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This weekend we had Stake Conference and the theme was primarily about strengthening our homes and families. I’d been praying for revelation along those lines, and on Saturday there were several talks that the Spirit kind of amplified for me as an answer to my prayers. One talk in particular discussed setting priorities and using our time to do the things that are better and best, not just good and certainly not bad. For me, that translated into “you need to quit watching so much TV.”
I think that most of the TV I watch is good. I avoid shows with foul language or violence or immorality. I mostly watch things that are instructional or educational, like shows on the Food Network that teach you to cook. But the fact is that I watch too much of it, and once I’ve gotten started I have a hard time shifting gears to do anything else, and when I get bored with what is on the channel I’m watching I don’t turn the TV off and go do something else. Instead, I change the channel and watch something even less good, just so that I won’t have to do anything else. And I’m setting a bad example to the kids by wasting so much time.
So, I felt prompted to go home and talk to Colin about this problem and we decided to unplug the cable from the TV. This way we’ll still be able to watch DVDs (theoretically, that is, since our DVD player is almost dead), but since they end I don’t seem to have such a problem turning the TV off after a movie. I’m so grateful that Colin is such a supportive husband! It’s been about a day and a half since we turned it off and I feel much more peaceful and positive. Last night I went for a walk with the kids and Colin and I played games with them when otherwise we probably would have all been sitting around watching TV. It’s good to actually do things rather than watch other people doing things.
I’m not saying that everyone should turn off their TVs permanently or that TV is bad, but if you’ve never gone without it you might enjoy a change of pace (once the withdrawal period fades).
