Being in the survival stage of life involved a Sunday evening ride by the local rescue squad to the hospital emergency room. After determining I had a serious infection, the doctor ordered admission to the Intensive Care Unit. There the staff gave me caring attention and tried to meet my needs and to keep me comfortable. One of the caregivers asked, “Do you want to watch TV?” I declined her offer with, “I don’t even have a TV at home.” Somewhat surprised, she wondered, “Why wouldn’t you want a TV? What do you do instead of being entertained by it?” “You see, I am a believer and follower of the Lord Jesus. TV doesn’t offer much that is helpful in my walk with Him.” “What do you do with your time?” “Well, let’s see. I start my day by bringing my wife a cup of coffee to sip while she meditates and watches daylight brighten the day. Then I pour a cup for myself and sip it while reading my Bible. I also spend time reading other materials that build up my faith in Christ.” “Okay, I agree that TV doesn’t offer much that builds up one’s faith in Christ.” Our conversation left the impression that she spends a lot of time watching TV.
My offer to get her a Bible was declined. That was followed with some disappointing comments. She has a Bible and a good supply of devotional books on a shelf at home. In earlier years she faithfully read her Bible and devotional books. What she described sounded like a young person in a daily walk with God. What really saddened me was that she drifted away from the good Word of God. Her comments gave me the impression that time with TV and the “cares and pleasures of this life” choked the Word that brings spiritual fruit of maturity. “And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way, they are choked with worry and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to maturity” (Luke 8:14 NASB).
My assessment of our conversation is that the “pleasures of this life” choke her continuing fellowship with God. I’ve been exposed to enough TV to know the programming is designed to keep a person “glued” to the screen. In the middle of reporting news events, the viewer is told to “stay tuned; we’ll be right back.” Then there are unrealistic commercials that are beyond real life. Much of the programming has the potential of becoming an addictive snare of people who “just want to get home and unwind in the easy chair” by watching TV. There they spend many hours being informed about evil and criminal activity around the world but neglect being “rooted and built up by Him (Jesus) and established in the faith” (Col. 2:7).
Jesus warned of that danger. “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting [excessive amount], and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth” (Luke 21:34–35). TV can be such a snare to dwellers of the earth today.
TV is not the only thing Satan uses to snatch away our first loyalty from/to God. I could be a bit smug, maybe even self-righteous, about not having TV. But I’m not exempt from other potential snares Satan may place in my path. If plan A (snare A) doesn’t trap you, he then tries plan B. And if that doesn’t work, he sets snare C. That’s what he did in the temptations (snares) he set for Jesus (Matt. 4:1–11).
The Bible says, “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field” (Gen. 3:1). Many of Satan’s snares are very subtle and not easily detected. The Bible also reveals that Satan subtly sets snares to bring reproach on believers and the church “…lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (1 Tim. 3:7b). The Bible warns believers of the snare of striving to be rich. “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Tim. 6:9 NKJV).
Modern technology provides many gadgets, activities, and interests besides TV that can snatch away our first loyalty from/to God. Information Technology (IT) provides gadgets small enough to hold in the palm of the hand as well as large color screens portraying life-size images from around the world. This octogenarian, who started life during the Great Depression, shouldn’t even try naming the gadgetry Satan can use as addictive snares to distract our walk with God.
After Jesus issued a dire warning about Satan’s snares, He gave a clear antidote for escape. “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).
Don’t let your Bible and godly devotions lie dormant on the shelf while being snared by other attractions that disrupt your fellowship with God through His Word. Perhaps an honest prayer of confession before God could reveal a snare in your path you are not aware of. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24)