Some may think that I have some sort of irrational distaste for movies. I can assure you, this distaste does not come from trying to make myself pious or “holier than thou.” In my ten year journey as a Christian, I have slowly come to realize the larger picture regarding the movies that we all love to consume.
I'd like to share some personal thoughts with you.
In my pre-Christian days, I was just like everyone else; I went to see just about every movie that came out that was worth seeing. I didn’t much concern myself with the content. In 1997, I surrendered my life to Christ, and my conscience gave immediate testimony to the things I was doing that were wrong. One of those things was watching movies that contained content that was sinful according to the bible. Every now and then I would go see a movie, defying my conscience, but felt terrible after doing it. As I grew in my Christian walk, I more and more treasured the scriptures and less and less cared about entertaining myself with immorality. There was a cost, however. I had to make decisions that were difficult and embarrassing at times. What do you do when all your friends are going to see the latest movie and they invite you? When you stand for what is right, you may end up creating an uncomfortable situation where you say , “I’d rather not”, and then the inevitable question comes up, “Why not?”
Now what? This question is the pivot point. Do you choose the easy path and go along with the crowd or the difficult path that could potentially lead you to being alienated from your friends. This is the pivot point because you have to choose what is most important to you (friends or God). Very few people choose the difficult path because the cost seems so high. When your friends ask “why not?” the honest answer will immediately burst the “happy bubble”, because when you say anything that points out that someone is doing something wrong you are “asking for it”. Any answer that isn’t honest is a sin, so the trick is to answer truthfully, but with extreme grace. The truth is, no matter how graceful you are, you will find yourself being excluded from “Movie Nights.” This begins the process of separation from the world. It is a tearing away that is quite painful at first, but soon becomes easier. Remember the verse in James that says “friendship with the world is hostility towards God?” Are you a Christian, wondering why your relationship with God seems so distant? We can only be God's “friend” when we have separated ourselves from the world.
I mentioned a “larger picture.”
Whether you realize it or not, the people that create the movies and TV shows that you consume have an agenda—and it’s not good. In short, they want to blast you with so much immorality that eventually you won’t even recognize it as immorality. Your mind will become hardened and apathetic towards wickedness. You’ll even find yourself laughing at it rather than weeping over it. Why would this be anyone’s agenda? At best, it’s just about money…causing Christians to lower their moral defenses and entertain their flesh; at worst, it’s an evil conspiracy to wipe out Christianity by destroying its distinctiveness. Even if it’s something in between, do you want to be a part of funding this agenda?
I’m thinking it’s time Christians choose friendship with God over friendship with the world, no matter the cost! I think we can handle the cost of a little embarrassment if Christ suffered the cost of going to the cross for our salvation.
Here’s a Christian Tract from the 1820’s. I hope it convicts you as much as it did me.
(Published by the American Tract Society, 1820's) [I paraphrased where required for clarity.]
Might going to the movies be a sinful waste of time…
…if this experience tends to give us an excuse to lower our moral defenses, counteracting our ability to be “of sober spirit”;
…if one would never go, and upon their knees, thank God for it, or ask God to use it for kingdom purposes after it was over:
…if most all movies contain indecency and profanity, and frequently glorify immorality;
…if people who attend these movies, by giving their money, encourage and support sin as a way of life;
then, we should ask ourselves;
Can a disciple of Jesus Christ, who professes to be governed by the Spirit, and strives to imitate the example of his Divine Master; who is commanded to "live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present evil world;" who is warned to have "no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather to reprove them;" who is required to "crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts;" and "whether he eats or drinks, or whatever he does, to do all to the glory of God;" can a disciple of Christ, I say, who is commanded to "shun the company of the profane," to "avoid the very appearance of evil," and to pray, "Lead us not into temptation"--can this disciple be found in such a place without being in sin; without polluting his/her conscience, staining his/her character, and offending his/her God?
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