The Es of Entertainment, #1 -- Exalt God

In regard to the choices we make about entertainment (and in every area of our lives), each believer must “give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).  You should not judge others about their choices (Romans 14:10), unless there is a clear biblical reason for your judgment, but you must also carefully consider what is right and best for you to do (Romans 14:5).  So to help you in that process, and especially to demonstrate how the Bible addresses the all-important “matters of the heart,” here are some principles that you can apply.  These seven “Es of Entertainment” will hopefully make your entertainment choices easier!

The first E is Exalt God.  First Corinthians 10:31 says that whatever you do, you should do it “all to the glory of God.”  Jesus said, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Matt. 4:10, Luke 4:8).  And Romans 14:6 tells us that are actions are only acceptable when we “give thanks to God” (cf. 1 Thess. 5:18).  So a good question to ask yourself about any kind of entertainment you consider is, "Is there something about this that I can sincerely thank God for?"  When you watch or listen to some form of the arts, you need to be glorifying, worshipping, and thanking God while you are doing it.

This means that in one way or another your motive must be to please God.  It cannot be merely to please yourself, and it certainly cannot be to enjoy ungodly pleasures.  This is perhaps why the idea of avoiding all the popular arts is so popular among Christians—because many have not learned how to enjoy them in a way that brings glory to God.  In their past they have only watched movies, for instance, because they wanted to pass the time, or experience the thrill of action, romance, or a good laugh.  Or the movies have been a time that they were spending apart from God, because they were gaining enjoyment from things that He would not like.  So when a preacher or friend says to them, “Would you watch that if Jesus were sitting next to you?” (a good question to ask, by the way), they could never honestly say yes, because they’ve never “taken Jesus with them” to see a movie!  But I have watched many movies with the full awareness that Jesus is indeed with me, and I have communed with Him during the entire movie.  I do this by applying the rest of the "Es of Entertainment" principles, which I will discuss in the following posts.