How can Proverbs 19:27 guide our choices in media and information consumption? Hearing the Heart of Proverbs 19:27 “If you stop listening to instruction, my son, you will stray from the words of knowledge.” What the Verse Is Saying • “Stop listening” – a deliberate choice to tune out godly instruction. • “My son” – intimate, fatherly plea: stay close, don’t drift. • “Stray” – wander off course, little by little. • “Words of knowledge” – what God says is true, reliable, life-giving. Why Media Choices Matter The voices we allow into our minds shape what we believe, love, and imitate. Just as turning down the volume of Scripture leads to wandering, cranking up ungodly input can speed the drift. Tests for Every Screen, Stream, or Page Ask not “Is it popular?” but “Will it keep me listening to instruction?” These checkpoints flow straight from Proverbs 19:27 and companion texts: • Source Check – Does this outlet honor or mock God? “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). • Content Check – Does it celebrate sin or virtue? “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3). • Influence Check – Will this company corrupt good habits? “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Colossians 15:33). • Renewal Check – Does it squeeze me into the world’s mold or transform me by truth? “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). • Uplift Check – Does it meet the Philippians 4:8 grid of what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable? (Philippians 4:8). Practical Ways to Keep Listening to Instruction • Curate Feeds – Unfollow accounts that pull you from Christ; subscribe to those that feed faith. • Time Budget – Give Scripture, prayer, and godly teaching the prime hours, not leftovers. • Family Filters – Establish household standards; watch or read together when possible. • Accountability – Share viewing and reading lists with a trusted believer; invite feedback. • Replace, Don’t Just Remove – Swap hollow entertainment with edifying podcasts, biographies, worship music, Christian films. • Daily Reset – Open the Word first; let God set the tone before culture does. The Blessing of Staying Tuned In Remaining attentive to God’s instruction guards us from subtle drift, fortifies discernment, and fills us with the joy of walking in truth (3 John 4). Media becomes a servant rather than a master, a tool to glorify Christ rather than a trap to dull our hearts. May every click, scroll, song, and story keep our ears wide open to the “words of knowledge.” |
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