Discernment

Cartoon critics

Any time, Drive time

Invite your children to evaluate some TV shows and discern which shows are acceptable for your family.

If your children have the maturity to evaluate television programs, have them practice discerning with you which cartoons and other shows are okay to watch and which ones are not acceptable. Use your discussion to establish some family standards in terms of media consumption.

Here are some ideas for standards you might want to adopt:

  • We will not view shows with characters who speak disrespectfully to each other.
  • We will not view shows with characters who are deceitful or lie.
  • We will not view shows featuring children who do not honour their parents.
  • We will not view shows featuring characters who do not respect authority.
  • We will not view shows showing violence or cruelty to people or animals.
  • We will not view shows that dishonour God or take His name in vain.
  • We will remember that shows and advertisements can contain subtle messages that do not agree with what is taught in the Bible.
  • We will remember that the advertisements on TV can tempt us to be discontent or greedy, or to desire unhealthy foods.

You may also decide to routinely pray as a family before watching TV or DVDs, asking God to provide wisdom, insight, discernment and understanding.

Relevant Scripture

Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Proverbs 3:31-32 “Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways, for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in His confidence.

Proverbs 6:16-19 “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.