“There are modes of recreation which are highly beneficial to both mind and body. An enlightened, discriminating mind will find abundant means for entertainment and diversion, from sources not only innocent, but instructive. Recreation in the open air, the contemplation of the works of God in nature, will be of the highest benefit” (The Adventist Home, p. 496).
“It is the privilege and duty of Christians to seek to refresh their spirits and invigorate their bodies by innocent recreation, with the purpose of using their physical and mental powers to the glory of God. Our recreations should not be scenes of senseless mirth, taking the form of the nonsensical. We can conduct them in such a manner as will benefit and elevate those with whom we associate, and better qualify us and them to more successfully attend to the duties devolving upon us as Christians” (Messages to Young People, p. 364).

Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing , pp. 24, 25

• If we are “dwellers” in Jesus’ kingdom, what will we become?
  

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• When we are learning of Jesus there will be a growing distaste for what?
  

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Hebrews 4:12, 13 (Contemporary English Version)

“What God has said isn't only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts. Nothing is hidden from God! He sees through everything, and we will have to tell him the truth.”

WHAT GOES IN STAYS IN

Jeff liked TV. His parents worked a lot, and so when he came home from school he would turn on the TV when he did his homework or his chores. When his parents would come home, dinner was usually eaten in front to the TV. After dinner, the family would circle around the TV for some “quality time.” This was the way Jeff lived his life, and he really didn’t know there was another way.

When Jeff went to his friend Paul’s after school, his parents were at work, too. Jeff noticed the new kind of TV hanging on the wall and asked if the could watch it.
“Maybe after our homework,” Paul said. But soon the homework was completed, since there were no distractions to slow it down. Again, Jeff asked about watching the new TV.

This time Paul admitted that he was not allowed to watch TV when his parents weren’t home. He explained to the surprised Jeff, “They let me watch only one show a day, and then, only if they are home to watch it with me!”

Paul and Jeff did Paul’s chores and then washed up for dinner. At dinner the whole family sat down, and something unusual happened they began to talk! To one another!

Here are some statistics that might surprise you. The young people surveyed were between the ages of 10 and 16. Also keep in mind that these statistics could also apply to other forms of media other than TV.

• Sixty –five percent say that shows such as “The Simpsons” and “Married with Children” encourage kids to disrespect parents.
• Sixty-two percent said that sex on TV shows and movies influences kids to have sex when they are too young.
• Seventy-seven percent said there is too much sex before marriage on television.
• Forty-four percent of kids said they watched something different when they’re alone than with their parents (25 percent chose MTV).
• Fifty-four percent of kids surveyed had a TV in their bedroom.
• Children surveyed spent more time watching TV than in any other activity except sleep.

(Hutson and Wright, University of Kansas, “Television and Socialization of Young Children”)

What does this say about young people? Statistics say that you are watching more television and movies than ever before. And you are aware of the immorality present there. What gives? You are the most sophisticated group of young people in the history of the world, yet you spend more time on the couch than anywhere else. Something to think about.

• What do you believe Hebrews 4:12, 13  have to do with entertainment?
  

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• In the quotation from Adventist Home, we are encouraged to find recreation that is innocent and instructive. What else does this quotation say about entertainment?
  

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• Does our entertainment have any affect on us physically? Mentally? Spiritually?
  

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• How does being pure become part of entertainment? Explain.
  

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“We believe that it is our privilege every day of our lives to glorify God upon the earth; that we are not to live in this world merely for our own amusement, merely to please ourselves. We are here to benefit humanity, to be a blessing to society” (My Life Today, p. 214).

Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 25

• What does Jesus mean when he says “pure of heart”?
  

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• If you have been deceived by Satan, how will you see God?
  

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• What is the difference between recreation and entertainment? What are the similarities?
  

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• Can we find recreation that will benefit humanity and be a blessing to society? Explain.
  

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HERE’S WHAT I THINK

Read over the lesson for the week. Think about what it has to say about entertainment. Then go to http://guidemagazine.org/rtf and log your thoughts. You can also use the lines below to write out your thoughts so that you will be prepared for a discussion in class.

After you have read the quotations and texts that are below, stop and think about recreation that is beneficial for us and also what is potentially harmful. Make a list. When you have finished, put a check beside those recreations that we should be careful to keep balanced. Explain why you decided one recreation was good and another might be harmful. 

“‘Walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous”. Prov. 2:20. . . . We here behold the beauties of nature. As we behold these works of nature we should let the mind be carried up higher, to nature's God; let it be elevated to the Creator of the universe, and then adore the Creator who has made all these beautiful things for our benefit and happiness.

“We must take periods of recreation, periods for contemplation.” (My Life Today, p. 214).

“We cannot be excusable in the sight of God if we engage in amusements which have a tendency to unfit us for the faithful performance of the ordinary duties of life, and thus lessen our relish for the contemplation of God and heavenly things. The religion of Christ is cheering and elevating in its influence. It is above everything like foolish jesting and joking, vain and frivolous chit-chat. In all our seasons of recreation we may gather from the Divine Source of strength fresh courage and power, that we may the more successfully elevate our lives to purity, true goodness, and holiness” (Messages to Young People, p. 364).

