The Great God, Entertainment
The following was written by A.W. Tozer in 1955, in his book The Root of the Righteous. Following this excerpt are some reflections on what he had written.
A German philosopher many years ago said something to the effect that the more a man has in his own heart, the less he will require from the outside; excessive need for support from without is proof of the bankruptcy of the inner man.
If this is true (and I believe it is) then the present inordinate attachment to every form of entertainment is evidence that the inner life of modern man is in serious decline. The average man has no central core of moral assurance, no spring within his own breast, no inner strength to place him above the need for repeated psychological shots to give him the courage to go on living. He has become a parasite on the world, drawing his life from his environment, unable to live a day apart from the stimulation which society affords him.
Schleiermacher held that the feeling of dependence lies at the root of all religious worship, and that however high the spiritual life might rise, it must always begin with a deep sense of a great need which only God could satisfy.
If this sense of need and a feeling of dependence are at the root of natural religion, it is not hard to see why the great god Entertainment is so ardently worshiped by so many. For there are millions who cannot live without amusement; life without some form of entertainment for them is simply intolerable; they look forward to the blessed relief afforded by professional entertainers and other forms of psychological narcotics as a dope addict looks to his daily shot of heroin. Without them they could not summon courage to face existence.
No one with common human feeling will object to the simple pleasures of life, nor to such harmless forms of entertainment as may help to relax the nerves and refresh the mind exhausted by toil. Such things, if used with discretion, may be a blessing along the way. That is one thing, however, the all-out devotion to entertainment as a major activity for which and by which men live is definitely something else again.
The abuse of a harmless thing is the essence of sin. The growth of the amusement phase of human life to such fantastic proportions is a portent, a threat to the souls of modern men. It has been built into a multimillion dollar racket with greater power over human minds and human character than any other educational influence on earth.
And the ominous thing is that its power is almost exclusively evil, rotting the inner life, crowding out the long eternal thoughts which would fill the souls of men, if they were but worthy to entertain them. The whole thing has grown into a veritable religion which holds its devotees with a strange fascination; and a religion, incidentally, against which it is now dangerous to speak. For centuries the Church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for what it was—a device for wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability.
For this she got herself abused roundly by the sons of this world. But of late she has become tired of the abuse and has given over the struggle. She appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers.
A.W. Tozer wrote these words almost 70 years ago. How much more relevant are they now, though? One could only imagine what he might say if he saw the overwhelming obsession with entertainment that exists in our society now. We live with endless distractions available to us at our fingertips.Televisions are in virtually every home, and are continually streaming carefully crafted content to masses. People spend hours endlessly scrolling through FaceBook, Instagram, and TikTok posts, hoping that it'll bring some temporary excitement or distraction to life.
The state of internal emptiness seems to progress hand in hand with the growing addiction to entertainment found in our society. In fact they perpetuate each other, forming a downward cycle. The boredom, emptiness, and desire for distraction lead us to turn to life-less entertainment, but the entertainment doesn’t quite satisfy us, and so it only makes the problem worse. And so we come back to it again, seeking the very thing that it failed to provide to us the first time around.
We may take heart though, for there is a solution to this problem that is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ met a certain Samaritan woman next to a well, and told her of a true source of contentment.
Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.
John 4:13-14
Our experience will prove that every pleasure of this world will leave us thirsty. The immediate reaction you have to it might be excitement or happiness, but with the passing of time that will wear off and you will again be empty, searching for something else. I implore you, do not live your life wandering in a figurative desert. There is a Fountain of Living Water that can and will quench this thirst within you, if you but come to Him and drink of the water that He gives. When God formed humanity, He never intended that we would find true fulfillment and satisfaction in the pleasures of this world. He made us for Himself, and it is in a living relationship with Him that we find what truly soothes the soul.
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive…
John 7:37-39a
In the Psalms, King David so greatly urges us to "taste and see that the Lord is good". Would we in fact open our hearts to Him and taste and see, for ourselves, that He is good.
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
Psalm 37:7-9