Unhealthy Addiction: Celebrity Media
February 1st, 2010
Today’s post is from Katherine, from Beloved and So are You. It is excellent…and challenging. May we take up the challenge and be set apart.
“Finally, {sisters}, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
We are living in a new day. Our generation is the first to be surrounded by, steeped in, and wholly influenced by the media. From television to the internet and print media, we have unlimited access to information.
In the midst of the media barrage, there is an increasing fascination with, curiosity about, and attraction to the lives of others. Especially famous others.
We are addicted to the lives of celebrities. We live off of their relationship failures, their fashion, their conceptions and adoptions. We follow their break-ups, custody battles, eating disorders, and materialistic pursuits. Their sexual exploits don’t escape us; their fad diets and cellulite, our concern.
There is a reason US Weekly, People, TMZ, and Entertainment Tonight are red hot.
Gossip is juicy.
Solomon even noted this when he said, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts.” (Proverbs 18:8)
These stories catch our eye because they appeal to the cravings of the flesh.
“For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure,
the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions.
These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world.”
(I John 2:16 NLT)
However, we now belong to the Father and no longer live according to the ways of the world.
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.” (Eph. 2:1-5)
Gossip may be delicious. It may even seem harmless enough. But by enticing our flesh, it takes us back to our life before Christ. And ultimately, it is a roadblock to our spiritual development. How so?
1. It is spiritually unhealthy. When we consume the tabloid culture, it is like eating a plate of junk food for dinner. It is not only non-nutritional, it detracts from our spiritual health. If you could look on the ‘ingredient list’ of the entertainment stories you are ingesting, you would see: promiscuity, sensuality, marital unfaithfulness, arrogance, vanity, greed, lust, homosexuality, bisexuality, rebellion, drug abuse, perversion, eating disorders, and enslavement to materialism.
Now, I am sure you wouldn’t allow your child to consume such a ‘diet’. You, my friend, are God’s child. It isn’t good for you, either.
2. It is a distraction. As believers, we have been called to glorify God in our lives. To surrender everything to Him so He can express his life through us to the world. To be His agents of healing and change in the world. If we are consumed by its worldliness, how can we rise up and bring Christ to it? What will we really have to offer?
We must not become distracted from our main goal as Christians. We have one short life in which to glorify Him on earth. He has given us a high calling, and we must put the tabloid magazines down and rise up to it. “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Ephesians 4:1
Setting our minds on higher things is absolutely necessary if we are to live out this calling.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,
set your hearts on things above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
Colossians 3:1-3
Katherine writes at Beloved and So Are You about discovering the joys of married life and the unfailing love of Christ. She has a heart for women to know how deeply they are loved and to live lives set apart for His glory! You can read more at her blog here.
On another note, I’m the Monday Maven over at I Never Grew Up! After you visit Katherine, come on over and visit Vanessa and I! Oh, and why you’re at this clicking business, how about clicking here and subscribing to Like a Warm Cup of Coffee. :)
I had to stop reading any sort of “celebrity” ( I use that term loosely) magazines or websites. I began to feel that the negativity around them was ridiculous. It really does start to seep into your own life, and the day I mentioned a celebrity to my husband and realized it was the day I stopped reading them.
Kalee´s last blog post … To Other Etsy Addicts
Thank you so much for blogging about this. As a missionary in Africa and being away from the media flurry in America then coming in contact with someone who is addicted, it is so sad. The saddest thing is how absorbed with the media we become and we neglect the God given blessings that we have in our husbands, children, and most importantly our Heavenly Father. I really enjoy your blog, thank you for challenging me today.
Very timely post ;-) While I’ll be the first to admit that I love the various types of media available to us (as I type this from my computer) I would agree that our obsession does seem a bit unhealthy. We let them, celebrities, dictate our wardrobe our make-up our time and even our self-worth (as we realize we don’t get paid to spend 3 hours a day in the gym just to keep our jobs). It’s impossible for us to measure up.
