Christians- Guard your Gates when Watching Popular TV Shows and Movies!

This post will go over the importance of guarding your gates!

In Proverbs 4:23-27, the Bible details the importance of guarding our hearts by being careful where we go, what we watch, and what we say.

There are different gates mentioned in Proverbs 4:23-27, and each one is important to guard, i.e., tongue gate, ear gate, etc. By guarding these gates, we can protect ourselves from harm and live a life that is pleasing to God. I will expound on gates in a different section.

Bottom line- The enemy is always looking for an opportunity to sneak in and wreak havoc in our lives, and he will use anything he can find – including popular TV shows or movies.

This post will look at some of the spiritual dangers of watching certain TV shows and learn how to guard our gates using scripture and prayer.

Ready? Let’s go!

Why I’m writing this post

I believe that dreams are a big part of the Christian walk. God can use dreams to warn us or give us direction. In the Bible, Joseph had a dream that warned him about Herod’s plan to kill Jesus (Read Matthew 2:13-23). As a result of this, they fled Bethlehem to Egypt.

If you want to learn more about dreams, read my blog post, “7 Steps to Biblical Interpretation of Dreams.”

All in all, dreams can be a powerful tool God uses to speak to His people. So if you have a dream that you think might be from the Lord, don’t ignore it! Pray about it and ask God to give you wisdom on what to do.

Now that you have an idea of the importance of dreams, I’m writing this post because a few days ago, I had a warning dream that is about guarding one’s gates. The dream is concerning a popular TV Show/Movie. I detail the dream in the video that I will attach at the end of this post.

Popular TV shows can be portals and gates to the enemy

Many popular TV shows seem harmless, but they can be portals or gateways for the enemy. These shows can lead us into temptation and fill our minds with things that are not of God.

We must be careful what we watch, because it can influence our thoughts and actions. Watching shows full of violence, and other sinful things can desensitize us to these things and make them seem normal. We need to be on guard against these shows, and we need to fill our minds with things that are edifying and uplifting.

Dangers of sinful, immoral and ungodly TV shows

It is no secret that the entertainment industry is saturated with sin. From TV shows to movies, it seems like almost everything we watch promotes ungodliness in one way or another.

The Bible makes it very clear that we are not to expose or conform ourselves to this kind of material: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Here are some dangers of such shows:

1. Gateway to dangerous realms

When we watch sinful TV shows and movies, we are exposed to things that we would never otherwise be exposed to. Just by watching these shows, we are opening ourselves up to all kinds of temptation and evil.

The Bible tells us to “flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Some of these shows actually lead one into sexual immorality.

2. Desensitize us to sin

The more we see sin portrayed on the screen, the less we will be repulsed by it in real life. This can lead us down a slippery slope of gradually becoming more and more accepting of things that are actually very harmful to us.

3. False understanding of what is normal (programming)

When we are constantly bombarded with images of people engaging in all kinds of sinful behavior, it can start to seem like that is just the way things are supposed to be. This is basically programming or conditioning. This can lead us astray from God’s truth.

4. Plant seeds of doubt

Sinful TV shows and movies can plant seeds of doubt in our minds. When we see people living in a way that is contrary to what the Bible teaches, it can make us question whether or not what we believe is really true. This is dangerous because this is when the enemy can take away the word from our hearts.

Luke 8:11-12 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

5. Comparison

Watching sinful TV shows and movies can lead us into a life of comparison. We can start to compare our lives to the “perfect” lives we see on the screen and feel like we fall short. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy and discouragement.

6. Loss of time

These shows and movies can be a major time waster. If we spend hours upon hours watching TV shows and movies, we are not doing productive or beneficial things. We are just letting time slip away.

7. We put our trust in the world

Last but not least, when we watch sinful TV shows and movies, we ultimately put our trust in the world instead of God. We are looking to the world for entertainment, satisfaction, and perhaps to fill a void. The truth is that God is the only one who can truly fulfill us.

