That's Entertainment

This month marks the end of two of my all-time favorite shows--Dexter (last week) and Breaking Bad (tonight).  I'm sad to see them ending (and especially seeing how Dexter ended--SO DISAPPOINTED, and fearing how BB might end), but I am fully aware that they are fictional pieces of entertainment.  I just happen to indulge a little in suspenseful books, TV, and movies that deal with complex characters who have moral struggles.  We all have them (maybe not to the degree of Dexter Morgan and Walter White, but we have them nonetheless).  Some might say that my enjoyment of such things is a moral struggle.  I don't see it that way.

In the past, I've been judged for the books I read, the music I listen to, and the shows/movies I watch.  I am well versed with Philippians 4:8 and Matthew 6:22-23 (these are the verses used against me in the past when someone has passed judgment on my entertainment choices).  I understand the importance of filling my eyes, my heart, and my soul with good things of God.  That is why I pray, listen to worship music, and read my Bible every day.  My taste in entertainment has never hindered my spiritual life--if it had, I would have abandoned that entertainment long ago.  My life is not made up of my entertainment.  It is, in fact, made up of loving God and loving others (including NOT judging them).  These two loved shows take up 2 hours of my week for 12 weeks a year.  24 hours a year.  One day a year.  I could calculate the days and hours of my other forms of entertainment, but I won't.  You get the picture.

What entertains me is not what defines me.  While I do set aside time to watch these shows and anxiously await the premieres of such movies as Twilight, The Hunger Games, and all the Harry Potters (even going as far as seeing midnight showings of them), their value isn't any higher than my time with God (as some might postulate).  Not even close.  I'm not going to back up my claim by mentioning all the "churchy" stuff I do and how the time spent doing it far surpasses my entertainment time.  I don't need to defend myself here.  In the past, I've felt the need, but not anymore.

How different (really) is it from watching the news?  The news is REAL.  And it has all kinds of things that aren't "noble, right, pure, lovely, or admirable".  Want to know something?  All 5 of those words describe the character of Harry Potter.  If any of those who've judged me for reading that had actually read the books, they would see what a redemptive character Harry is, as are many of the characters in the series.  Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia deal with magic, but people seem to be ok with those series yet opposed to HP.  Again, I'm not trying to defend myself--just pointing out the hypocrisy of some of those who frown upon Harry, but watch/read the news or Lord of the Rings.

In the end, what entertains me is only a sliver of who I am.  It's not what defines me or what my life hinges on.  So, no, I don't feel bad about indulging in shows like Breaking Bad or Dexter, or books like Harry Potter.  I am not practicing magic or manufacturing/selling drugs or committing murder.  Reading/watching those things in fictional stories is not condoning them either.  It's just a few hours a week of entertainment.  And that's it.

That said, it's time to read the Word as a family (we are currently reading Psalms, Isaiah, and Mark), pray together, and then tuck the kids into bed.  Then, it's time to see how Walter White's reign will end. :)