, sing together. Also my daughter has learned how to work around the house. The commercials are as harmful as the programming. If you find a good program, like something on the History channel, the next thing you know during a commercial a dozen women wearing bikinis are bouncing up and down, and my husband is subject to this soft porn. So that is our concern about the television. You cannot control what you are watching.”
“We gave up the television because of the wickedness of it and its effect on our lives and the kids. I can’t stand hearing God’s name being blasphemed! The kids are a LOT more obedient and listen to instruction. Reading has been the main replacement activity.”
“My husband, years ago, was given a tape to listen to about television (maybe it was called ‘The Devil's University’). He was convicted about it, and after struggling with it for a couple more months (because he didn’t want to give up watching sports), he finally said he was going to get rid of the cable, which prohibited us from getting ANY reception at all. I was personally overjoyed. My husband’s main reason for doing away with the TV was because he felt he was addicted to it because of sports. When he came home at night, he would walk in the door and immediately turn on the TV. He was glued to it for the rest of the night, and if anyone spoke to him, he’d say he was listening, but he really wasn’t. He admitted this later on. It was a time-waster, and it hurt all our relationships. He is adamantly against TV now, and he says it was the best thing we ever did, to get rid of it. Whenever we’ve been in a hotel, or at my mother’s, we’ve flipped through the programs to see if anything good was on, and we have been shocked at how much WORSE things have gotten. Homosexuality, sex, nudity, bad words, the Lord’s name in vain, etc., is right out in the open. We believe strongly that if the children shouldn’t watch it, then the adults shouldn’t watch it either!’ We should be very careful about what we put into our minds and into our children’s minds. Television gives us a ‘taste’ for the world.”
“It's been many years now since we got rid of our television. The result is that my husband and I have a MUCH better relationship than we did before. We talk more. We think more. We read more. There is quietness and peacefulness. The children were GREATLY affected by it, in that we spent the evenings together doing other things. Their relationship with their father improved drastically. It gave us more precious TIME. We all became more sensitive to the ungodliness that is on TV, too. Another result is that our children are grown up now and two are married and in the ministry. Neither of them has a television, and they don’t want it! They are so much happier without it. That is a blessing to me personally, to know that they and THEIR children do not have television nor WANT it. My daughter has two little girls, and they too are being brought up without TV. They will not be influenced by all the ungodliness that’s there. We never run out of things to do, and I sometimes wonder when there ever WAS time to watch television!”
“We only watch an old movie classic, or something rated G, now and then. We have found that even in PG there is SOMETHING wrong. It could be a bad situation or a bad word. We don’t want to put anything ungodly into our minds.”
“It was one of the biggest joys of my life to be WITHOUT TV! What a difference it made. Interestingly, my own mother was the biggest criticizer, and she still is, to this day. She is disapproving of it, saying that I’m not being informed about what’s going on, but we can listen to the news on the radio, and we can also read the newspaper.”
“My husband starting getting preaching CDs from a pastor in Tennessee years ago. That preacher really warns his people about the TV and video games, and over five years ago we got rid of the television. I wish we had gotten rid of it sooner or never had it to begin with, even though we were very selective in what we allowed our children to watch. ... We never even missed the television. I believe as a result God has moved in the lives of our children. They spend more time reading. One of our sons was reading a sermon by Dr. Lee Roberson on the judgment seat of Christ and God pricked his heart and he felt God calling him to preach. It is amazing what God has done with him. He preaches at the nursing homes, jail and sometimes at our church. We live on a farm, so our youngest two children have animals they take care of. They also like to read and do crafty things. We all read more and keep busy with church visitation, services, nursing home, and the two oldest do the jail ministry every week.”
“We always get criticism from my husband’s parents. They were always trying to bring the kids a movie to watch. Once they brought one, knowing we don’t watch movies, and my husband told them no. They kept telling us we were missing out. It seems that every time we go to their house for any holiday they have a video they got at the Christian book store for everyone to watch. The last one was a short little video full of rock music. I took my daughter and left the room. She later asked me if it offended me and I told her yes, but even more it was dishonoring to our Lord. They rented a cabin for the whole family in the Smoky Mountains once and one of my nieces bought a movie for all the grandkids to watch. We of course were the bad guys because we didn’t let our kids sit and watch it with them. They think we are nuts because we try to live a separated life.”
“I heard about a preacher and his wife visiting a town and they went out to eat. They saw the headlines of a paper that said Lucy had died. The preacher had to ask the waitress who Lucy was because he didn’t know. He had never watched TV. I wish I and my children had that testimony. Hopefully my grandchildren someday will have it.”
“My wife and I made a decision before we were married that we would not have commercial television in our home. We both came from Christian homes where there was television and we had both recognized the ungodly influence that it had had on our prospective families. There had clearly been a desensitizing effect on both us and the other family members. We believed that watching TV would be to grieve the Holy Spirit because we were viewing conduct, lifestyles, language, values, etc., that are forbidden in God’s Word. We also believed that watching television was an incredible waste of the most precious commodity that we have on earth, which is time. If we were to redeem the time because the days are evil, we could not have the television in our home. Instead of watching television, we sing, play games, read books, listen to audio stories, listen to preaching and Christ-honouring music. We allow our children to watch DVDs that do not promote worldliness or rebellion and do not contain language and content that would violate a Spirit-sensitive conscience. We as parents watch DVDs that are instructional/encouraging and would lead us into a closer relationship with the Lord.”
“We got rid of the television because it appealed to the lust of the eyes and flesh, the pride of life, and deadness of the mind. The Bible says, ‘Be not conformed to this world,’ and, ‘If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in Him.’ I truly believe TV is the number one assault of the evil one. He desensitizes through it and conforms people to the world system of thinking. It hinders spiritual growth and living out the Spirit-filled life. Another key factor is the freeing of time to do more creative things with family and church. We are no longer bound to time slots and the start times of sporting games. We have more quality time to spend with children doing things together besides watching TV. We no longer have to worry about commercials; having the remote in hand ready to make fast changes was a hassle. It has resulted in getting closer to God especially through family devotional time. It has led me personally to read a whole lot more than I use to. I have become more pure in spirit, by not filtering in all the stuff the world tries to throw at you. I believe the commercials might be even more harmful than the regular programming. I use to love to watch sports, especially football. (I played the game in college.) However when watching a game the commercials were a huge distraction. As I grow in the Lord, I am seeing that even the sporting events themselves are not healthy. This is due to the attitudes of the men playing the games. They are full of pride and of themselves. You can’t learn to be humble by watching sports in our day; it has become entertainment. Jesus said, ‘Learn of Me for I am meek and lowly in heart.’”
“My wife and I have never had commercial television. It has kept the world from flooding into our home and given our family and our kids, especially, the spiritual, social, and intellectual opportunity to bond, to function, and to occupy themselves without surrendering control to the idiot box. I get to spend a lot more time playing and fellowshipping with my family. My kids actually look forward to ‘church time’ at night. We sit around, sing some songs; I break out the hand puppets and act out Bible stories. Little is much when God is in it. I refuse, by God’s grace, to abdicate my role to the eye of the world. Programs perpetuate a false philosophy and approach to reality, while commercials elicit covetousness. Both are wrong, but sin works its way out in different ways in different people. In addition to the wickedness and my desire not to abdicate my responsibility to train, to teach, and to fellowship with my family, we gave up television because it destroys a child’s ability to think, to concentrate. Plopping them in front of the tube teaches them that rapid-fire images and sounds is the only way to be entertained. How can I ever expect them to sit quietly in church or focus on reading if they have been conditioned to be over-stimulated by these forms of media?”
