So we’re getting rid of our TV. Right before NHL playoff hockey starts. 
Brian and I bought a new TV when we moved into our condo last August. We have a very tiny living area that can, on its best day, only be described as “cozily narrow”. 
We didn’t have room for our old TV so we were “forced” to buy a flat screen TV which we mounted above the fireplace. I liked it up high because I didn’t want it to be in Anne’s line of sight. Then we were bamboozled into HDTV, spending a rather sinful amount of money when it was all said and done on a new flat-screen TV, HDTV box, cables and a swivel mount plus the cable/HDTV bill every month.
And it’s bugged us ever since. 
Almost everytime we look at that TV, we get mad. Rarely a week goes by that Brian doesn’t say “I just wanna get rid of that thing.” And I say “I hate that we spent money on that thing!” We have a few shows we watch. Brian’s big thing is sports; he simply loves sports and relaxes by watching sports. I like British lifestyle shows like Relocation, Relocation. We both love The Daily Show. We don’t really watch any sitcoms anymore. My only reality show is Biggest Loser. But some nights, when we’re tired, the TV gets turned on and we just zone out for hours. It’s not pretty but it’s “there” and so it’s on. Thankfully, Anne has never liked the TV. She never watched Baby Einstein and the only show she even gives the time of day is Sesame Street if Elmo is on.
Over the past few years, we’ve slowly made changes to our lifestyle, as part of our ongoing effort to live counter-culturally, to live according to what we believe Jesus taught in scripture, to live in our world like we imagine Jesus would. If Jesus went to work at my place every day, how would he work? If Jesus had my week, how would he spend his time? If Jesus did my shopping and cooking, what would change? So we try to be open and welcoming to people. We try to look them in the eye and say hello. We try to get to know our neighbours (that’s always slow going…). We only have one vehicle – and it’s paid off. We take transit whenever possible instead of driving. We don’t buy things we can’t afford. We don’t have TVs in our bedrooms. We’ve slowly gotten rid of a lot of house crap (even though we still have a storage unit – that’s the peril of moving from a 3 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom condo that is half the size – but now I’m eyeing it for demolition..). We recycle. We try not to use plastic bags anymore, instead bringing canvas ones from home. We support missionaries. We have “adopted” an AIDs orphan in Rwanda (which means we send money every month and have her picture on our fridge and send letters once a year or so). We donate to the Union Gospel Mission for holiday meals. We try not to buy into the reality TV, celebrity obsessed culture, caring more about Britney Spears than our extended family. I try to remain connected to people that I’ve loved like cousins, university friends, Texas friends etc., making time for relationships. We don’t own a “gaming system” like Playstation. I don’t own a cell phone.
There’s nothing wrong with those things – it’s just that we didn’t want to buy-in to this idea that you *need* them to be happy/successful/fulfilled/survive.
A book I read recently called “Justice in the Burbs” by Will and Lisa Samson has really synthesized a lot of it for me. It’s a brilliant book that talks about justice without being patronising or condescending or “preachy”. It’s a mix of fiction, nonfiction and meditations about the theology of place – that wherever you are, God is at work in the cause of justice. I can’t recommend it enough. Not all of us are called to “go”..but we are all called to care about the work of God where we are. So much of church is designed to keep us within the four walls instead of OUT in the community, witnessing through our lives, loving people and generally being the “hands and feet of Jesus”.
It’s been very inspiring for us. We have spent a lot of evenings (sans TV) talking about this. What does it mean to live redemptively in our culture? What does it mean to be “in the world” but not “of it”? What’s the line between living missionally and being a crazy, “fringe” type of disciple that makes everyone else feel uncomfortable and judged? 
If you aren’t called to move to the downtown eastside, then how can you live out God’s commandments on justice in your own context? If you aren’t called to live in intentional community (or as a new monastic) but are called to your neighbourhood, how do you live there like Jesus would?
I sometimes get really overwhelmed by social justice issues and then I just get paralyzed. I pray about it, I talk about it, I read about it…and then I do nothing. 
Because how do you know where to start?
If I start fair-trade focus, then how much money is that going to cost me? Then that leads to needing to eat organic because of all of the chemicals and pesticides in food production. Then let’s talk about meat processing. Oil consumption. Water usage. There’s issues with cleaning agents. What about clothing? Do I need “new” clothes or should I just reuse wherever possible? How many toys does a kid need? Are paper towels a misuse of creation? Then I start thinking about things like homeless and poverty, drug use and prostitution. I care about peace. I care about the refugees and immigrants amongst us. I care about equitable healthcare in the US. I want to help at women’s shelters. I want to help with literacy. I’d like to adopt internationally. I’d like to be a foster parent. I’d like to work with teenage girls again so maybe Mercy Ministries needs some help? Then there’s the crises in Darfur, AIDS in Africa, human trafficking…the list goes on. And so I can’t “pick” something and I already feel “too busy” so I just continue to do small things that don’t seem to matter to anyone but me and my family. I feel like I’d need to turn my whole life on its head and even then, would it ever be enough? 
