Be Careful Little Eyes… and Ears!
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
Many years ago when I became a Christian there was a code – A Christian was someone who had given up the things of the world and refused to watch and listen to the media of the world, instead choosing only Christian music and movies. When I accepted Christ into my life I began reading some of the books that existed back then and looking back I have to laugh at how silly some of them were.
One book I read said that every movie made by Hollywood was evil and were made to titillate and lead people astray. Another book I read said that all music, unless Christian, was of the devil and that listening to any secular music opened a believer up to satanic influence. Perhaps the funniest (unintentionally) book I read in this period of my life was a book called “What’s Wrong With Christian Rock?” a hilarious book that suggested that any and all Christian rock was evil and of the devil and that Christian’s had no place listening to it. It included bands such as Stryper and Barren Cross, and artists such as Steve Taylor and, get this, Michael W Smith!
I remember my first encounter with someone who believed this stuff. I was looking around the local Christian bookstore and came across a CD by a band called Angelica. I asked if could listen to the disc (just to see if it was my thing) and as I was listening a man came up to me and told me point blank that if I continued to listen to this kind of music I would never inherit the Kingdom of God. I must admit, I got a little annoyed at the time, but realize that the guy was probably speaking out of plain old ignorance.
Move forward twenty years and boy have things changed. Of course there are still those who act out of fear and ignorance, such as those who say that any Bible translation other than the KJV is wrong. And there are still those who stand opposed to Christian rock, rap, metal, pop, and any other music group that they don’t like or understand. But for the most part it seems that we’ve turned a corner in our thinking as believers to accept that God will use whatever He will to reach out to people, even rock music and movies.
I am pretty open minded when it comes to what people watch and listen to as I personally watch movies from most genres (and not just Christian) and listen to anything from P&W to speed death metal (mainly Christian). But even I have a hard time with what some believers watch and listen to.
Yesterday I was looking at the bio’s of some of my Facebook friends and was puzzled by some of their favorite things; one of my friends had The Bible listed as his favorite book and yet had Dawn of the Dead and Saw listed as his favorite movies; another friend had Mercy Me and Casting Crowns listed right next to Marylin Manson in their favorite music. And they are not alone. In the last few days I have read about a pastor who loves the movies of Quentin Tarrantino so much that he bases some of his sermon series’ around them; a Christian musician who thinks it’s OK to play in an openly satanic metal band; and a Christian author who has no problem including extreme violence, gore, sex, and bad language into his stories to sell books.
I wouldn’t consider myself a prude, but I am puzzled by believers who can watch violent horror slasher flicks and listen to anti-God shock rock. But hey, I realize that I’m not God, and therefore it’s not my right to judge. As I said above, I watch movies and shows, and listen to music that I’m sure some believers would have a hard time with. And so I realize that if I judge others for their choices then I stand to be judged by others for my choices.
But this I will say: We live in a brave new world, where many believers are now walking on a fine line between secularism and Christianity, pop culture and faith, darkness and light. They go to church and then go to the pub; their Bible sits next to the latest Dan Brown novel; their Passion of the Christ DVD is on a shelf next to the latest season of Dexter; their Hillsong CD’s are on a playlist along with Eminem.
The question I always ask myself is how much is too much… how far is too far? Whether we like it or not, times are changing. The world is changing every day, as is the church. But one thing remains true – we need to remain mindful of the things we allow passed our eyes and ears into our hearts and minds.
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
January, 2010
This is a thought that comes to my mind a lot lately. When I first got saved (19 years ago this month), there was a movement amongst a lot of us younger people (young at that time) to abandoned a lot of the things of the world. I threw away 4 trash bags full of books, tapes and artwork. As the years wore on it seemed that each of us let more of the “world” into our lives. Now, I’m not saying this as a bad thing. Previously, we were judgmental and didn’t have a lot of grace. And looking back, I think we smothered each other. People ended up keeping secrets from each other and when someone did struggle, they usually fell out of the church, because of the pressure. As I got older, and more confident of who I was in the Lord, I found that I really didn’t care to hide this stuff anymore. Now that doesn’t mean I do what ever I want, but I find a little more freedom in it. All that being said, I do find an alarming trend towards more and more people delving into stuff that I think is outside the bounds of the freedom that God has given us. Ironically, I don’t find these people particularly happy or content. Not only is the dog eating it’s vomit but it is snarling if you go near it. Besides this, there is a whole host of things that could start another topic, on things that are alarming me about the current state of the church. In this struggle, I have tried not to judge these people, but instead be there for them, and if the opportunity arises, share my heart with them, and hopefully point them to the truth.
On a (related) side note, one thing that intrigues me, is the story of Lot. All the years I had read the story of Lot, he seemed like a man that went after the world, and paid the price for it. He was smart enough to follow Abraham, but when it came to greener fields (of Sodom none the less), he took off. Even his offering his daughters to be molested in place of angels always struck me as bad. But in 2 Peter 2:7, the Bible mentions that “Lot was a righteous man”. I always had a disconnect with that. I guess it goes to show, how God can see something different than what we see.
Great post! Thanks.