“We have four children from ages 16 to 8. We do not watch commercial television with the exception of occasional news and weather. Our children are not allowed to watch TV unsupervised. There are no TVs in the bedrooms. We found that even good educational shows had offensive commercials. Even most educational shows have a strong humanistic, evolutionistic, and anti-Christian bias.”
“Since we home school, some of our curriculum uses DVDs. We are very careful with the screening of DVDs. It seems anything that was produced from the evangelicals after 1970 has questionable material. We bought some old Moody Films (1960s). We also get preaching DVDs of independent Baptist preachers, missionaries and evangelists. I have all the videos in my office and the children need to see me when they want to watch one. Some parents would say we are sheltering our children too much. In fact, we probably aren’t sheltering them enough. We eliminated television from our home when our oldest one was four years old. I think our children are more creative, social and obedient. They exhibit less violent tendencies as well. For myself, I read more, especially the Bible and good Bible-teaching material.”
“I eliminated TV from my life over four years ago, and the change has been most blessed! I realized that I was being entertained by sin and was committing sin by partaking of it, and that I was not hating evil as I should (Psa. 97:10). It has given me a far greater sensitivity of sin and unholiness; it has cleansed my mind, heart, and life of much uncleanness that I had subjected myself to; and it has given me a far greater appreciation for wholesome, virtuous, Philippians 4:8 things to spend my time doing. I was single when the Lord first convicted me about getting rid of the destructive influence of TV, but since then by His grace He has given me a wife and son who shall also be separated from television. Since I quit viewing commercial television I have used that time reading more of the Bible and other good books, doing evangelistic and other ministry, writing, and learning and singing hymns. As a family I intend to teach my children to love and read the Bible and other good books, sing hymns, memorize Scripture, and have a heart for ministry from a very early age.”
“We got rid of commercial television because of sex, violence, a messed up view of family, dating and bad relationship examples, fathers seen as idiots, Humanism, the void of God and His principles; it is a brain drainer, time waster, and disconnects us from one another. TV becomes a god over the Heavenly Father. Wow! What a difference. Our children are protected from violence and sexual content. Our children do not have the extreme aggressive behaviors that we see in other children, acting out, foul mouth, etc. Our girls are not concerned about stylish clothes or have a warped body image. They do not think that all dads are goof balls and that wives are the only smart ones always waiting for the husband to goof up. They see homosexuality as a sin rather than an alternative way of life. Our kids are not as materialistic. I can go to the grocery store with five kids and never be asked, ‘Can we get this or try this?’ Instead of watching television, we read, play, go to parks, use our creativity, TALK, and we still do watch some movies or other DVD programs. The television is used for school and movies from our collection or pre-previewed (by Dad and Mom); no immodest dress (that knocks out a lot of old movies too); shows where the father leads; shows that do not have a dating spirit; historical programs that are accurate; nothing about evolution; almost no Disney (a very limited few such as ‘Old Yeller’); sermon DVDs; documentaries; no sports; Moody Science; no magic. Both the programs and the commercials were harming the family. We would watch a moral show, but the commercials in between were awful. We were always telling our children to look the other way, but the damage was done. Another bad thing is just flipping through the channels to get to a ‘good show,’ which are hard to find. It is just too much of a temptation and before you know it, you have wasted one, two, three, four or more hours vegging out. Looking back we cannot believe what we used to watch. You get so sucked into it and become so desensitized to sin and you find yourself overlooking a lot of trash. It was awful what we used to think was funny. By God’s grace we only had two children at the time when my husband pulled the plug. I have never been more proud of him. I thank the Lord for men who are not going to take it anymore and are protecting their families. To God be the Glory!”
“My kids have grown up without a TV in the home. My girls do not need to be ‘entertained.’ They are very creative and active. The TV we have now was given to us this past summer, and it is used for very limited use of Xbox (games which are also censored). We are a busy family. When we do have family time, we don’t want it to be sitting around the TV. It does not build relationships. We have our own business, so the Internet is ‘there,’ but I am very careful to limit the usage for the kids. It is for homework and occasional use together. They do not have access to the Internet without us there. They do not have an email account to communicate with their friends. Again, we encourage real life relationships versus ‘virtual’ relating. Other forms of media include books (a lot), radio programs, and CD’s for learning or music.”
“God told us very clearly to get rid of it and it’s been four years and He has blessed us with knowing over and over that we did the right thing. Praise Jesus! It is all JUNK!!!! It does not reflect in ANY way how we are to live as believers and it confuses our children with what the Bible teaches and what the world says is acceptable. It will consume you for mindless, thoughtless hours and steal away days that should be spent with the Lord and your family. Getting rid of it has been marvelous! My children aren’t the least bit interested in all the ‘stars’ and hoopla over the next big thing. They understand that it isn’t just Mom and Dad being strict; they see that it is garbage and it is in many ways idolatry and that Satan will use it to turn people away from God. We read and do Bible studies together. We have family prayer every night. We take walks and play outside, light a fire in the fire pit on cool nights. We just spend time talking and enjoying each other.”
“The reasons why we got rid of the commercial television include lust, sodomy, envy, covetousness, nudity, rebellion, anti-God, anti-Christian, anti-family, sports, promiscuity. Let’s see, that just in the first commercial break. You get my point. I have discovered the TV and public school are what shapes our society. When you pull out or unplug, you find that you no longer fit in, which is a good thing! Programmers dictate fashions, values, goals, etc., for youth. Children get to a point where they want to make some independent decisions, even good kids. It’s not [necessarily] rebellion; just part of growing up. None of us want small clones of ourselves. We want youth that can think and make their own decisions. Well, if broadcast TV is allowed in the home it will be a major influence when young folks start to make those independent decisions. All you have to do is watch for 15 minutes to discover what that will result in.”
“We have more time together. Many times, we just sit around and talk. We play games. We read more books. We read a lot more online news. My children are all pretty savvy about what is going on in politics and world news.”
“Before we were married we began to study and consider ‘how to direct a family.’ My husband was strongly burdened with this and much study and discussion ensued. Early in our marriage many things were firmly established and our way was committed. The following are key verses as we studied, meditated and discussed our new ‘household’ in great detail: 2 Corinthians 10:5-7; Philippians 2:5 (thinking very much upon the word ‘let’); 2 Timothy 2:15; Deuteronomy 6. Television did not seem an appropriate tool for the accomplishment of the above Scriptures.”
“The glory belongs to God as He is the one who revealed to us through His Word the many hazards of TV, spiritual as well as economic, which both have to do with stewardship of God’s blessing/provision of Time and Money. It was before our three children were born that we eliminated TV. Our testimony as to the benefits of this ‘odd behaviour’ (as deemed by nearly all believers we know) comes primarily from the contrast we see between US and THEM. Even our ten-year-old can observe with very telling remarks, ‘J.... has only a TV brain now; he used to like going outside when we were little but now he loves TV.’ The breaking apart of ‘Christian’ homes begins so early and the parents we know seem completely clueless as to WHY? ... Our family is obviously ‘different’ from others in our fellowship; especially now that many of our families have tween/teenagers, the influences of TV are becoming more and more apparent. Our children can barely sustain any level of conversation with their ‘peers’ when we are at the meetinghouse as they do not know of the latest TV or movie and this is the substance of the talk, not just among children but we find this to be true among most adults. In summary I guess the result within our family has been to maintain and stay on a course of family life being that of a ‘family unit.’ We have a common bond and a common goal which is endued with common interest; thus we enjoy each other in all our activities. At the same time the unexpected ‘spectre’ of being so ‘different’ from others has transcended that initial ‘you don’t use TV?’ as an odd sort of query, to more of a telling comment ‘THEY don’t use TV.’”
