Try It Out - The Blasphemy Bell

This is my newest "experiment", it's called the "blasphemy bell".  This idea came from several discussions with my small group about how much we have just come to accept blasphemy on T.V.  

Background:

One night after our study, we flipped on the TV to watch American Idol.  What a perfect test case.  It was the initial stages of the show and people were either told to go home or they were chosen to go to Hollywood for the next round.  Almost every single time they person made it through, they would get very excited, scream and jump for joy....and then proceed to use the name of the Lord in vain.  We started counting the number of times we heard it, and while I don't remember the exact totals, I do recall they were quite disturbing when you calculated BPM (Blasphemy Per Minute).

Enter the Blasphemy Bell.  My children have a service bell  they play with in their little toy kitchen.  I saw it one night and decided to move it out to the living room.  Now instead of counting, I just hit the bell each time I hear the Lords name used in vain.

I know what you may be thinking, "Why is he making a game out of blasphemy, it's not funny at all!"  I agree, it's not funny...and that is why I created the game.  I (and I'm sure you as well) have become so desensitized to Blasphemy in T.V. shows and movies.  Sure, if we hear someone at work, on the street, or *GASP* at church  blaspheme we all upset and say "Did you hear that?".   But on T.V.?  Nah.   That's just the way it is, right?  Wrong.

The blasphemy bell is all about sensitization, getting ourselves to listen closely to what we are actually hearing.   Sure, it's fun.  At first.  But as soon as you hit that bell 3 or 4 times I guarantee you will think to yourself, "What in the world am I doing watching this?".   Now, if you don't feel like it's a big deal to watch shows or movies that blaspheme God's name (remember the 3rd Commandment?), it's not up to me to convict you.   That's not my job.

However, it is my prayer that you won't harden your heart to what the Lord is saying in Psalm 139:20:

"For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain."

God's enemies take His name in vain.  If you want to read more, Psalm 139 goes much deeper and talks about how we are to respond to such enemies.  Even to the point of  how our heart is to be.

I leave you with this quote from Charles Spurgeon, that I read last week over at my Buddy Dawg On The Lawn's Blog:

"If the devil comes to my door with his horns visible,I will never let him in; but if he comes with his hat on as a respectable gentleman, he is at once admitted.The metaphor may be very strange, but it is quite true--many a man has taken in an evil thing, because it has been varnished and glossed over, and not apparently an evil; and he has thought in his heart, there is not much harm in it; so he has let in the little thing, and it has been like the breaking forth of water- the first drop has brought after it a torrent.  

The beginning has been but the beginning of a fearful end."

Service up.....Ding!

-W.S.