So we are sitting at lunch today talking about Lost. One of our staff members is unable to contribute to this weekly conversation because she is not a Lost watcher (or a TV watcher in general). One of her reasons for not watching Lost or any other TV show consistently is because she does not want to have to be home at a certain time on a certain day each week. She does not want a TV show to dictate when she is home and what she is doing. Valid point except for one elephant standing in the corner named TiVo or DVR.

I made the point that this argument is considered invalid when you own a DVR. You can record your favorite shows and watch them whenever you choose. From there, I developed a theology of TiVo that suggests that TiVo/DVR is actually a matter of proper stewardship. Here’s a couple of reasons:

1. Since you can record the shows while you are gone or busy doing something else, you can continue with your fellowship or connection and do not have to worry about leaving a certain place to get home and watch a TV show – unless you really just need a good reason to leave and then you can fall back on that lame excuse. So DVR preserves and encourages fellowship and connection with others.

2. Since you can record shows and watch them later, it does not interfere with your family time with your children. You can wait for them to go to bed before you start your favorite show. So DVR makes me a better parent because it allows me more quality time with my kids.

3. Since you can fast forward through commercials, DVR allows me to be a better steward of my time. I actually spend less time watching television because I know watch one hour shows in 47 minutes or so. In actuality, I can almost watch 3 hour long TV shows in the same amount of time it used to take me to watch just 2! DVR makes me a better steward of my time!

4. Since you can focus on just the content of the TV show and not the content of commercials, the DVR prevents me from wanting more “stuff” that I see advertised on TV. I rarely watch commercials any more. DVR circumvents covetousness, greed, and lust in my life.

5. Since you spend more focused time on just the TV show itself, the DVR frees up more quality time with my spouse. No longer do I need to cram 30 minute conversations into the 2 minute windows that commercials are playing during shows. We can watch the show itself and combine the commercial chats into one longer and more in-depth conversation. DVR makes me a better spouse and listener.

There you have it … a theology of TiVo. Now that I think about it, it might be a sin to NOT own a DVR or TiVo system. I do know one thing I would love to find the guy who invented the system and give him a big man hug (I am assuming it is a guy because it has to do with watching TV more effectively).

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