Life by Grace

JOIN ME IN MY JOURNEY PERMEATED BY THE GRACE OF GOD. "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." I Corinthians 15:10

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Chick Flicks vs. the Body of Christ

Hollywood's philosophy is born out of the heart of unbelievers who do all they can to promote anything but God's Word and people as the standard for relationships. We are guaranteed that they will pormote this because they are at enmity with God. The underlying philosophy of "chick flicks" does not sneak under that influence. They boldly and subtly mold the thinking of their viewers. Females, married and unmarried, are their biggest target. I have done and often still do what most female viewers do while watching a "chick flick". They think or say, "That is what I want my man to look like." "That's how I want my man to treat me ALL THE TIME." And we begin to believe that guys should treat me like that and the perfect guy looks like that. The plot of these movies are often what could happen in real life, but real life doesn't end without major complications in 2 hrs and living happily ever after. Girls watch these scenarios played out and say, "If only I had done that differently, I would end up like that girl and have that guy." "I had that entire thing happen to me, but I didn't get the guy." I know these things because I am a girl, and I have thought them myself. I know girls will read this and say, "Oh, it isn't that serious." But I haven't realized until the last few years who much I do think like that. This train of thought makes me disconntent with where God has me right now while I am defenslessly letting this thinking shape my philosophy of relationships and marriage...And one more thing to add. How often do these "chick flicks" end with the couple actually getting married. Usually they don't. They just end up "together." Hollywood doesn't show what it takes to make a real marriage work and last through "good times and bad/ in sickness and in health/ TILL DEATH DO US PART." That's not in these movies.

Now you may ask me, "Then where are we suppose to get an example we can watch to build a biblical philosophy of relationships, marriage, and family?" Churches often do themselves a disfavor by segregating the singles and young marrieds, marrieds with children, and empty nesters. God has given us the Body of Christ so we can be involved in the lives of Christians at different stages of life so we can learn from them. One thing that I appreciated so much about my church is that fact that they realize and seek to live out the philosophy that we are one body and we need each other. I need to be invovled in the lives of young married couples, new parents, parents with lots of kids, and retirement age people. And the married people have things to learn from the unmarried people in their local body. What better place to see the Word of God fleshed out in the lives of Christians who are seeking to live according to God's principles and truths. Be involved in people's lives who are not at your stage in life, especially those older than you. We have so much to learn from God's people. That is where we should learn the kind of character a husband and wife should have and how that is fleshed out in real life. Let parents who are evidently obedient to God's truths be our pattern in how to raise children.

I must conclude by saying that I am not completly against "chick flicks." But I am becoming more and more limited in which ones I will watch and promote. As with all movies, watch them with caution and discernment. Don't watch movies with your mental guard down. God's philosophy of life is completely absent from their thinking. There may be some morals, but they don't give God the credit for it. Think biblically. We often tune out to just relax. Satan is subtle and decieving. Don't let His philosphy rule your thinking. Filter everything through Scripture. You may end up not enjoying watching movies much as you do that. But life isn't about us anyway. It's about God. His glory is more important than our entertainment. Ya, I am pretty sure I just stepped all over my own toes, but I need it.

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1 Comments:

  • At January 23, 2007 11:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hollywood wants nothing more than to promote an idealistic world in which man can solve his own problems. This humanistic world view can wound a Christian's outlook. Thanks for this reminder!

     

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