“When I grew up, we had a television in the home. But my wife grew up in a home without television. Every single one of them played instruments. They are very well read. They developed in other areas of their lives, whereas I’ve missed out on a lot. My folks got saved when I was about eight or nine, and it was a real growing process for them and television was never really brought up as an issue. But I see now, looking back, the negative effect.”
“We have purchased some series such as Moody Science, Mr. Fix-It, Newton’s Workshop, Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution, as well as seminars (AIG, ICR) and lectures (Providential HIStory) that are faith affirming and building, mostly to do with a literal interpretation of creation. In the winter months (in Maine that’s Dec. - Mar.) when outside activity is a bit more limited we watch some DVDs. The ‘history’ DVD's often need editing along with interruption to explain some revisionist views. Often our teenagers will spot this obvious error and it is a delight to critique a piece together. Most of this will amount to a Friday movie night. Much of the excitement comes not from the movie (we’ve watched ‘Sgt. York’ endlessly) as much as the cozy time, pizza and a LATE NIGHT. When you don’t give your children EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME, they appreciate the ‘extra’s’ now and then as well as the NEED for temperance in each of our lives. We have learned over the years NOT to take the advice, ‘WOW! We watched a GREAT movie last night, have you seen...’ at face value. Too many times we have obtained these suggestions only to turn them off after a bit and pray for the family that suggested it.”
“I quit TV in 1997 as a pagan. I knew enough even then to know that it was destroying my mind and heart. I was saved in 2000 and married in 2004 to a fine Christian woman. We now have four children with the oldest being four and a half, and they’ve never known what it is like to have a TV in the home or to regularly watch movies. Rather than struggle with how to fill any void, we constantly wonder how people find time to watch TV or movies! Our days are packed with activities and creativity. Our children love books, crafts and playing outdoors with anything from dirt to sticks to plastic swords and cars and bikes. An overriding impression of a TV-free life for our kids is that their creativity knows no bounds. Also, something I’ve left out is that our kids have grown quite accustomed to just sitting around and talking. That is what mom and dad do after dinner and at breakfast. They are talkers and thinkers because that is what fills their days when they are not playing, etc. On long drives, we talk to them, listen to music, and read books to them.”
“The last TV watching I can remember with my wife was at a Superbowl party. We were horrified and disgusted by the mockery of sin, appeals to base instincts and total dearth of wholesome influence in the commercials. We have not gone to another one of these since then. To be ‘off the grid’ of TV for 12 years and then be exposed to it in bits and pieces as I have been in other homes is to be struck at how far the wickedness of TV has come. People, sincere Christians included, have no clue how desensitized they have become to the mockery of sin and denigration of all that is good that fills the TV screen. To have children is only to solidify our conviction of banning TV from our home. We have essentially tied a millstone around the neck of our TV and thrown it into the sea, rather than have it lead one of our little children into sin.”
“Mark this: we have no illusions about our own holiness. We are humbled even by those of our own generation at times, no less brethren from past generations, no less our elder brother and Lord, Jesus Christ. We have not arrived by any stretch, yet we know we will work much harder unnecessarily if we try to walk with the Lord while tied to the ball and chain of TV.”
“We eliminated commercial television from our family life approximately eight years ago. At first we limited TV watching to programs we believed were edifying and not harmful, but even with these limitations we saw that our children were being exposed to commercials for ungodly TV shows and the disrespectful and ungodly behavior of children in other TV advertisements. The result has been excellent as it has helped us to ‘come out from among them and be ye separate’ in a number of ways: we spend more time with family devotions because no one is in a hurry to see their favorite show (we had two that struggled with this before); we do not have the influence of worldly trends; and we do not have our focus on worldly newscasts, which seem to have mostly become propaganda-casts more than newscasts anyhow.”
“At first, the children, a girl then 11 and a boy then nine, were quite upset. We made this decision two years ago because even the shows from the Family Channel were using bad language, immodest clothing, questionable values; and what awakened us was the way the children in those shows were speaking to their parents and about their parents. One day, we were wondering why our children were speaking to us in such a disrespectful manner. The grandmother in the family asked, ‘Have you watched the shows you children have been watching lately?’ We had not because we were busy working and we trusted the Family Channel. My husband sat with the kids and watched their beloved shows for three days and then he cancelled our cable subscription. Now we read; we play games with the kids; we do more sports; the girl is learning to knit, the boy does enormous Lego constructions; they each started learning to play a musical instrument. We spend more time talking to one another.”
“If a person says he has control over television then he is still watching Lassie reruns without viewing commercials.”
“God spoke softly to our hearts. We just started feeling very uncomfortable when we were watching TV. My husband said that it’s time to get rid of it. It was not a slow process of just eliminating a few programs; we just threw the TV out. ... It is a real tool of Satan to subtly get your mind off of Jesus. I mean when you’re watching Die Hard, or any other show for that matter, are you really thinking on things that are pure, just, holy, peaceable, etc., like the Bible commands us to do? We need to obey the whole Bible not just parts of it. Do you think Jesus and the Holy Spirit are sitting down with you as you watch TV hours on end? God has a higher calling for us. Just read James 1:27. Most people forgot that second half of that verse, ‘Keep yourself unspotted from the world.’”
“We used to refer to our TV as a ‘time vacuum,’ because when we had it, we watched it ‘just because’ it was there. Now, there is more time to do productive and worthwhile things, like extra school or house work, family initiated fun things, board games, outdoor play, etc.”
“My father got rid of commercial TV when I was only eight years old and I am very thankful for this decision. I resolved in my heart that when I got married and had a family that I would never allow commercial TV in my home. I have been married for over 25 years now with 10 children and we have maintained that commitment. I believe it has been a key in helping to keep the hearts of our children and to keep our family spiritually minded! Instead of watching TV we do things together as a family in ministry, prayer, singing, reading, gardening, walking, or just talking together.
“We have chosen not to watch television because of the ungodly influences. Scripture is very clear that we are not to learn the way of the heathen and that we are to be simple concerning that which is evil. We don’t feel justified in wading through the filth to enjoy a few decent programs. Some folks say they can control it, but we don’t believe that is possible. It ends up controlling those who watch it and they become desensitized to the wickedness that is on it. We also believe that TV viewing is a great waste of time, that it hinders creativity and results in a short attention span. How can we ask for the Lord’s blessing on our home while pumping the filth of this world into our living room? How can we expect our children to be spiritually minded and to have a heart for God and revival while having a steady diet of ‘garbage’ from TV?”
“Unplugging from television has been the biggest blessing to our family. I’m actually in tears writing this because without unplugging from the system I know I would have lost my daughter and my son would be totally different. At the time my daughter was only four years old but she would rather watch the TV than do anything else. In short it has been a tremendous blessing. When I look at the family time we spend together it amazes me. For example, our meal times are spent sitting not rushed and talking together. We spend time daily in the Word as a family singing, reading Scripture, discussing Scripture, and praying. My daughter spends a lot of time playing her piano and reading good wholesome books. We have also filled our house with great Christian music and not CCM music. I truly believe TV is a curse in anyone’s house. We know Christians with TV’s and their kids are certainly different.”
“My daughter loves watching babies and children. Before it became a ‘soap opera,’ we let her watch a little of the ‘John and Kate Plus 8’ reality show (short clips on the computer). But we had to put a stop to that because we noticed our daughter throwing fits more often. We believe that the kids on the show set a bad example in behavior and our daughter was copying them.”
“We noted a marked increase in their creative abilities (drawing, crafts, etc.) as well as their desire to participate in them. Our six year old made a huge leap forward in her reading ability, and our ten year old rediscovered a love for reading that had been slowly waning for several years. We monitor how much ‘screen time’ each child gets. ‘Screen time’ includes computer and/or television/movie time.”
