All Mixed Together

Sometimes young people go home from school and turn on the television to watch music videos. Some of those videos include our favorite songs. A few of these videos are fun and free from bad influences, but most of them contain objectionable things. There is nothing wrong with watching clean videos, but it is nearly impossible to watch clean videos on television without also seeing the bad ones. It is dangerous to turn on the television and watch music videos, because there is no way to know specifically what will air on any given afternoon. The good videos are mixed in with the bad ones. And unlike movies, music videos do not have a rating system to help you separate the harmless ones from the bad.

MTV, VH1, and BET all air videos glorifying sinful sexual activity, drug use, and materialism. Though some might say CMT is better, its videos also contain immodestly dressed men and women, alcohol, and bad language. In addition to exposing us to immoral content in an approved context, music videos distort our sense of reality. We know that what we watch is staged, but it still affects the way we think about the world and what we believe to be normal. You may not personally know anyone who dresses as immodestly as the girls in the videos, or lives in a huge mansion, or has soap-opera love affairs, but seeing these things over and over messes up our view of reality. Real-world experience tells us that average people do not do these things, yet music videos may encourage us to pursue those immoral ideals.

Music videos on major networks are almost impossible to filter, and their immorality far outweighs their entertainment value. This does not mean that you have to give up all music videos, though. There are family programs on some channels that show videos suitable for a Christian to watch. Also, some artists produce clean videos that you can download from the Internet, or you can ask your parents to buy you a DVD of the video. Furthermore, some satellite and cable providers now offer channels that play music all day long without any videos. Just remember always to plan ahead what music videos you will watch. Do not let the television decide what will influence your thoughts. You decide!

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