Compromise ~ Listening to the Words of the Ungodly

Written by Mary A. Kassian 

Most of us recognize the danger of blatant evil, so we tend to set limits on the type and extent of sin to which we expose ourselves. When a TV show or movie present us with occasional nudity, immorality, adultery, or profanity, we try to weigh the danger level. If it doesn't go beyond some arbitrary threshold of what we feel we are able to handle, we tolerate it, thinking it won't affect us. But evil is not benign. Author Josh Harris says we might as well ask how much of a poison pill we can swallow before it kills us.

"The greatest danger of the popular media is not a one-time exposure to a particular instance of sin {as serious as that can be}. It's how long-term exposure to worldliness - little chunks of poison pill, day after day, week after week - can deaden our hearts to the ugliness of sin...The eventual effect of all those bits of poison pill is to deaden the conscience by trivializing the very things that God's Word calls the enemies of our souls.

Does anyone really believe that if I disapprove of the sin I'm watching, or roll my eyes and mutter about Hollywood's wickedness, or fast-forward through the really bad parts, my soul is not affected? Yeah, sure - and if you don't actually like chocolate cake, eating it won't add to your waistline." 

Pop culture is brim-full with the counsel of the ungodly. It's a poison-laced pill. As Harris says, it deadens our conscience by "trivializing the very things that God's Word calls the enemies of our souls." So should we throw away our DVRs and satellite dishes, ditch movies, disconnect from the Internet, cloister ourselves in a room, and refuse to go to the grocery store lest we expose ourselves to the images on the covers of the checkout counter magazines? No, of course not. But it is important that we do not shrug off the seriousness of exposing ourselves to evil, particularly when exposure is constant. We must be cautious, wise, and vigilant, and ensure that listening to the counsel of the godly - and not the ungodly - remains our top priority and practice.

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things.
Philippians 4:8

*This book excerpt is by Marry A. Kassian from her book

"Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild." This book is good for young and old women. It will  help you to see the difference between the path of a wise woman and that of a foolish one.