“We got rid of commercial television because although we could control the programs we watched, we could not control the advertisements. These are often more wicked and filthy than the TV show. When it comes to watching DVDs, if anything objectionable appears, we turn it off. The rule is that no one is welcome in our house as a teacher who is immoral, immodest, or ignorant of the subject they are teaching. This rule is applied to all movies, because movies teach.”
These were published in the first edition of Keeping the Kids: How to Keep the Children from Falling Prey to the World. The new edition, Keeping the Kids in the Social Media Age (November 2023), has a much abbreviated list.
These are powerful, real-life testimonies. The moral and practical benefits of giving up television are massive.
To a large extent, the internet and social media have overtaken television as the greatest negative influence in Christian homes and churches, and we deal with this extensively in Keeping the Kids in the Social Media Age,
https://www.wayoflife.org/publications/books/keeping_the_kids.php
The testimonies follow:
“Sick of the nasty language, barely dressed women and/or men, sexual content, drugs, drinking, murder, the commercials, the list goes on, we have not had cable/antenna hook up for about six years in our home and we LOVE IT! The result has been wonderful! We are no longer couch potatoes. We enjoy the quietness in the home. We enjoy each other’s company. We enjoy more time spent with Father God. We spend more time in prayer, reading God’s Word and being with the each other. We do more out of doors activities--walking trails, driving to the mountains, etc.”
“Being engulfed in front of a TV has nothing to do with family time. Real family time is getting closer to God and developing an intimate, passionate, and personal relationship with Jesus!”
“My dad was a deacon in an independent fundamental Baptist church that was a strong church. I am a strong preacher of personal responsibility, and am fully responsible for my wayward years, but sitting and watching ‘Cheers’ with my deacon dad and laughing as Sam and Norm and Cliff sat around the bar talking and drinking and chasing Diane surely didn’t help convince me that it was bad. Being a deacon, our family would go over to other deacons’ houses, and what happened at my house was the norm in that IFB circle. They’d all watch the ‘good’ Hollywood movies like ‘Superman’ with Christopher Reeve, despite the fact that it contained a few times of using the Lord’s name in vain, and couple minor swears, and of course Superman kissing very affectionately a woman who was not his wife or even his girlfriend. The adults watch it innocently and chuckle, but the kids see right through the charade and are able to discern that ‘this is directly against the things they show me in the Bible on Sundays.’ The deacons and their wives are not able to discern this same thing, so the kid can only conclude, ‘I must be wrong, this can’t be that bad.’”
“We have had television for about one year in the past 27. Besides not being fit to watch, it was a big waste of time. We feel that our family unit was much stronger because of the lack of television in the home. Our children got better grades when they were in Christian School. The teacher actually guessed that we did not have television. It is also a blessing to see our grown children and their families serving the Lord without having a television to hold them back.”
“I was engaged to be married in 2007 with the man who is now my husband. We had met in a liberal church before switching over to a Bible-believing church. He had a big screen TV and I told him that I would not move in with him after we got married if he put the TV in our house. He kind of thought I was kidding and was annoyed at my persistence (which I’m sure came across as very bossy) but relinquished to store it at his cousin’s for a time. After about six months of marriage he thanked me for being so adamant. It took a long time for him to lose his addiction to using it to wind down after work but if you can get away from it long enough you become re-sensitized to the filth on it. My daughter is different than other girls from families that have cable or satellite. She is not fashion or boy crazy. She does not try to fit in with the in crowd. She is a kid the way kids are supposed to be, innocent to the wicked world around her, and for that I give praise to God. ... I’m sure my husband would say that he doesn’t have to take time away from Bible reading to watch the hockey game or have the temptation to use the TV to ‘unwind’ instead of going to God for his comfort and solace, not to mention the incredible temptation to lust in pretty much every commercial and TV program. I believe that TV is Satan’s tool to steal our hearts and time away so we will not be of any use to God.”
“Having eliminated television, we have noticed a marked improvement in the children’s homeschooling and in their attitudes. Their conversations have also changed from what they watched to what they have done. We have a family devotion and Bible reading time, and the children read more. As far as movies, we first look up to see the content and mostly watch Christian movies. We also view videos about prophecy and Biblical subjects. We do not permit anything that has cursing or using the Lord’s name in vain.”
“We were compulsive TV watchers. Enslaved is actually the word, so I had to eliminate it. Now we have a lot of time for the family. We do Bible study after dinner every day and play games with the kids. My wife and I have more personal time.”
“When our children play they use their own imagination; it is not an imitation of what they have seen on cable TV. They are not singing the songs, doing the little dance moves, asking us what certain words mean; they’re not practicing the attitudes they see; they are respectful to their father; we’re not pestered to buy certain toys or food. Our children’s likes and dislikes are determined by the likes and dislikes of the family and not what’s been dictated by the TV. We read many chapters of the Bible daily, play with the children, and have all kinds of ‘projects’ going. We use a projector and a laptop to play movies which we may watch on a Friday night. We are also careful as to the message the movie portrays and the music.”
“I got saved when I was 19 and used to watch television 8-10 hours a day and 26 hours on the weekends. When I started going to church and then through Bible College, where there were no televisions, I realized how much it had influenced the way I thought and perceived life. When we got married we decided not to have a television and have been thankful for it. It was only on deputation when we had more access to TV’s and found when we turned them on that hours would easily be wasted, even just watching FOX News. Not to mention having to continually turn the commercials off. It got so annoying you either wanted to just leave it alone and not turn it off or miss something if you did turn it off. Unfortunately, leaving it on would win, and being aware of this we solidified in our minds we would not have a TV in our home, or cable for that matter. Both the programming and the commercials are written by non-Christians who are trying to influence others with their pagan humanistic philosophies and lifestyles. Cheating, illicit sex, drugs, homosexuality, teens in adult situations, Darwinism, cussing, and all kinds of things Christians shouldn’t be setting before their eyes. Numerous times, even on ‘conservative’ FOX News, they had a story on prostitutes and actually showed a video of pole dancers.”
“We first disconnected cable subscription, thereby reduced viewing time. After that, we realized we would benefit from eliminating the TV altogether, especially with the commercials aired during an otherwise decent program. We find that the time is better used because the children play together more. My wife and I communicate more and better now that we do not have the television to capture our attention. Our children are also now ignorant of the current trends and shows, for which we are grateful. The children play together more and better.”
“I have found that I am more aware of bad language, improper dress and behavior, etc., out in the world than when I used to watch broadcast television. I believe television dulls the senses in these areas and we become calloused and complacent concerning things that should be offensive to a Christian. I do more Bible study in the evenings or just spending time enjoying the outdoors with my wife. People have a hard time believing we don’t have cable or satellite TV, but I have not missed it. I knew the Holy Spirit was not comfortable watching and listening to what was on commercial television. We even tried just subscribing to nature and family channels for awhile, but the commercials on those channels advertising other networks were just as bad as the shows themselves, so we had to give it all up.”
“Eliminating commercial TV has had a three-fold benefit for us: 1. I am not de-sensitized to evil. Every three or four months I take my car to the Honda dealer in town for maintenance and in the waiting room is a TV tuned to CNN. I am shocked at the commercials. If no one else is watching it, I turn it off. 2. Contentment. Because I am not bombarded with commercials for more stuff, I am content with what I have. (A specific application of this contentment is that my first car lasted me 19 years.) 3. More hours in my day.”
