First off, I’m not here to judge you. I’m sincerely asking these questions for selfish reasons: for my own personal understanding and a better handle on why people do what they do. If you’re a disciple of Christ – a follower, a raving fan – then here’s what I want to know…
Why are you and I here? I already know what I believe. What do you believe?
I believe you and I are here to let our names shrivel while magnifying the name of Christ. That means everything you and I do should point to Him. How we work, how we treat each other, spend our money, care for the less fortunate, treat the more fortunate, make our choices – in our strength & wisdom vs. by God’s Spirit and power… If the bible is true, all that we do should point to God.
I struggle with this sometimes.
Sometimes, I’m so busy building my kingdom that I let people who cut me off in traffic set me down a path of anger. Sometimes, I’m so busy working my agenda that when God asks me to do something, my mind is to cluttered with worldly noise, I don’t hear His voice. Sometimes, I raise my voice at my kids and treat my wife harshly because they don’t meet my needs or submit to my leadership.
So, I get disobedience. But, planned and habitual disobedience? Ever read the story of King David and Bathsheba? Judas Iscariot? Recent resignation of General David Petraeus’ because of an extramarital affair?
That’s why I don’t get Twilight. That’s why I don’t get Harry Potter. That’s why I don’t get Walking Dead. Everything we do reflects our hearts. Everything we do tells what we “stand” for. But, the “this” we stand for – Nike, the Bulldogs, Pro-Life, Coke, etc. stands for something. And, every day, the things we spend our money, time, and effort on point to where our heart and our worship is. No, I’m not saying that we worship salad because we purchase one every day for lunch. I get that. But, there are things that seem “neutral”, things that are clearly good, and things that are obviously wicked.
So, I don’t get why you’re so excited about the latest Harry Potter book, the latest episode of a TV show about the undead, and the latest movie about a vampire lusting after a young girl who lusts after him… How do these things celebrate Jesus? How do these things magnify the name of God? How can I sit in a movie theater, investing in a company that produces and promotes unholiness, lust, a culture of death, and other things my Savior clearly warned against and openly condemns, if I stand for the name of Christ?
Yep, here’s the part where I whip out chapter and verse…
One day, I’m going to come before the throne of Christ and give an account for my life. He’s going to present me to the Father. He’s great and He’s promised me He’d reward me eternally for everything good I’ve done here on earth, but that I’d experience loss for everything I did that was sinful, pointed away from Him, or was done in my own effort, solely for my own earthly reward. (See 2 Cor. 5.10 and Rev. Chapters 2&3)
With that in mind, how will I defend my choices to spend money, time, effort, and social media bandwidth on movies that “stand for” the kingdom of darkness and the culture of death and lust?
We’ve been called to be “separate”, “holy”, “imitators of Christ”. How do we reconcile that against watching movies about vampires, demons, undead, death, lust, etc.? When Paul tells us:
or David says:
how do we handle these truths in one hand and Hogwort’s School or “Drive like a Cullen” in the other?
I can’t figure this one out, gang – reading 759 pages is a premeditated act. It’s not the same as blurting our a 4 letter word upon stubbing one’s toe. No sin is worse than another under the blood of Christ, but when it comes to eternal reward… What do you think? Standing in line for hours with worshipful anticipation of a 2 hour movie, then sitting through the movie and telling everyone how great it was, while spending zero hours that same week (even month) telling people how great it is that while you were dead in your sin, Christ died for you and them… It’s not the same as cutting someone off on the I-285 on ramp.
How does that wash? How does this stuff pass as “witness”? Separateness? Holiness? Noble & pure? …crickets…
Should Christians watch this stuff? How would you feel if Christ returned while you were digging popcorn dust out of the bottom of the bucket halfway through Breaking Dawn? How much eternal reward will we receive for this willful, premeditated disobedience?
AP