Since E is with my parents this week, my husband and I took a very rare opportunity to see a movie tonight with some close friends of ours. It's probably been months since we've seen a movie. Partly because we are very picky about what we're willing to pay $20 for, partly because with a babysitter, it never ends up being just $20. Dates for us usually consist of sipping on black coffee while perusing the local bookstore.
I have to admit that I walked away from the new Transformers movie a little worse for the wear. The action was incredible, and the theme of "sacrifice" certainly rang throughout the movie, but the enjoyment was greatly dampered by crude sexual humor and offensive language that seemed almost idolized by the movie characters.
In one particular scene, one of the characters turns to his companion and asks, "If humans are supposed to be made in the image of God, I wonder who made them (meaning the Transformers)?" How greatly saddened our God must be to not only be so blatantly disregarded and even mocked throughout a movie, but to then also be leveled to less than the creator of a comic icon.
The problem with this is that we sit in a theater seat with our minds wide open, with a popcorn in our left hand, a Coke in our right, and Sour Jacks in our lap. Armed for entertainment, not for the spiritual warfare that is about to take place. Along with the action and the drama and the comedy, our minds absorb messages that question our foundational beliefs, and these messages go unchallenged because we aren't even aware that it is happening!! And then we turn around and wonder why a certain word slipped out there or one of our kids responded a certain way, or why we just don't feel like getting in the Word today.
This is, undoubtedly, why Paul chastens the believers in the Roman church to "not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Sometimes, if the battleground is too precarious, this means not even stepping foot into the theater. Sometimes, though, I think we can take opportunities like these to teach our kids (of the appropriate age) that they must be carefully discerning the messages that they are allowing into their heads. A phrase I'm sure that E will quickly tire of hearing in our house is, "Honey, it's never just a movie." Because one day, E is going to (whether by choice or accident) end up watching a movie with messages that challenge her faith. I firmly believe what she does in those moments will one day affect her decision to continue to follow Christ or to turn away from him. These messages will shape her worldview and her view of Christ. When she reaches college, if she is unable to solidly defend either of those, she will likely question her relationship with God.
Why are we losing ground with our children, our teens, our college students? Because they are bombarded each and every day with music, movies, and other messages that challenge their faith. My ultimate responsibility cannot be to shelter E or even to teach her to be a good person, but to give her the tool of discernment and to help her learn to suit up with spiritual armor so she can know the will of God and resist the temptations of the devil.
This is, undoubtedly, why Paul chastens the believers in the Roman church to "not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Sometimes, if the battleground is too precarious, this means not even stepping foot into the theater. Sometimes, though, I think we can take opportunities like these to teach our kids (of the appropriate age) that they must be carefully discerning the messages that they are allowing into their heads. A phrase I'm sure that E will quickly tire of hearing in our house is, "Honey, it's never just a movie." Because one day, E is going to (whether by choice or accident) end up watching a movie with messages that challenge her faith. I firmly believe what she does in those moments will one day affect her decision to continue to follow Christ or to turn away from him. These messages will shape her worldview and her view of Christ. When she reaches college, if she is unable to solidly defend either of those, she will likely question her relationship with God.
Why are we losing ground with our children, our teens, our college students? Because they are bombarded each and every day with music, movies, and other messages that challenge their faith. My ultimate responsibility cannot be to shelter E or even to teach her to be a good person, but to give her the tool of discernment and to help her learn to suit up with spiritual armor so she can know the will of God and resist the temptations of the devil.
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