But we are slowly trying to live our values about the heart of God for people more and more. Some of the decisions we’ve made are above. A few new ones that are spinning in our heads this week are about how we eat and consume and spend our time. We have become convicted about our eating habits and are now investigating better ways to eat which isn’t just the “how” but the “where” and “what”. So we’re looking into local farmers and markets again, trying to buy from ethical food companies, supporting local businesses, trying to cut out eating so much meat…basically putting our money where our mouth is. We don’t want to eat crap and we want to support ethical, fair-trade companies.
We have grown tired of the consumerist nature of our culture, where every free moment is spent at the mall or shopping for stuff we don’t need. My faith dictates not just how I spend my money but where and even “whether”. We’ve always been givers, following in the tradition and teaching of my parents who are tremendous givers. We always joke around that you “can’t balance the chequebook of a tither”. So that value being instilled me has lead to the fact that I guess I just don’t want to spend anymore time at the mall than necessary. I’d rather spend my money more wisely and “God-fully”, even saving it or being a better steward. I’d rather us spend our time outside, going for walks, enjoying the beauty of creation that we are surrounded with.
But what do I do when I have an afternoon off and it’s raining? I take Anne and we go to Winners Homesense just to browse around, Tim Horton’s in hand, just like everyone else. Values, shmalues. 
We have really been thinking about this one lately because of Anne and our new wee one (arriving in September), actually. She just wants to be outside all of the time. She loves the outdoors. If it’s been more than a couple hours since she was outside, she goes and get her shoes and mine and then proceeds to put them right in front of me. Then she gets her coat on (crooked, just one sleeve) and her toque on her and then stands at the door saying ”Keys!” She would rather be outside than anywhere else. She could play outside all day. She’ll keep herself busy in a completely empty field for hours. My Dad made an off-hand comment this week that “Kids just naturally want to be outside. It’s only if we put them in front of the TV or put them in front of the computer that they grow to prefer that. They’d always rather ride a bike, wouldn’t they?” That really convicted me. We live in such a beautiful place with great opportunities to be outside – hiking the mountains, swimming in the ocean, lots of parks and trees and pools.
We have a couple of friends that really have inspired us as well. They have a son about the same age as Anne. They live their values better than most Christians I know – and a lot of those values are Christian ones! They were quick to invite us over for supper to their home. They moved into a gritty area of town because they value diversity and being a force for change in their community. They work for companies that they admire for ethical reasons. They don’t own a TV. They hike and bike and snowshoe as a family. They are vegetarians. They open their basement suite to people of reduced income. They work in their community for cleanup days. We have been so blessed by our friendship with them and really inspired. It’s helped us see that we don’t have to “save the world” to be effective; we can live our values in a million small ways every day.
I guess it comes down to what the Samsons called “thinking and living in keeping with God’s heartbeat of justice“.
I am wary of writing about this because I don’t want to sound “preachy” or elitist. Because I feel like I’ve failed in a lot of this. And part of the reason why I care about it so much is because I feel my own inadequacies sharply.
So our next step is to get rid of our television. Most of the info we can get online anyway. We can still catch important stuff (like the playoffs) with friends and family or at the pub. We can watch DVDs on our computer, if we want to watch a documentary or a movie. So it’s not complete deprivation by any stretch.
I guess I just don’t want to waste my time with TV anymore. It’s so easy to just zone out with the TV on for a few hours every night. It zaps the energy from the room and the attention. We’ve purposely had the TV off all weekend to see how we “would make it”. And we didn’t miss it. We talked a lot more. We read a lot more. We went out for walks even though it was raining. I’m sure there will be moments when I will call my sister up and say “Let me come over and watch the Biggest Loser!” with desperation but I’m hopeful. I don’t really want Anne to have “her shows” or feel like TV is the best friend she has. I don’t like the obsession with TV and celebrity. I think I’d rather be a bit out of it or even a bit bored than do this anymore.
I’ll get an ad up this week and we’ll take a loss on it. It’s practically brand new but we can’t take it back so we’ll lose money on it. Not cool. But then it’ll be done. I’m not saying we won’t ever have a TV again at all. We just don’t want one right now. And that stupid flat-screen TV and HDTV just bug me too much to enjoy anymore.
But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
Mich 6:8