Four gates we need to guard

Proverbs 4:23-27 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Aside from the verse above, the Bible gives us many reasons why we need to guard our hearts. For example, In Matthew 12:34, we are told that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Proverbs 26:25 (KJV) Tells us of seven abominations that can exist in one’s heart. In 1 Samuel 16:7 (KJV), we are told that the man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

From these aforementioned verses, we can deduce that we need to guard our hearts against negative influences such as anger, hatred, envy, jealousy, and lust. These things can lead us down a path of destruction!

Now how can we be vigilant and to guard ourselves against the enemy? One way we can do this is by guarding our gates. The gates are entry ways into our heart. In addition, each gate has it’s own importance as well as its own set of dangers to watch out for.

Here is a quick highlight on the gates we should guard. I will expound on the below in a future post:

1. Ears

The ears are the gate of hearing. We need to fill our ears with positive and uplifting messages that will edify our souls. We need to be selective about what we listen to and avoid listening to things that would hurt or damage our faith.

The Bible tells us to be careful what we hear, especially sound instruction: “Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD” (Proverbs 16:20). We should also be quick to listen and slow to speak: “Let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19 ).

2. Tongue/Mouth

The tongue is the gate of speech and is one of the most powerful gates we have. It can be used for good or for evil. We need to be careful about what we say and how we say it because words have the power to bless or curse others.

The Bible tells us to watch our words carefully: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” (Proverbs 18:21). We should also be careful about what we say: “An ungodly man digs up evil, and his lips are a snare to his soul” (Proverbs 16:27 ).

If you are interested, feel free to read my post titled, “Power of the Tongue with Clinical Examples.”

3. Eyes

We need to be careful about what we allow into our eyesight because the eyes are the gate of sight. When we watch too much violence or negativity, we can damage our hearts and minds. We should fill our vision with positive and uplifting images that will edify our souls.

The Bible tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

4. Feet

The feet are the gate of movement. We need to be careful about where we walk and what we step on. We should avoid walking in places that would lead us into temptation or danger. This means we should choose our steps wisely and with caution.

The Bible tells us to walk in the light: “And you shall walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness” (Proverbs 2:20).

These are just a few of the gates we need to protect as Christians.

How to guard your gates

Ok to piggy back on the gates, here is a teaser on a future post on spiritual warfare that I will write:

One of the best ways to guard our gates is by filling our minds with positive things. The Bible tells us to meditate on God’s word day and night (Joshua 1:8). This means that we should read, study, and memorize Scripture. When we do this, we are equipping ourselves with the truth of God’s word. We are also filling our minds with things that are good and pure.

As mentioned earlier, another way to guard our gates is by being careful about what TV shows we watch. Many shows today contain violence, and other things that can harm our spiritual lives. If we are not careful, these shows can open the door for the enemy to attack us. If you experience sleep paralysis, please audit what gates you have wide open for the enemy to take advantage of. We need to be wise in what we watch and make sure that it is something that will edify us spiritually. Remember, we need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16).

In addition, be careful of the company we keep. If our friends are into watching shows that we know are not good for us, we need to not give into temptation. We need to be strong in our faith and stand firm against the enemy.

Lastly, another way to guard our gates is to remain in the Spirit so we don’t gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

Let us be on guard, and let us fill our minds with things that are good and noble. If we are faithful to guard our gates, we will be able to keep the enemy out and live lives pleasing to God.

And that’s it, folks; guard your gates when watching popular TV shows and movies!

In conclusion, just because a show is popular does not mean it is good for us. Let us be aware of the spiritual dangers that certain shows can pose. Please ask God for discernment about this topic. Discernment is an important tool in our Christian walk! It should be in everyone’s Spiritual Warfare arsenal!

P.S Here is the dream that I had that I detail in my YouTube video that will go live September 30th at 7am Eastern:

Hugs!