So I realized something today. One of the reasons I have felt so uninspired in my blog post writing recently is because I have been so worried about offending people. I think I was, unconsiously, trying to gain a bigger readership and found myself avoiding subjects that would cause Christians to squirm. You see, I had become aware of the fact that my most popular posts were/are the “feel good” posts. The posts about God working and providing. The posts about love. The posts about missions and outreach and caring for others.
And don’t get me wrong. Those posts are important. But that is only half of the Christian life. And sometimes we have to hear the hard stuff.
And one of those hard things is something that, seemingly, no Christian wants to even talk about. It’s so much a part of our way of life these days that this has become a non-issue for many believers. And yet it is rendering many of us completely ineffective in our witnesses to the world.
So what is it?
Let me give you a hint: the main river of this flows from Hollywood.
Yep. You guessed it. It is what the world calls “Entertainment”.
The problem here isn’t really what the world is entertained by. Obviously, the world is not living by the same book we are.
No, the great worry for me is that Christians are watching it, enjoying it, and, even worse yet, not seeing anything wrong with it.
How incredibly grieved God must be.
This post is the result of a conversation I had with one of my children regarding a recent gathering she had with her friends. I do not want to give details because it is not my information to offer, but suffice it to say that these kids who are filling their heads with garbage are now starting to live it and see nothing wrong with it.
You think that filling your mind with pictures of adultery and fornication and naked, writhing bodies doesn’t affect you? You think seeing people shoot another human without blinking doesn’t affect you? You think that hearing God’s name in vain and the F-word a thousand times in one film doesn’t affect you?
Well, I think you’re naive.
It does affect you. I know this because of how hardened the hearts of Christians have become to sin, as evidenced by this group of “Christian” young people who have now started acting upon what they see and thinking it is all a big joke.
And my question is WHY? Why is this even a conversation among Christians? Why is the choice to practice discernment in this area so abnormal? Why do Christians get so much flack and criticism from other Christians when they choose to practice purity in this area of their lives?
We know FOR A FACT that God hates all sexual sin (I Corinthians 6:18), violence (Psalm 11:5), coarse and crude language, lying (Colossians 3:6-9), drunkenness, and witchcraft of any type (Galatians 5:19-21).
And, yet, on any given evening, many Christians are watching shows and movies that not only contain these things that grieve the heart of God, but are filled with them.
Oh, some of the plots are good — I’ll give you that. Satan is not stupid. Of course, they have to be good. It helps to draw you in. But is a good plot worth the sacrifice of grieving our heavenly father?
It’s just not.
So, I guess my question is this: How much do we really love God?
Do we love Him enough to sacrifice our favorite TV show?
Do we love Him enough to say no to a movie, even though all of our friends are going?
Do we love Him enough to pass by that very popular video game that is all about violence or that bestseller that is based on the principles of witchcraft?
Does our love run that deep for our Savior?
Yes, true Christianity is about love and caring for the needy. But it’s also about being different. It’s about being a light in a very, very dark world.
Maybe our addiction to worldly entertainment is the thing that has kept us from a close walk with the Lord. Maybe our decision to “join in the fun” drinking, partying, and living it up is what’s keeping our friend from knowing Jesus and having eternal life. Maybe our choice to fill our minds with things that grieve our God is the missing piece of the puzzle that keeps us from peace and joy in the Christian life.
Please, this is too important to ignore or to shrug off. If Satan can render you ineffective he has done his job. Don’t let that happen!
Great blog!!! We all need to hear this. Keep it coming. <3
Thanks! :)
This was interesting!!!! We are doing a study on the book of Galatians in the spring at our church, so I quickly looked up your reference in Galatians. Good word!! I myself will often stop and meditate while preparing for this study!!! Sometimes I don’t think we take life seriously enough.
I agree. I think we Christians have been conditioned to live by the motto “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die”, rather than living “soberly in this present age” as Paul says in Titus 2.
Thank you, Leslie. This is a great reminder and encouragement! As baby Christians we knew to walk away from those things which you listed, but it seems as Christian “matures”, he thinks he can handle it and not be affected by it, when really it leads to a life of ineffectiveness. You are so right, the difficult part is challenging fellow Christians. We expect it from the world, but the world has crept into the Christian walk, rendering our testimony, dead. Be encouraged, don’t stop writing these difficult things. The challenge before us is, “to provoke one another to love and good works” (Heb.10:24). Thanks, again, for doing the hard thing.
Thank you so much for that encouragement, Ellen! :)