“I think I have a problem.  There’s a monster in our den.  It wraps it’s tentacles around me, grips me like a vice, and sucks me in.  Once in it’s grasp I lose the will to fight.  Before I know it, another evening has been lost.  I did not engage. I did not get my workout in.  My wife has gone to bed and I’ve missed another opportunity for quality time with  the kids.”

The above admission came from a TV addict.  Paul kinda talked like this in his letter to the Romans:  ¹⁵I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. ¹⁹For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.  ²¹So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.  – Romans 7.15-21
The only thing is, Greg tells me they did not have cable back in the day when Paul was hanging out.  Paul must not have been fighting the urge to watch TV.  Maybe he was Facebook addict. 

So, according to the A.C.Neilson Co., here’s what we’re up against when it comes to TV use and the Family:

• The average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.
• Percentage of households that possess at least one television: 99%
• Number of TV sets in the average U.S. household: 2.24
• Percentage of U.S. homes with three or more TV sets: 66%
• Number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes
• Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66%
• Number of hours of TV watched annually by Americans: 250 billion
• Value of that time assuming an average wage of $10/hour: $2.5 trillion
• Percentage of Americans who pay for cable TV: 56%
• Number of videos rented daily in the U.S.: 6 million
• Number of public library items checked out daily: 3 million
  Percentage of Americans who say they watch too much TV: 49%

I’m looking at these numbers, and remembering back to my adolescent days when we actually had a portable TV sitting on the dinner table while we ate together!   Now the true confession – That poor slob who confessed to that TV addiction earlier – that was/is me!  (you probably knew that already, didn’t you?). 

When I’m in front of the TV at night, it mesmerizes me.   As I listen to others of my generation share about their own evening struggles, I find I’m not alone.  We have a hard time braking away from the glowing screen.  Now that it’s in High Def, we’re toast!

It is in my nature to selectively follow biblical principles like –  If your eye offends you, pluck it out.-  and go cut it out entirely.  (No, not my eye, Greg!)  I’m so all or nothing that I feel like I need to dump cable, put the TVs in storage, and just remove the temptation altogether.  Paul’s wisdom again tells me - All things are lawful, but all things are not profitable.  All things are lawful, but I will not be mastered by anything.  So, I believe I need to get some accountability; set a timer when I watch; get rid of the remote and limit myself to one show per sitting.  Someone suggested that I try only watching TV when I’m on the treadmill.  Unfortunatley that wouldn’t get me through viewing only one commercial!  I’d just know I’d wind up yanking the plug on the treadmill, and putting the LazyBoy on it!!

How ’bout you – got any struggles with cable?  Got any secrets you’ve discovered to overcome your TV compulsions?  Let’s talk!

Eastside Grace Bretheren Church in Reynoldsburg is hosting a Family Conference on Saturday October 3 from 8a.m. to 3p.m. and yours truly (Greg) will be one of several presenters who will will be speaking on great and relevant topics! CHECK IT OUT (click)!

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Last Saturday on Saving Face with Bob and Greg, we explored male selfishness. We agreed that this is just another urban myth! Either that, or it is kinda like the swine flu – it really exists; it’s not good; and it only seems to happen to other people! (Linda and Stacy are not permitted to view this post.) 
Certainly, WE wouldn’t ever be selfish pigs, right?!

When asked, most guys say they’d be willing to take a bullet for their wife/girlfriend…, but will they push a vacuum?!  We like to look at scriptures which talk about loving our neighbor as ourself  to help us quit being selfish (Phil. 2.3-4).  Keith called into the show on Saturday and pointed out that Jesus turned this up a notch when he said “Love one another as I have loved you.”  Serving others suddenly quits being transactional, and calls us to  give, even when we won’t get back.  Sometimes it means to give, even when the other doesn’t deserve it. 
I (Bob) hate it!   Linda is so much m0re of a servant than I am. Many times when I’m giving of myself, in the back of my mind I’m keeping score!!  Wretched man that I am, who can save me from this body of death?   That’s why, as I grow older, I’m more convinced of my need for a Savior.  The closer to the light I get, the more my cracks and darkness are exposed.  This also happens when you’ve been married a while.  Linda and I have been married nearly 29 years, and the longer we’re in this relationship, the more completely exposed we are – and, the more we are called to live unselfishly and love unconditionally (whether it’s taking a bullet or even – heaven forbid – pushing a vacuum).

Here are nine rules for being an unselfish husband. Can you give me one more to make it a “top ten” list?

An unselfish husband…

10 …won’t make important purchases or decisions without his wife’s collaboration or input.

9 …notices and cares how his wife is doing – tired, happy, frustrated, stressed, amorous, etc.

8 …does things with the wife that she likes to do, even though it’s not his own preference (and this kindness doesn’t get turned into a “trade” or bartering chip afterwards).

7 …respects his wife’s perspectives, opinions and preferences.

6 …accepts his spouse’s “no” when feeling amorous and the spouse is not.

5 …is willing to serve his wife in ways that do not result in either his benefit or accolades.

4 …is willing to put self at risk for the safety or security of his wife.

3 …does not manipulate his wife’s feelings to get what he want

2 …gives affection to his wife more than as just a “come on” for sex!

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