LightGrams
July 13, 2023
Volume 27, Number 19
The Toronto Zoo has posted a new sign on the exhibit where visitors can see gorillas. It asks visitors to please refrain from showing videos on their smartphones to the gorillas “as some content can be upsetting and affect their relationships and behavior within their family.”
Nassir is a 14-year-old gorilla that is especially interested in seeing what visitors show him on their phones. The zoo’s website states that he is “fascinated by videos and screen time would dominate his life if he had his way”. Zookeepers are concerned that Nassir and others like him will be so distracted that they won’t interact naturally with one another.
The goal of zoos is to present animals in environments that are as close to natural as possible. For years we’ve seen signs warning us to not feed the animals; now we must be careful what we “feed” their minds.
Have you already had thoughts about how this is a concern for people, too? Our children were raised when computers and the Internet were in their early stages. Today it’s a battle to monitor and restrict screen time for children (not to mention us who are older!). Any parent who makes at least minimal efforts to be responsible knows that there is so much content that can be harmful to little ones.
Long before the Internet, godly people were attentive to what they allowed into their minds. Job expressed his concern in Job 31:1: “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?” David wrote similar thoughts in Psalm 101:3: “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.” (Was this written before or after the tragic incident with Bathsheba, found in 2 Samuel 11:1-5?)
Jesus stated the principle most powerfully in Matthew 6:22,23: “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
Our children sometimes sing this song: “Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see.” Other verses follow with similar warnings about what we allow our hands to do and where our feet take us. That’s actually good advice for grownups, too. As people often say, “You can’t un-see something.” Once I have witnessed a horrible scene, it’s liable to remain lodged in my memory for a long time.
If you visit the Toronto Zoo, please don’t corrupt their gorillas by showing them videos. Even more importantly, let’s be vigilant about guarding what we allow our children – or ourselves – to see. Let’s hear Jesus’ words once more: “The lamp of the body is the eye.” May our eyes dwell only on light.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2023, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “[email protected]” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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