Robert, sounds like we’re made from the same cloth. I too, when I became a Christian, trashed about 400 vinyl LP’s (all heavy metal and many satanic… remember Venom and Deicide?) and about 100 video cassettes with video nasties on them (if I had stopped to think I could have simply taped over them:) ) I have no regrets about doing this as back then, and I gained a short lived (but proud to wear) nickname “God’s Holy Destroyer.” I trashed everything that I deemed as satanic or evil. I would go to car boot sales (the UK equivalent of garage sales) and not only buy what I wanted but anything like tarot cards, Ouija boards, satanic music, video nasties… and I trashed them all. I remember one time having a “holy fire” where I burned stuff I had bought over a couple of months!
Oh yeah, I was on fire!
Over the years I have learned that listening to secular music and watching secular movies and shows is not in and of itself bad. As I wrote in my post I am mindful about what I listen to and watch, but I have a greater appreciation of other things that won’t be found in a Christian bookstore. There is a line, and I try not to cross it. But as you said, I know my place in Christ and no longer get upset if a movie contains a little of what I don’t agree with.
However, there are the “loosey goosey” types who want everything the world has to offer and only some of what God has to offer… the good bits. Personally, my time is limited so I try and only watch and listen to stuff that is not going leave me feeling like I’ve completely wasted my time.
Oh, and congratulations for 19 years of Hardcore faith! Here's to many more! B)
On a funny side note, similar to your Book store experience:
One Christian artist that I loved was Rose (Or Randy Rose as he was also known) of Mad At The World fame. If your not familiar, he recorded 3 awesome doom/stoner metal discs similar to Danzig. Anyway, he had a new release come out titled “Crazy Little World”. I went to the local Christian bookstore and picked it up right away. When I popped it in the car, he had shifted his style to a Beatlesque Pop. I quickly went through all the songs while I drove back home. I went back and returned the thing right away and asked if I could get something else. Took a 15% hit on it, but I didn’t care. Anyway the elderly Christian woman behind the counter mumbled “Why can’t you all just listen to Keith Green”. LOL! Different strokes …
Robert… That’s too funny, but I bet she’s a secret Stryper fan, eh? I too loved Rose… but what happened? He went all weird and stuff. Oh well, at least the music scene didn;t suffer too much as a result
He did follow it up quickly with another record in the previous vein. A few years back he came out with another English pop flavored album that was in vogue, but it either fell flat, or didn't even see the light of day. I think he runs a recording studio now. "On My Knees" (especially the live version), is just an unbelievable song. I really miss his music. I think I will go play some now.
Hi thank you for the post. I agree with the view(s) you express in it. Reading it got me thinking of Romans 12:2 especially ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind’. How are minds renewed? By what is fed into them through our eyes and ears.
I feel a bit of a fake, since I am really struggling with my Christian faith at the moment. But I still remember when I was walking closer with Jesus, and how special Roms 12:1-2 were to me.
Thank you for the website.
Thank you Di for your comments. If we're all honest we all struggle with our faith from time to time. There are times when we walk close to Jesus and times when we wander. I am reminded of the time when Peter walked on the water… when he had his eyes on Jesus he stood atop the waves, when he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the waves he began to sink.
I hope that this website is an encouragement to you to continue your walk, even though sometimes it may feel like you're walking through a desert.
Thanks again, and keep it Hardcore for Him!
Chris
Food for much thought. I’ve got “Will and Grace” on in the background as I type this. That’s a long way from never watching a movie until I was 10 years old because our church told us if we stood in line at a theatre, a weaker Christian might see us and use it as an excuse to see “Hot Thighs in Wet Grass.”
I’m all for freedom in choosing what I watch or read, after all nobody can choose that for me. I want to be knowledgeable about the world around me, not hiding away behind my Christian-culture walls. On top of that, there is some amazingly wonderful, intelligent stuff out there in “the world.” Stuff I can learn from, especially where it comes to exposing myself to great writing, acting, and directing.
Having said that, everything I watch or listen to or read comes with a point of view. That point of view is usually not too God friendly.
Most people watch or read things for enjoyment, not with discernment. What we watch, we gradually become empathetic toward. What we empathize with, we eventually agree with and spend more time with. What we spend the most time with, and set our eyes and hearts on, we worship.
“Be careful little eyes what you see” – best wisdom ever.
Never got into Will and Grace, Ruth. More of a Fraiser man… or Seinfeld… o.0
I don't know if this is relevant or not, but I just read this yesterday. It is about the 12 most powerful Christians in Hollwood. Some of them surprised me. Especially the guy who wrote Hellraiser: Inferno. ???
http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2008…
Yeah it's always interesting to me when people say they are Christians and then get involved in movies that are a far cry from Christ honoring. I'm not saying they have to star in just "Christian" movies, but I think that some Christians in Hollywood definitely need to screen what they work on a little more. I read somewhere that there were a couple of Christians who worked behind the scenes on the movie Hostel. They gave all kinds of excuses for doing so like they were there as a witness to the rest of the crew, but let me ask you WWJD? Would Jesus have gone to the Hostel set to share with the filmmakers? Probably. Would he have gotten involved to make the movie a reality to gross out it's viewers? Well, Jesus went to the prostitutes and thieves, but he never become one.
Maybe we should just pray for people in Hollywood who are Christ followers to make the right decisions and that more opportunities come their way to make movies that inspire people into a love life with God.