But there’s another relationship where we find ourselves incapable of measuring up. The difference is that God made a way, through Christ, for us to measure up…that’s love. That’s a relationship worth investing in. Celebrity worship has nothing comparable to this.
Thanks for the reminder that I am not a part of this life anymore. I hate measuring myself by these standards and gossiping is for the birds!
Jennifer Sikora´s last blog post … I Just Knew
Great post! When we read those magazines and watch those “entertainment” shows, we have to remember that most of it is gossip. We are quick to steer clear of gossip when it is someone we know, someone at church, etc., but we forget that reading about celebrities in “those” magazines is participating in gossip as well. I find myself guilty sometimes because it can be just so hard to turn away.
Yeah, I had to put those books down. Although, truthfully, I still run to them from time to time for make-up tips and/or trendy clothes, modest, of course.
I love the boots w/tights, spagehtti straps over turtle neck sort of stuff, really big purses and hoop earrings. But, I can’t read them and or buy them often anymore (for one thing they’re way too expensive for me), but I use to find myself being sad at me being a “not have.”
Good article.
Angela´s last blog post … The season of my life
I couldn’t agree more. I find those news shows to be like fantasy island. These people don’t live in our reality. I am also VERY careful that my children don’t see this kind of media.
Cherie´s last blog post … Hearts at Home Living With Less Contest
It is really hard! I used to think I was above this… and then realized I wasn’t – I really was interested in the gossip. This is a wonderful post.
Anna´s last blog post … What everyone tells an expectant father
This was SUCH an encouragement to me! Thank you so much for sharing. The Lord has been really challenging me to keep my mind set on Heavenly things and just thinking about how little things can creep in that seem harmless enough yet take so much of my focus off Jesus Christ. WOW! Thanks for sharing again :)
Katy´s last blog post … UNDER CONSTRUCTION
This was a great post! It’s so wonderful to see someone speak out against this kind of thing instead of treating it as ‘no big deal’ like so many are prone to do. I honestly think that if we as Christians would be more set apart and uninterested in the sinful lifestyles of those portrayed in the media, we could have such a bigger impact as witnesses. How can we say that those who are lost need to ‘put off the old man with it’s deceitful lusts’ if we who claim to already be saved aren’t willing to do the same? (or if we do at least try to live seperated ourselves we still show fascination for those who don’t) Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this today…it’s a very needed subject.
Tyra ´s last blog post … What About Following Your Heart?
I love your post! This is so true and a great reminder to everyone. From time to time when I used to be waiting at the grocery checkout I’d glance over and read the covers and sometimes take a peek but it doesn’t help us live the lives we desire or allow us to become the women we truly want to be.
Here is a post I wrote about fulfilling your dreams, loving YOUR life and my thoughts on celebrity culture:
http://theclassywoman.blogspot.com/2009/10/love-your-life-fulfill-your-dreams.html
Excellent blog and so true. The real question I think is do we continue to “fan the flame” of popular culture or focus on what’s truly good, right, noble, and true? And…are we ready to face the consequences of going against the norm, even when we find it in our Christian communities?
Kristine McGuire´s last blog post … Those Pesky God Pushes
[...] Do you have an unhealthy addiction to celebrity gossip [...]
This is a great post. I purposefully try to avoid looking at the magazine covers in the grocery check-out lines because I hate the way I feel when I read some juicy gossip…I feel like I need more! And what exactly is the point of all of it?
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I know I am reading this post well beyond it’s written date, but I “happened” upon this blog this weekend and I cannot tell you what a blessing it has been to me already!
This subject is an area in which I wrestle. Loving the written word, I have become guilty of grabbing trashy celeb magazines to the extreme – last weekend I counted that I purchased 6! This post has shown me that I am sinning by doing this, plus I am setting a bad example for my daughter.
I am resolving to not purchase “entertainment” type magazines, read that type of “news” on the internet, not watch the litany of reality shows on t.v. that are nothing but trash and also to not watch soap operas. I want to fill my mind with what is pure and holy, and these do not fit that bill!
Thank you again!
Yvonne