“Over 15 years ago when we did have TV we noticed that everything contradicted what we were trying to instill in our family. It was full of the worldliness that we were trying to keep our kids away from. We noticed that even the commercials were wicked. The kids would begin to mimic what they watched. We have never regretted eliminating TV from our lives. We haven’t watched for over 15 years and would recommend doing the same to anyone. We have played many family board games, done crafts, exercised, and most often had family read-aloud times. Mom finds a great book to read aloud. She uses expression and different character voices to make it even more interesting. As the family listens, we laugh and cry together. It allows us to discuss the book after the reading, and we find that everyone looks forward to it. They even beg for it! As for videos, we watch mostly on weekends. If there is any cursing, sexual situations, New Age, disrespect to authority, etc., we throw it away. We have the same rules for Internet as we do for DVDs/movies. We have received some criticism from extended family members. They mock our decision by telling us we are too overprotective. It has hurt the children as it comes from their grandparents. Also, when they have seen their pastors watch regular TV it has caused them to become disappointed that a man of God has not seen the obvious sin. We are to abstain from ALL appearance of evil, and TV clearly has plenty of evil. Regardless, it has given us an opportunity to show the children we live to please God, not man, and we are all responsible for our own choices.”
“My husband and I grew up on TV, too much of it, and as we started our family while attending the church we go to now, we knew pretty early on (when our first two children were toddlers) decided that we shouldn’t get the kids used to having cable and that the TV would be on only when a video or DVD that mom and dad OK’d would be shown. We didn’t want them saying, ‘Oh, it’s 3 o'clock, time to watch . . . .’ We wanted TV time to be in our control as well as what they would and could watch. The result is they aren’t sitting in front of the TV watching endless programs and then getting irritated at us for making them FINALLY turn it off. We haven’t had negative feedback in our church circles, because we attend a fantastic Baptist church with a great pastor whose preaching is very black and white, (much like yours) and preaches about the repercussions of watching too much TV, or any TV really since there’s very little he can even recommend watching.”
“We got rid of the television 31 years ago when our oldest was four. It was a time waster, and the four-year-old was demanding to watch a favorite show of his when it was supper time. We did not want the TV to run our family schedule. Along with home schooling, that has been the best decision we have made for our family. Our family felt closer together; the children had time to develop hobbies and did not have the interest in worldly music, Hollywood, clothing, etc. It definitely led to the better opportunity for them to develop spiritually without those distractions. Our kids did a lot of reading, playing games together and developing their hobbies like piano playing and 4-H activities.”
“I believe that commercials are harmful, but more harmful is the general belief system that is perpetrated in movies, like ‘Supernatural’ -- where is God in their lives? ‘Big Brother’ or reality TV -- don’t they have anything better to do with their lives? ‘Supermodels’ -- what are they teaching our children, shallowness and superficiality? Having said all that, I must admit that the mindlessness of TV is very attractive and seductive, and it does take willpower to push the ‘off’ button.”
“We have found the children are not questioning our authority like they used to. They do not follow the latest fads that come and go on TV, and are consequently less likely to ask (i.e. nag) about having toys or other commercial items that might go with favourite TV shows. We are not allowing social trends into our home that teach anti-biblical consequences (such as promiscuity), so our children are much more innocent and wholesome than otherwise would be the case. I am a stay at home mother (we home school) and have found myself to be far less influenced by worldly concepts and dictates. We previously used to let the children watch television during the day when Dad was not at home. They now spend that time on schoolwork, working around the home, or playing creatively. My husband used to watch TV at night after the kids were in bed, but he now has time to spend with study and doing things around the house. We watch carefully selected movies on DVD/video that are God honouring, uplifting, and don’t expose us to violence, swearing, promiscuity, or other worldly concepts/sins. We do not watch a movie just because it has a Christian theme, as a lot of these are still exposing us to evil influences. We tend to review our library of books and movies on a regular basis, as we have found our criteria have become stricter over time. We noticed that even shows we had thought were ‘safe’ such as Playschool, were still carrying a lot of worldly themes, and the children would always ask for more TV viewing rather than doing something useful or constructive.”
“The programming was becoming so evil and it definitely was not upbuilding or worthwhile. We tried watching the news at five o'clock, and during the commercials we would put a piece of cardboard over the screen. Finally, we stopped that habit. The result is peace of mind and freedom from a worldly influence which is neither encouraging or uplifting. We read, or walk, sew, play games, study the Word, work on household projects, write notes and letters to people to encourage them, etc. We watch wholesome videos or DVD’s, and we are very careful about what we watch. Sometimes people will look at us like we are ‘strange,’ but we don’t want to put anything evil before our eyes or hurt the Lord in any way. There was an experience at a church we attended for six and one-half years. There was a gathering at the pastor’s home and there were some very bad commercials during the program, and I quietly got up and left. No one else did.”
“There is violence in just about all programs, and the worldly philosophy conditions our thinking away from and dulls our sensitivity to spiritual things. Entertainment for me personally easily becomes an idol and a growing awareness of my accountability before God of how I lead my family and the example I set was a big reason for giving up TV. Since giving up TV, we have become more sensitive to worldly music and programs. When we visit our in-laws we have a lot of trouble finding a quiet refuge. We spend some time with family devotions after the evening meal and play some board games. Our son has been learning the piano and he often does school projects at home. Our son and daughter play more together. As for DVDs, the selection is very limited. We tried some ‘Little House on the Prairie’ DVDs that I remembered from TV 20 years ago, but they require some discussion as they have some subtle themes that trouble us. We have been listening to some Christian Internet radio stations that have very good music and news stories.”
“My husband and I eliminated the television 15 years ago. The original reason was that we found ourselves wasting time in an ever increasing evil medium. We would sit down to watch a 30-minute show and find ourselves in the same spot two hours later. As our family grew we felt that a TV ban was very important. First and foremost the TV is evil; it is the devil not much in disguise. When we do happen to see the TV on vacations or in homes of others, it is shocking to us what is being seen by children and adults on a daily basis. We are embarrassed, shocked, saddened, but to others who see it every day it is nothing. Second it is a waste of precious time. The benefits of no TV include better relationships, quality time with children, prayer time, play time, good work ethic, separation from the world, a wonderful library, many projects being completed, extended family events, positive productivity, wholesomeness, quietness, and we feel that it is pleasing to the Lord.”
“We have not had commercial television for over seven years now and our children have grown up the later part of their years without being influenced by what others think or feel we should have in our lives or what they should be doing! Our son was 14 years old and our daughter was 11. For two years prior to the commitment to not have the TV as a focus in our lives, we had always given reasons for having it as valid, but they were so wrong! We wish we had done it years before. We have more time for one another and a house less selfish in all aspects of our day-to-day lives, not just who wants to watch what and when but the TV is not the centre of our lives. There were many reasons why we eliminated commercial television from our family. We didn’t want our children being influenced by the latest trends and philosophies, from the teaching of children’s programs and showing them that smoking is cool to the idea that it is OK to be gay to the promotion of evolution as fact in wildlife programs! We knew that it was an influence in all our lives, taking the focus off of the family and away from our walk with the Lord.”
“We eliminated television because we did not feel in control of what we watched; we felt guilty from watching wrong programming; it was consuming too much time; and we wanted to spend more valuable time with the children. It has been wonderful. My daughter now consumes books; I don’t deal with nagging guilt about that program I just can’t stop watching. It’s a huge burden off of my shoulders. Now we read together, bake together, sing together. Also my daughter has learned how to work around the house. The commercials are as harmful as the programming. If you find a good program, like something on the History channel, the next thing you know during a commercial a dozen women wearing bikinis are bouncing up and down, and my husband is subject to this soft porn. So that is our concern about the television. You cannot control what you are watching.”
“We gave up the television because of the wickedness of it and its effect on our lives and the kids. I can’t stand hearing God’s name being blasphemed! The kids are a LOT more obedient and listen to instruction. Reading has been the main replacement activity.”
