By Staff Writer Jennifer Grimes

I could feel my eyes widen and my face heat up.  My thumb lingered over the television remote’s “go back” button, but I didn’t press it. My eyes were glued to the screen. I was now a victim of the movie’s creators and my own curiosity. I was trapped.

Suddenly I blinked and shook my head, releasing the thoughts and feelings that had so absorbed me. I quickly started flipping through channels, ashamed of myself. “I won’t ever do that again,” I whispered to myself. But in reality I knew that the scene would easily repeat itself. It was just so easy to watch something that I knew I wasn’t supposed to watch. It was just so easy…

This story is true, and it has happened to me more than once. I could be searching for a TV show to watch and catch a glimpse of something that made me want to see more. 

The mind is a crazy mechanism. It is amazing in how it stores information, but sometimes it’s also a big pain. I can remember pictures and scenes that I saw years ago… even though sometimes I wish I couldn’t.

We tend to focus on sexual purity so much that we forget about other forms of purity. Sometimes, sin and addiction come in much simpler forms, like certain movies or TV programs.

Over the past few weeks I’ve really struggled with what I watch on TV. Everything that I once saw as okay to watch is now making me feel ashamed. So what’s changed?

These words: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV). 

That one verse has gnawed at me and I can’t seem to erase it out of my mind. At times I’d like to, because I’d like to feel less guilty about my choices. But really, those words have changed my mind and my heart.

I no longer want to be a victim of the world’s agenda to fill my mind with junk. I want to be filled with things that make my heart want to serve God even more. Sex scenes and curse words don’t do that.   

Philippians 2: 14-15 says, “Do everything… so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe…” 

So where’s that back button?
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Jennifer Grimes, 17,  lives in the hot and humid state of Texas. Besides writing, she enjoys hanging out with her family, playing outside with her two dogs, reading good books, and eating lots of chocolate. Most importantly, she has devoted her life to Christ and strives every day to serve God boldly.