"E" is for Entertainment

Our culture is short on many things, but entertainment is not one of them. Dramas. Music. Sports on TV or in person. A favorite author or comedian. Movies.
Entertainment is whatever we do just for fun. It doesn’t challenge us to change or pressure us into work or servitude. It is amusement for the moment and enjoyment for the day which allows our minds to rest and retreat from the world.
And thus, the temptation is simply to do whatever I enjoy…regardless of it is content. The problem is that entertainment is a veritable parade of philosophy, theology, and worldview that seers our minds through written and visual pictures. Thus, the morality of entertainment deeply matters as well as the way in which it directs the heart and mind.
You are what you eat. We know that the roasted vegetables fuel our bodies and the French fries, the triple chocolate chunk ice cream, and cheeseburgers…try to fuel them but mostly just hang around…for decades.
Similarly, whatever is consumed in entertainment is going to be part of my memory bank from now on. The beauty of a self-sacrificial love story will be there along with the bloody gore of invading aliens. The wonder of triumph after desperate battle will remain alongside the lewd bedroom scene.
If you are what you eat…is your entertainment building up your spirit or weighing it down like soggy, day old French fries?