Whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, and lovely...

We rented a movie last night. One we had seen previewed on pretty much every movie we have seen in the last two weeks.

The previews didn't tell us much about what to expect, other than it involved parents navigating appropriate boundaries for their teenagers when it came to things like texting, social media, the Internet and video games.

Which sounds like a movie that could be helpful for just about anyone. Whether you have kids or not. Since many of us adults are as addicted to technology as teenagers.

The movie started out interesting, showing the extremes of how families deal. From obsessively monitoring teenagers phones and computers, to encouraging them to promote themselves online, to feeling completely helpless.

But it soon spiraled into something else entirely. Graphic indiscretion after indiscretion. Mostly on the part of the adults.

This isn't anything new. Nothing we haven't seen in the media before. But I sensed in my spirit that it wasn't something I wanted to watch any longer.

Philippians 4:8 says, 

Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.

There was nothing lovely or admirable about the lies and infidelities and addictions in this movie. And even though it was just a movie, I didn't want any of those things anywhere near my relationship, my thoughts, or my heart.

At the same time, I think this is a personal choice. I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all list of what is true, noble, and right. Some people can handle more than I can without being affected by it. And some can handle less. We simply need to be attentive to that feeling in our gut which tells us when it is okay to finish watching the movie, and when we need to turn it off.