“Many of the amusements popular in the world today, even with those who claim to be Christians, tend to the same end as did those of the heathen. There are indeed few among them that Satan does not turn to account in destroying souls. Through the drama he has worked for ages to excite passion and glorify vice. The opera, with its fascinating display and bewildering music, the masquerade, the dance, the card table, Satan employs to break down the barriers of principle, and open the doors to sensual indulgence. In every gathering for pleasure where pride is fostered or appetite indulged, where one is led to forget God and lose sight of eternal interests, there Satan is binding his chains about the soul” (The Adventist Home, p. 515).
Beneficial Recreation

Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p.26

• Who can know God?
  

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• How do the pure in heart see God?
  

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“There is need of relaxation; but temperance should be exercised in amusements, as in every other pursuit. The character of these amusements should be carefully and thoroughly considered. He who seeks pleasure among those that know not God, is placing himself on Satan’s ground, and inviting his temptations. Every youth should ask himself seriously, What influence will these amusements have on physical, mental, and moral health? Will my mind become so infatuated as to forget God? Shall I cease to have His glory before me?” (Ellen G. White, The Bible Echo, October 15, 1894).

1 Corinthians 3:18-22 (The Message)

“Don't fool yourself. Don't think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God's fool—that's the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It's written in Scripture,
   He exposes the chicanery of the chic.
   The Master sees through the smoke screens
      of the know-it-alls.
“I don't want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.”

SO WHAT?

There is an interesting idea in the world today. The idea is that somehow we are not connected to the things we put in our minds. We know this is not true when it comes to the things we eat. The poorer our diet, the more unhealthy we become. The same is true when it comes to those things we put in our brains.

You might have seen the commercials about “your brain on drugs.” However, could we ask ourselves the same question about the time we spend on our couches watching TV, as opposed to being outdoors, or working on our minds, bodies, and our relationship with God? I think we can! That means we have a job to do, and that job is to guard ourselves from what the world would have us put in our minds every day. Sounds tough, and it can be. But it is important for us to try to separate ourselves from the identity that the world will give us.

The world, modern media, or whatever you want to call it, does not care about you or me! It only cares about itself, and making sure there is enough money to continue itself. That means you have incredible control. All you have to do is decide to “opt out” of what the world wants you to buy. Simply “go on strike” to what the media wants you to identify with. In this way, you show them that you are not the mindless drone they think you are. What a blow to the way the media thinks you, a teenager, will react. Wouldn’t it feel nice to show that you have some control over your life?

• Do we need recreation and entertainment? Should they be part of our plans?
  

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• How can we be balanced in our entertainment?
  

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• How can our entertainment change us spiritually?
  

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Match the verse with the text. (All verses are taken from the New International Version of the Bible.)

• James 3:17 __________
• Deuteronomy 23:14 ____
• 2 Timothy 2:22 ________
• Job 14:4 _____________
• Philippians 2:15 _______
• Habakkuk 1:13 ________
• Matthew 5:8 __________

• “For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver.”
• “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving.”
•  “Flee the evil desires of youth. . . .”
• “Who can bring what is pure from the impure?”
• “So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God. . . .”
• “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong, Then why do you tolerate the treacherous?”
• “Blessed are the pure in heart. . . .”

Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing , p. 27

What is unfolding to those who have a trusting childlike desire to know and to do the will of God?

“Your last thought at night, your first thought in the morning, should be of Him in whom is centered your hope of eternal life” (Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, p. 666).

Philippians 4:8, 9 (The Message)

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Hebrews 4:11-13 (King James Version)

“Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?

The reason this is important to you is that you are in control of what goes into and out of your brain. That’s right! Everything you see, you choose to see. Everything you listen to, you choose to listen to.

This puts a huge responsibility on us to guard ourselves from what the world is selling us. Of course, not all media is bad; however, the question you need to ask yourself is this: “How do I make decisions about what I watch and listen to?” If you can’t answer this question, or you have never thought of it before, then it is time for you to begin to think about it.

The exercise for tomorrow will allow you to break down what it is that the world is trying to give you and what God is trying to give you.

“While we are seeking to refresh our spirits and invigorate our bodies, we are required of God to use all our powers at all times to the best purpose. We may associate together as we do here today, [FROM AN ADDRESS GIVEN AT AN OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL GATHERING AT GOGUAC LAKE, MICHIGAN.] and do all to the glory of God. We can and should conduct our recreations in such a manner that we shall be fitted for the more successful discharge of the duties devolving upon us, and that our influence shall be more beneficial upon those with whom we associate. Especially should it be the case upon an occasion like this, which should be of good cheer to us all. We can return to our homes improved in mind and refreshed in body, and prepared to engage in the work anew, with better hope and better courage” (My Life Today, p. 214).

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Filling out the following lists will help you think about the time you spend with the media and its type of entertainment. Whichever side you fill out first for each section, it will become apparent that the opposite is what goes in the other column.