The Price of Netflix is Going Up

A few nights ago, my husband mentioned from his place on the couch, “I think I’m going to cancel our Netflix account.”

“Oh, why is that?” I asked, guessing the cost per month was going up again.

“They just announced they’re going to team up with the ACLU to fight against Georgia’s heartbeat law.”

My reaction was instant: “Well, that’s it then. We don’t need Netflix that badly.”

 

 

In the four or five times this past month that I’d logged into my personal Netflix profile, I found myself confronted with stark, anti-Christian previews and every time, I was grateful my kids weren’t seeing what my eyes saw. Some of it genuinely the stuff of pagan nightmares. Not just relatively benign, “non-Christian” shows.

No, we’re talking truly, grotesquely anti-Christian material. We’ve moved beyond the slow-numbing material that gradually alters what we think about our social climate. They’re in full-assault mode and if we’re not consciously on-guard, we are in for a rude awakening.

 

See, the price of Netflix is going up but this time it’s not costing you more money. The cost is in lives. Not only is Netflix going out of their way to create soul-destroying shows and movies targeting children and teens, but they’re using our subscription money to fund the destruction of innocent, unborn lives.

 

I have to confess, after I wholeheartedly agreed with my husband’s plan to cancel, my second thought was, “What about this favorite show? What about the kids’ favorite shows?”

Almost as quickly as those thoughts came, they left. Because no amount of entertainment is worth pooling our money to fund abortion.

I realize not everyone can opt out of every service or company that gives money to Planned Parenthood. But for us, cancelling Netflix was a no-brainer (our oldest son’s language, praise God). Why would we give money to an organization that just declared open war on the unborn?

 

Let’s be real: do my kids need to watch a ten-year-old and his ageless talking puppies rescue an inept mayor and her pet chicken? Or do they need to see their parents demonstrate their values openly and fearlessly?

 

Is thirty minutes of entertainment worth the cost of my conscience (and theirs in the end)? And what will I give in return for that conscience?

I’m so grateful to be able to say, one after the other, our boys cheerfully said, “No problem.” We only told the girls that the favorite show is all done now, and praise God, there was no whining or sadness.

You’re not going to find me here offering you my handy list of Netflix alternatives to save the day. But I will say that we’ve found  Right Now Media has been a great resource for our family in the past year. It’s provided some fun entertainment, some educational material, and some great opportunities to talk theology with our older, more discerning kids.

 

I can’t make your decision for you when it comes to quitting Netflix, but I’d love to challenge you with this encouragement: Jesus knows your family’s needs. If you fear that without Netflix, you won’t have any peace in your home or any source of joy and entertainment, put that fear to death. Commit it to Christ. Your God supplies all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. Netflix can never give your heart and soul and home the peace they truly crave. Don’t place your hope in such a costly resource.