“My husband, years ago, was given a tape to listen to about television (maybe it was called ‘The Devil's University’). He was convicted about it, and after struggling with it for a couple more months (because he didn’t want to give up watching sports), he finally said he was going to get rid of the cable, which prohibited us from getting ANY reception at all. I was personally overjoyed. My husband’s main reason for doing away with the TV was because he felt he was addicted to it because of sports. When he came home at night, he would walk in the door and immediately turn on the TV. He was glued to it for the rest of the night, and if anyone spoke to him, he’d say he was listening, but he really wasn’t. He admitted this later on. It was a time-waster, and it hurt all our relationships. He is adamantly against TV now, and he says it was the best thing we ever did, to get rid of it. Whenever we’ve been in a hotel, or at my mother’s, we’ve flipped through the programs to see if anything good was on, and we have been shocked at how much WORSE things have gotten. Homosexuality, sex, nudity, bad words, the Lord’s name in vain, etc., is right out in the open. We believe strongly that if the children shouldn’t watch it, then the adults shouldn’t watch it either!’ We should be very careful about what we put into our minds and into our children’s minds. Television gives us a ‘taste’ for the world.”
“It's been many years now since we got rid of our television. The result is that my husband and I have a MUCH better relationship than we did before. We talk more. We think more. We read more. There is quietness and peacefulness. The children were GREATLY affected by it, in that we spent the evenings together doing other things. Their relationship with their father improved drastically. It gave us more precious TIME. We all became more sensitive to the ungodliness that is on TV, too. Another result is that our children are grown up now and two are married and in the ministry. Neither of them has a television, and they don’t want it! They are so much happier without it. That is a blessing to me personally, to know that they and THEIR children do not have television nor WANT it. My daughter has two little girls, and they too are being brought up without TV. They will not be influenced by all the ungodliness that’s there. We never run out of things to do, and I sometimes wonder when there ever WAS time to watch television!”
“We only watch an old movie classic, or something rated G, now and then. We have found that even in PG there is SOMETHING wrong. It could be a bad situation or a bad word. We don’t want to put anything ungodly into our minds.”
“It was one of the biggest joys of my life to be WITHOUT TV! What a difference it made. Interestingly, my own mother was the biggest criticizer, and she still is, to this day. She is disapproving of it, saying that I’m not being informed about what’s going on, but we can listen to the news on the radio, and we can also read the newspaper.”
“My husband starting getting preaching CDs from a pastor in Tennessee years ago. That preacher really warns his people about the TV and video games, and over five years ago we got rid of the television. I wish we had gotten rid of it sooner or never had it to begin with, even though we were very selective in what we allowed our children to watch. ... We never even missed the television. I believe as a result God has moved in the lives of our children. They spend more time reading. One of our sons was reading a sermon by Dr. Lee Roberson on the judgment seat of Christ and God pricked his heart and he felt God calling him to preach. It is amazing what God has done with him. He preaches at the nursing homes, jail and sometimes at our church. We live on a farm, so our youngest two children have animals they take care of. They also like to read and do crafty things. We all read more and keep busy with church visitation, services, nursing home, and the two oldest do the jail ministry every week.”
“We always get criticism from my husband’s parents. They were always trying to bring the kids a movie to watch. Once they brought one, knowing we don’t watch movies, and my husband told them no. They kept telling us we were missing out. It seems that every time we go to their house for any holiday they have a video they got at the Christian book store for everyone to watch. The last one was a short little video full of rock music. I took my daughter and left the room. She later asked me if it offended me and I told her yes, but even more it was dishonoring to our Lord. They rented a cabin for the whole family in the Smoky Mountains once and one of my nieces bought a movie for all the grandkids to watch. We of course were the bad guys because we didn’t let our kids sit and watch it with them. They think we are nuts because we try to live a separated life.”
“I heard about a preacher and his wife visiting a town and they went out to eat. They saw the headlines of a paper that said Lucy had died. The preacher had to ask the waitress who Lucy was because he didn’t know. He had never watched TV. I wish I and my children had that testimony. Hopefully my grandchildren someday will have it.”
“My wife and I made a decision before we were married that we would not have commercial television in our home. We both came from Christian homes where there was television and we had both recognized the ungodly influence that it had had on our prospective families. There had clearly been a desensitizing effect on both us and the other family members. We believed that watching TV would be to grieve the Holy Spirit because we were viewing conduct, lifestyles, language, values, etc., that are forbidden in God’s Word. We also believed that watching television was an incredible waste of the most precious commodity that we have on earth, which is time. If we were to redeem the time because the days are evil, we could not have the television in our home. Instead of watching television, we sing, play games, read books, listen to audio stories, listen to preaching and Christ-honouring music. We allow our children to watch DVDs that do not promote worldliness or rebellion and do not contain language and content that would violate a Spirit-sensitive conscience. We as parents watch DVDs that are instructional/encouraging and would lead us into a closer relationship with the Lord.”
“We got rid of the television because it appealed to the lust of the eyes and flesh, the pride of life, and deadness of the mind. The Bible says, ‘Be not conformed to this world,’ and, ‘If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in Him.’ I truly believe TV is the number one assault of the evil one. He desensitizes through it and conforms people to the world system of thinking. It hinders spiritual growth and living out the Spirit-filled life. Another key factor is the freeing of time to do more creative things with family and church. We are no longer bound to time slots and the start times of sporting games. We have more quality time to spend with children doing things together besides watching TV. We no longer have to worry about commercials; having the remote in hand ready to make fast changes was a hassle. It has resulted in getting closer to God especially through family devotional time. It has led me personally to read a whole lot more than I use to. I have become more pure in spirit, by not filtering in all the stuff the world tries to throw at you. I believe the commercials might be even more harmful than the regular programming. I use to love to watch sports, especially football. (I played the game in college.) However when watching a game the commercials were a huge distraction. As I grow in the Lord, I am seeing that even the sporting events themselves are not healthy. This is due to the attitudes of the men playing the games. They are full of pride and of themselves. You can’t learn to be humble by watching sports in our day; it has become entertainment. Jesus said, ‘Learn of Me for I am meek and lowly in heart.’”
“My wife and I have never had commercial television. It has kept the world from flooding into our home and given our family and our kids, especially, the spiritual, social, and intellectual opportunity to bond, to function, and to occupy themselves without surrendering control to the idiot box. I get to spend a lot more time playing and fellowshipping with my family. My kids actually look forward to ‘church time’ at night. We sit around, sing some songs; I break out the hand puppets and act out Bible stories. Little is much when God is in it. I refuse, by God’s grace, to abdicate my role to the eye of the world. Programs perpetuate a false philosophy and approach to reality, while commercials elicit covetousness. Both are wrong, but sin works its way out in different ways in different people. In addition to the wickedness and my desire not to abdicate my responsibility to train, to teach, and to fellowship with my family, we gave up television because it destroys a child’s ability to think, to concentrate. Plopping them in front of the tube teaches them that rapid-fire images and sounds is the only way to be entertained. How can I ever expect them to sit quietly in church or focus on reading if they have been conditioned to be over-stimulated by these forms of media?”
“We have four children from ages 16 to 8. We do not watch commercial television with the exception of occasional news and weather. Our children are not allowed to watch TV unsupervised. There are no TVs in the bedrooms. We found that even good educational shows had offensive commercials. Even most educational shows have a strong humanistic, evolutionistic, and anti-Christian bias.”
