Most people have some sort of streaming service in this period in time and everything out there has ads. Whether it’s coming from our phone or tv while we’re watching movies, shows, listening to music or playing games, very dark content is delivered straight to our minds through ads. This content glorifies Satan, demons, blaspheming of God, torturing people, doing hardcore drugs, having inappropriate conversations with children, having inappropriate relationships as adults, etc. Honestly, it’s started to overwhelm me lately. So much so that I have begun to worry about what these ads, however short they may be, are doing to the mentality of me and my children as we try to innocently enjoy entertainment. Simply stated, darkness of all forms is commonly promoted to children and adults, and this has an adverse effect on the mind.

This is in no way new. Promotion of darkness has been a part of every society ever since the serpent promoted the fall of man. It’s alluring to be edgy and shocking. It’s cool to root for the anti-hero who is doing awful stuff, but “only to the bad guys.” Let us not be fooled, the promotion of darkness is from Satan. It is him tickling our ears and deceiving our hearts into thinking we are able to be more than we are on our own. His goal is to make sin seem a little less wrong with each promotion. Satan manipulates our feelings promoting the ideas that if it feels right, even if it’s wrong, it must be right.

Christ, however, has called His people to be promoters of light. In the telling of his conversion to King Agrippa, Paul says that he went from serving Satan to serving God, comparing the change in his walk from darkness to light (Acts 26:18). Jesus says, 

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 
- John 8:12

The people who follow Christ are called Christians and Christians do not promote darkness. Instead, they should be trying to rid their lives of it, and they definitely should not desire it! Unfortunately, we do; it's part of our walk. So, how do we as Christians keep darkness far away from us?

One way is to promote light. If Jesus is the light of the world, then we must promote Jesus in our lives. Ephesians 5:8-9 tells us to walk in the light, 

“for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” 

We must study. We must continue to grow in our understanding of the scriptures. We must practice what we come to understand. To follow and do the Word of God is to promote light in the darkness. Look to Jesus, who is the Word. Follow the Word, which is Jesus. And finally, do the Word, which is our light overcoming darkness.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
- John 1:1-5