What about entertainment?

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Question 12036

The Bible does not contain a list of approved films, television programmes, or music genres. This frustrates some Christians who would prefer a clear set of rules, and it emboldens others who take the silence as permission to consume whatever they please without reflection. Neither response is adequate. Scripture provides principles that, when honestly applied, give genuine guidance for how believers navigate a culture saturated with entertainment options of wildly varying moral quality.

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The Philippians 4:8 Standard

The closest thing Scripture provides to a content filter is Paul’s instruction in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” This is not a prohibition of all engagement with art, culture, or entertainment. It is a description of what ought to dominate the believer’s mental life. The question is not whether a Christian may ever encounter anything impure but whether they are deliberately and habitually filling their minds with material that works against the Spirit’s sanctifying work.

This requires honest self-assessment. A believer who regularly consumes entertainment that glorifies violence, normalises sexual immorality, celebrates rebellion against authority, or treats blasphemy as comedy cannot simultaneously claim to be pursuing holiness of mind. The entertainment we choose shapes us more than most people are willing to admit. What we laugh at, what we find exciting, what we regard as normal, these are all formed by what we watch, listen to, and give our attention to over time.

Christian Liberty and Conscience

Paul’s teaching on Christian liberty in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10 is relevant here. There are matters on which Scripture does not give explicit commands, and in those areas believers are to act according to their own conscience before God. One Christian may feel entirely free to watch a particular programme; another may feel convicted that it is harmful to their walk with Christ. Paul’s instruction is that the one who feels free should not despise the one who does not, and the one who abstains should not judge the one who participates. What neither person may do is act against their own conscience, “for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).

There is also the matter of influence on others. Paul’s concern in 1 Corinthians 8 is not merely personal purity but the effect of one believer’s freedom on another believer’s conscience. A Christian who is free to engage with certain entertainment but whose example causes a weaker believer to stumble into sin has not exercised their freedom lovingly. Liberty is always bounded by love.

Time and Stewardship

A dimension that often goes unexamined is the sheer amount of time entertainment consumes. Paul’s instruction to “redeem the time” (Ephesians 5:16, KJV) or “make the best use of the time” (ESV) applies to how we spend our evenings and weekends as much as our working hours. Entertainment is not inherently sinful, but it can become a form of spiritual anaesthesia, numbing the believer to prayer, Scripture, service, and genuine human relationships. The question is not only “Is this content acceptable?” but “Is this the best use of the time God has given me?”

So, now what?

Christians are not called to withdraw from culture into a sanitised bubble. Nor are they free to consume whatever the world offers without discernment. The biblical approach is honest engagement guided by the Philippians 4:8 standard, bounded by love for weaker believers, and governed by a genuine desire to use time wisely. If a believer cannot pray comfortably after watching something, that is a signal worth paying attention to. The goal is not legalism but a mind increasingly shaped by what is true, honourable, and worthy of praise.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8