Articles on TV Serials—Readers Respond
Straightforward Bible-based counsel was included in a discussion of TV serials in the December 1, 1982, issue of The Watchtower. Many readers wrote to say how they personally benefited from the counsel given.
“Everything you said and quoted from others’ personal experiences was hitting the nail right on the head!” wrote one Witness in California. “For 13 years I was a soap-opera addict. I thought that I was safe simply by attending Christian meetings and being semiregular in the field service. But I adopted the worldly soap-opera attitude that if your husband mistreats you or you feel unloved, adultery is justifiable—he brought it on himself. And so when I felt ‘justified’ I took this bad course and sinned against Jehovah and my mate. Eventually there proved to be a need to disfellowship me from the Christian congregation.” However, she came to her senses and was reinstated. The articles reinforced her resolve never again to watch these corrupting serials. “Now I can study and read the Bible and Christian literature in peace,” she concluded.
One subtle danger exposed in the articles was the way the serials get the viewers involved emotionally with the characters in the show. “I had grown up watching this one soap opera and the character ‘Julie’ was just like my ‘friend.’ . . . One day ‘Julie’ had an accident that left her beautiful face badly scarred,” wrote another Christian woman in the United States. “I was in front of the TV set every day to make sure she was going to pull through. That night as I was saying my prayers, before I even thought what I was saying, I prayed, ‘And Jehovah, please bless Julie.’ I was shocked! This plea to Jehovah for Julie had come from my heart!” Realizing how involved she had become, she stopped watching these programs. She wrote: “If all readers will take your article on TV serials to heart, they will feel a real sense of freedom, since our own everyday problems are enough to cope with.”
After expressing appreciation for the articles, one Christian woman in Texas wrote of her past: “I realized that I was ‘addicted’ to soap operas, and that I had to do something about it. I wondered, too, if my relationship with Jehovah could be affected. How could I have ‘them’ as friends and also be a friend to Jehovah? I had to quit all at once—it was the only way, and how hard it was!”
What did this Christian woman have to do to break free? She added: “I had to unplug the TV. I would go outdoors and find something to do in my garden, call somebody, anything just to stay busy so that I would not give in. After about six months of taking it one day at a time, I felt I could stay in the house; I started using that time for personal Bible study, preparation for meetings and other spiritual things. How much better I felt! It has been over two years now since I have seen those so-called friends. I must admit that at times I still wonder what is going on with them, but I fight it. . . . Perhaps many others who have not yet broken free will now. I thank Jehovah and you brothers for exposing this ‘good-for-nothing thing.’”—Psalm 101:3.
Another whose life was touched by the articles was a Witness in Canada. “I cried when I read the articles, for I discovered that my heart was no longer complete toward Jehovah. I promised my God that I would no longer be a slave to these serials and asked him to help me to get out of my home on the day of the program.”
This Christian woman, who would even take her telephone off the hook to avoid being interrupted during “her” program, continued: “Two days later, I was invited to attend a Bible study on the very day and time of ‘my’ serial. I happily accepted. . . . I now feel closer to Jehovah, and my relationship with him is more intimate. How good Jehovah is to discipline us through his Word!”
Jehovah says: “I will give advice with my eye upon you.” (Psalm 32:8) He knows our treacherous heart and wants to protect us from spiritual ruin. How good when we heed such discerning advice!