Thoughts on "Christian" vs. Secular Media

This is actually a response comment I wrote to a blog by Leslie Nease.  Leslie had mentioned in a previous blog that she listens sometimes to secular music.  Some of her readers responded expressing their concern for her listening choices.  In reply, she wrote a blog entitled "Listening" which you can read here: http://leslienease.blogspot.com/.

Here was my response:

Thank you Leslie for these words. There needs to be more discussion in the Church about matters of opinion, particularly with respect to use of media.

There is a big difference between rationalization for the sake of personal indulgence and God giving a believer a clear conscience. Christians need to wrestle with the application of Romans 14, 1 Cor 10:23-11:1; and Col 2:16-23. The Lord has given us clear instruction about how we are to handle matters of personal freedom.

This is vital for the modern church. The church in America has a well deserved reputation for being judgemental towards some sins while easily overlooking our own. We sneer at rock stars and homosexuals while basking in our pride and gluttony.

I suspect part of the reason Christians struggle with what to do with modern media is that we have our own music industry. The development of a Christian subculture has given us an entire world of products designed for church consumption. So when we listen to the world's music, we take attention and business away from the "Christian" market. The problem is, the word "Christian" wasn't designed to be an adjective, but a noun.

Being in the world but not of it involves engaging the world on its own terms. It means noticing the idols in our midst so we can address our culture in ways that are relevant (Acts 17:23). It is true we need to be wary of things that distract our attention from Christ. A good guide for our attention is to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, etc. (Phil 4:8).

However, a good barometer of our hypocrisy is found in asking ourselves whether we are as discriminating about what movies we watch as we are about our music? Are we as cautious about what websites we visit as we are about what radio stations we listen to? Because if we are not, we reveal about ourselves that our interest in selecting certain "Christian" things to do is a matter of personal preference and not necessarily a measure of spiritual maturity.