“Since we home school, some of our curriculum uses DVDs. We are very careful with the screening of DVDs. It seems anything that was produced from the evangelicals after 1970 has questionable material. We bought some old Moody Films (1960s). We also get preaching DVDs of independent Baptist preachers, missionaries and evangelists. I have all the videos in my office and the children need to see me when they want to watch one. Some parents would say we are sheltering our children too much. In fact, we probably aren’t sheltering them enough. We eliminated television from our home when our oldest one was four years old. I think our children are more creative, social and obedient. They exhibit less violent tendencies as well. For myself, I read more, especially the Bible and good Bible-teaching material.”
“I eliminated TV from my life over four years ago, and the change has been most blessed! I realized that I was being entertained by sin and was committing sin by partaking of it, and that I was not hating evil as I should (Psa. 97:10). It has given me a far greater sensitivity of sin and unholiness; it has cleansed my mind, heart, and life of much uncleanness that I had subjected myself to; and it has given me a far greater appreciation for wholesome, virtuous, Philippians 4:8 things to spend my time doing. I was single when the Lord first convicted me about getting rid of the destructive influence of TV, but since then by His grace He has given me a wife and son who shall also be separated from television. Since I quit viewing commercial television I have used that time reading more of the Bible and other good books, doing evangelistic and other ministry, writing, and learning and singing hymns. As a family I intend to teach my children to love and read the Bible and other good books, sing hymns, memorize Scripture, and have a heart for ministry from a very early age.”
“We got rid of commercial television because of sex, violence, a messed up view of family, dating and bad relationship examples, fathers seen as idiots, Humanism, the void of God and His principles; it is a brain drainer, time waster, and disconnects us from one another. TV becomes a god over the Heavenly Father. Wow! What a difference. Our children are protected from violence and sexual content. Our children do not have the extreme aggressive behaviors that we see in other children, acting out, foul mouth, etc. Our girls are not concerned about stylish clothes or have a warped body image. They do not think that all dads are goof balls and that wives are the only smart ones always waiting for the husband to goof up. They see homosexuality as a sin rather than an alternative way of life. Our kids are not as materialistic. I can go to the grocery store with five kids and never be asked, ‘Can we get this or try this?’ Instead of watching television, we read, play, go to parks, use our creativity, TALK, and we still do watch some movies or other DVD programs. The television is used for school and movies from our collection or pre-previewed (by Dad and Mom); no immodest dress (that knocks out a lot of old movies too); shows where the father leads; shows that do not have a dating spirit; historical programs that are accurate; nothing about evolution; almost no Disney (a very limited few such as ‘Old Yeller’); sermon DVDs; documentaries; no sports; Moody Science; no magic. Both the programs and the commercials were harming the family. We would watch a moral show, but the commercials in between were awful. We were always telling our children to look the other way, but the damage was done. Another bad thing is just flipping through the channels to get to a ‘good show,’ which are hard to find. It is just too much of a temptation and before you know it, you have wasted one, two, three, four or more hours vegging out. Looking back we cannot believe what we used to watch. You get so sucked into it and become so desensitized to sin and you find yourself overlooking a lot of trash. It was awful what we used to think was funny. By God’s grace we only had two children at the time when my husband pulled the plug. I have never been more proud of him. I thank the Lord for men who are not going to take it anymore and are protecting their families. To God be the Glory!”
“My kids have grown up without a TV in the home. My girls do not need to be ‘entertained.’ They are very creative and active. The TV we have now was given to us this past summer, and it is used for very limited use of Xbox (games which are also censored). We are a busy family. When we do have family time, we don’t want it to be sitting around the TV. It does not build relationships. We have our own business, so the Internet is ‘there,’ but I am very careful to limit the usage for the kids. It is for homework and occasional use together. They do not have access to the Internet without us there. They do not have an email account to communicate with their friends. Again, we encourage real life relationships versus ‘virtual’ relating. Other forms of media include books (a lot), radio programs, and CD’s for learning or music.”
“God told us very clearly to get rid of it and it’s been four years and He has blessed us with knowing over and over that we did the right thing. Praise Jesus! It is all JUNK!!!! It does not reflect in ANY way how we are to live as believers and it confuses our children with what the Bible teaches and what the world says is acceptable. It will consume you for mindless, thoughtless hours and steal away days that should be spent with the Lord and your family. Getting rid of it has been marvelous! My children aren’t the least bit interested in all the ‘stars’ and hoopla over the next big thing. They understand that it isn’t just Mom and Dad being strict; they see that it is garbage and it is in many ways idolatry and that Satan will use it to turn people away from God. We read and do Bible studies together. We have family prayer every night. We take walks and play outside, light a fire in the fire pit on cool nights. We just spend time talking and enjoying each other.”
“The reasons why we got rid of the commercial television include lust, sodomy, envy, covetousness, nudity, rebellion, anti-God, anti-Christian, anti-family, sports, promiscuity. Let’s see, that just in the first commercial break. You get my point. I have discovered the TV and public school are what shapes our society. When you pull out or unplug, you find that you no longer fit in, which is a good thing! Programmers dictate fashions, values, goals, etc., for youth. Children get to a point where they want to make some independent decisions, even good kids. It’s not [necessarily] rebellion; just part of growing up. None of us want small clones of ourselves. We want youth that can think and make their own decisions. Well, if broadcast TV is allowed in the home it will be a major influence when young folks start to make those independent decisions. All you have to do is watch for 15 minutes to discover what that will result in.”
“We have more time together. Many times, we just sit around and talk. We play games. We read more books. We read a lot more online news. My children are all pretty savvy about what is going on in politics and world news.”
“Before we were married we began to study and consider ‘how to direct a family.’ My husband was strongly burdened with this and much study and discussion ensued. Early in our marriage many things were firmly established and our way was committed. The following are key verses as we studied, meditated and discussed our new ‘household’ in great detail: 2 Corinthians 10:5-7; Philippians 2:5 (thinking very much upon the word ‘let’); 2 Timothy 2:15; Deuteronomy 6. Television did not seem an appropriate tool for the accomplishment of the above Scriptures.”
“The glory belongs to God as He is the one who revealed to us through His Word the many hazards of TV, spiritual as well as economic, which both have to do with stewardship of God’s blessing/provision of Time and Money. It was before our three children were born that we eliminated TV. Our testimony as to the benefits of this ‘odd behaviour’ (as deemed by nearly all believers we know) comes primarily from the contrast we see between US and THEM. Even our ten-year-old can observe with very telling remarks, ‘J.... has only a TV brain now; he used to like going outside when we were little but now he loves TV.’ The breaking apart of ‘Christian’ homes begins so early and the parents we know seem completely clueless as to WHY? ... Our family is obviously ‘different’ from others in our fellowship; especially now that many of our families have tween/teenagers, the influences of TV are becoming more and more apparent. Our children can barely sustain any level of conversation with their ‘peers’ when we are at the meetinghouse as they do not know of the latest TV or movie and this is the substance of the talk, not just among children but we find this to be true among most adults. In summary I guess the result within our family has been to maintain and stay on a course of family life being that of a ‘family unit.’ We have a common bond and a common goal which is endued with common interest; thus we enjoy each other in all our activities. At the same time the unexpected ‘spectre’ of being so ‘different’ from others has transcended that initial ‘you don’t use TV?’ as an odd sort of query, to more of a telling comment ‘THEY don’t use TV.’”
“When I grew up, we had a television in the home. But my wife grew up in a home without television. Every single one of them played instruments. They are very well read. They developed in other areas of their lives, whereas I’ve missed out on a lot. My folks got saved when I was about eight or nine, and it was a real growing process for them and television was never really brought up as an issue. But I see now, looking back, the negative effect.”
“We have purchased some series such as Moody Science, Mr. Fix-It, Newton’s Workshop, Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution, as well as seminars (AIG, ICR) and lectures (Providential HIStory) that are faith affirming and building, mostly to do with a literal interpretation of creation. In the winter months (in Maine that’s Dec. - Mar.) when outside activity is a bit more limited we watch some DVDs. The ‘history’ DVD's often need editing along with interruption to explain some revisionist views. Often our teenagers will spot this obvious error and it is a delight to critique a piece together. Most of this will amount to a Friday movie night. Much of the excitement comes not from the movie (we’ve watched ‘Sgt. York’ endlessly) as much as the cozy time, pizza and a LATE NIGHT. When you don’t give your children EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME, they appreciate the ‘extra’s’ now and then as well as the NEED for temperance in each of our lives. We have learned over the years NOT to take the advice, ‘WOW! We watched a GREAT movie last night, have you seen...’ at face value. Too many times we have obtained these suggestions only to turn them off after a bit and pray for the family that suggested it.”
“I quit TV in 1997 as a pagan. I knew enough even then to know that it was destroying my mind and heart. I was saved in 2000 and married in 2004 to a fine Christian woman. We now have four children with the oldest being four and a half, and they’ve never known what it is like to have a TV in the home or to regularly watch movies. Rather than struggle with how to fill any void, we constantly wonder how people find time to watch TV or movies! Our days are packed with activities and creativity. Our children love books, crafts and playing outdoors with anything from dirt to sticks to plastic swords and cars and bikes. An overriding impression of a TV-free life for our kids is that their creativity knows no bounds. Also, something I’ve left out is that our kids have grown quite accustomed to just sitting around and talking. That is what mom and dad do after dinner and at breakfast. They are talkers and thinkers because that is what fills their days when they are not playing, etc. On long drives, we talk to them, listen to music, and read books to them.”
“The last TV watching I can remember with my wife was at a Superbowl party. We were horrified and disgusted by the mockery of sin, appeals to base instincts and total dearth of wholesome influence in the commercials. We have not gone to another one of these since then. To be ‘off the grid’ of TV for 12 years and then be exposed to it in bits and pieces as I have been in other homes is to be struck at how far the wickedness of TV has come. People, sincere Christians included, have no clue how desensitized they have become to the mockery of sin and denigration of all that is good that fills the TV screen. To have children is only to solidify our conviction of banning TV from our home. We have essentially tied a millstone around the neck of our TV and thrown it into the sea, rather than have it lead one of our little children into sin.”
“Mark this: we have no illusions about our own holiness. We are humbled even by those of our own generation at times, no less brethren from past generations, no less our elder brother and Lord, Jesus Christ. We have not arrived by any stretch, yet we know we will work much harder unnecessarily if we try to walk with the Lord while tied to the ball and chain of TV.”
“We eliminated commercial television from our family life approximately eight years ago. At first we limited TV watching to programs we believed were edifying and not harmful, but even with these limitations we saw that our children were being exposed to commercials for ungodly TV shows and the disrespectful and ungodly behavior of children in other TV advertisements. The result has been excellent as it has helped us to ‘come out from among them and be ye separate’ in a number of ways: we spend more time with family devotions because no one is in a hurry to see their favorite show (we had two that struggled with this before); we do not have the influence of worldly trends; and we do not have our focus on worldly newscasts, which seem to have mostly become propaganda-casts more than newscasts anyhow.”
“At first, the children, a girl then 11 and a boy then nine, were quite upset. We made this decision two years ago because even the shows from the Family Channel were using bad language, immodest clothing, questionable values; and what awakened us was the way the children in those shows were speaking to their parents and about their parents. One day, we were wondering why our children were speaking to us in such a disrespectful manner. The grandmother in the family asked, ‘Have you watched the shows you children have been watching lately?’ We had not because we were busy working and we trusted the Family Channel. My husband sat with the kids and watched their beloved shows for three days and then he cancelled our cable subscription. Now we read; we play games with the kids; we do more sports; the girl is learning to knit, the boy does enormous Lego constructions; they each started learning to play a musical instrument. We spend more time talking to one another.”
“If a person says he has control over television then he is still watching Lassie reruns without viewing commercials.”
“God spoke softly to our hearts. We just started feeling very uncomfortable when we were watching TV. My husband said that it’s time to get rid of it. It was not a slow process of just eliminating a few programs; we just threw the TV out. ... It is a real tool of Satan to subtly get your mind off of Jesus. I mean when you’re watching Die Hard, or any other show for that matter, are you really thinking on things that are pure, just, holy, peaceable, etc., like the Bible commands us to do? We need to obey the whole Bible not just parts of it. Do you think Jesus and the Holy Spirit are sitting down with you as you watch TV hours on end? God has a higher calling for us. Just read James 1:27. Most people forgot that second half of that verse, ‘Keep yourself unspotted from the world.’”
“We used to refer to our TV as a ‘time vacuum,’ because when we had it, we watched it ‘just because’ it was there. Now, there is more time to do productive and worthwhile things, like extra school or house work, family initiated fun things, board games, outdoor play, etc.”
“My father got rid of commercial TV when I was only eight years old and I am very thankful for this decision. I resolved in my heart that when I got married and had a family that I would never allow commercial TV in my home. I have been married for over 25 years now with 10 children and we have maintained that commitment. I believe it has been a key in helping to keep the hearts of our children and to keep our family spiritually minded! Instead of watching TV we do things together as a family in ministry, prayer, singing, reading, gardening, walking, or just talking together.
“We have chosen not to watch television because of the ungodly influences. Scripture is very clear that we are not to learn the way of the heathen and that we are to be simple concerning that which is evil. We don’t feel justified in wading through the filth to enjoy a few decent programs. Some folks say they can control it, but we don’t believe that is possible. It ends up controlling those who watch it and they become desensitized to the wickedness that is on it. We also believe that TV viewing is a great waste of time, that it hinders creativity and results in a short attention span. How can we ask for the Lord’s blessing on our home while pumping the filth of this world into our living room? How can we expect our children to be spiritually minded and to have a heart for God and revival while having a steady diet of ‘garbage’ from TV?”
“Unplugging from television has been the biggest blessing to our family. I’m actually in tears writing this because without unplugging from the system I know I would have lost my daughter and my son would be totally different. At the time my daughter was only four years old but she would rather watch the TV than do anything else. In short it has been a tremendous blessing. When I look at the family time we spend together it amazes me. For example, our meal times are spent sitting not rushed and talking together. We spend time daily in the Word as a family singing, reading Scripture, discussing Scripture, and praying. My daughter spends a lot of time playing her piano and reading good wholesome books. We have also filled our house with great Christian music and not CCM music. I truly believe TV is a curse in anyone’s house. We know Christians with TV’s and their kids are certainly different.”
“My daughter loves watching babies and children. Before it became a ‘soap opera,’ we let her watch a little of the ‘John and Kate Plus 8’ reality show (short clips on the computer). But we had to put a stop to that because we noticed our daughter throwing fits more often. We believe that the kids on the show set a bad example in behavior and our daughter was copying them.”
“We noted a marked increase in their creative abilities (drawing, crafts, etc.) as well as their desire to participate in them. Our six year old made a huge leap forward in her reading ability, and our ten year old rediscovered a love for reading that had been slowly waning for several years. We monitor how much ‘screen time’ each child gets. ‘Screen time’ includes computer and/or television/movie time.”
“We got rid of commercial television because although we could control the programs we watched, we could not control the advertisements. These are often more wicked and filthy than the TV show. When it comes to watching DVDs, if anything objectionable appears, we turn it off. The rule is that no one is welcome in our house as a teacher who is immoral, immodest, or ignorant of the subject they are teaching. This rule is applied to all movies, because movies teach.”
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