50 Shades of Grey and Magic Mike - My Thoughts
My first week back from sabbatical allowed me to dive back
in immediately to Women’s Ministry. Over
the next few months, I’ll share pieces of what I did, experienced and learned
from God, but first I want to comment on a very important popular question.
Stop and think for just a moment… if you were me and just getting back from
sabbatical, what do you think the most
common questions asked would be?
The Question
If I’m honest, the first question is, “How much weight have
you lost?” or something to that effect which I will address another day. The second is, “Are you glad to be
back?” which again, I’ll address another
day. But the third, and most shocking question has been, “What do you think of the
book 50 Shades of Grey?”
Because a Godly woman and friend from out of town had posted
her experience with the book on Facebook, I was able to give a ready
answer. My friend shared that a
Christian woman had recommended the book to her, but after a few chapters in,
she was appalled and disgusted with the sexual explicitness. This led to many comments on her post. After reading the comments I had a good idea
that the book included graphic sexual explicitness, but one of the main
characters was a young Christian woman.
It appeared Christian women were being drawn into the book because of
this character, and some viewed it as okay to read and others didn’t. I pondered the conversation and went on with
my sabbatical without another thought. But
upon returning and as women continue to email me, facebook message me and call
me with this same question, AND all the chatter I’m hearing and reading about
the movie Magic Mike, God has prompted
my heart and it is time for me to share what I believe in light of God’s Word.
Where are You?
Before you read further, would you rate your love for
Jesus? Do you love Him from the depths
of your heart or are you just interested in Him? If you love Him, what is your motivation? Is it fear of hell or does it come from the
knowledge and understanding of the sin He carried to the cross on your behalf
so you could have freedom?
What and who do you surround yourself with? Do you love Jesus, but immerse yourself in
pop culture and music? Do you look to
others to bring joy to your life and make everything alright or do you seek to
have Jesus fill every void you carry within?
For each of us, the answers to these questions will vary
based on where our current walk with Jesus is.
I would have answered these questions differently 15 years ago, 10 years
ago and even 5 years ago. Because my
relationship with Jesus is continually growing, so are my thoughts, attitudes
and desires. And my thoughts, attitudes
and desires have an impact on what I watch, read, say and do (and please note I
am forever growing in all of these areas…
I am a sinner saved by grace!).
Questions about the
Book and the Movie
Now let’s go to the book and the movie. The following are the first questions about
this book or movie (or any book or movie or TV show) I want to ask myself:
1. What is the Godly
benefit of reading this book or going to see this movie? As a Christ follower, how does it bring glory
to Jesus Christ? Is it a book I would
read with Jesus or a movie I would take Him to?
2. How does this book
or movie stand up in the light of Scripture?
Philippians 4:8 tells Christ followers, “Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things.” Does what I am about to read or view match up
with this?
I know some of you are agreeing with me and others of you
are angry and thinking I am just a “goody goody”… and honestly, I’m okay with that. I would hope and pray that if you love Jesus
and are truly striving to live for Him, then the first two questions would already
answer the question of whether or not you should read the book or go see the
movie. But in case you need some more
thoughts, here are a couple of additional questions…
1. Do I want my
daughter/son or granddaughter/grandson or niece/nephew to enter in this same
relationship as written about in the book or movie? Would I want a loved one to have the same
life as the character? Would it be
okay? Would I support her or him in that
choice or would it break my heart?
2. Do I want my
husband or sons to treat a woman this way?
Or in the case of Magic Mike, do I want my husband and sons to go see
the same movie with women as the characters rather than men (Magic Michelle
instead of Magic Mike)? Would I see it
as a “fun guys night out movie”?
What is the Answer?
The answer to both of these questions is a big NO for
me. And praying over the past week about
what to share with you, has caused me to ponder everything I have been watching
and reading. I have even noticed
commercials on HGTV that I prefer my children not to see. So why did I notice things this past week
that I didn’t notice before? I truly
believe I have been desensitized. The
more I watch and read about sinful things in the world, the more it takes to
shock me. Why do I often think I am
“immune” to things my eyes see and ears hear?
I honestly think part of it is my own sinful arrogance. For some reason, I believe the lies in my
head and think that I can watch it and not be affected… afterall, I know Jesus… so it won’t affect me. But the Truth of God’s Word warns us about
what we see in Matthew 18:8-9, “If your hand or your foot causes you to
stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life
maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into
eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it
out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to
have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.”
I can already hear some of you say, “Oh Holly that is so
extreme!” But is it? Haven’t you heard of people who were Christ
followers leave the faith? Haven’t you
heard of God-fearing men and women who fell into temptation and lost everything? Where do you think it started? Do you think all of them just decided one day
it would be great to have an affair?
Jesus knows the heart of men and women…
He knows sin and our downfall starts with one flickering thought. He said in Matthew 26:42 “Watch and pray so
that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the
flesh is weak.”
If you are still reading with me, I thank you. I know I’m saying a lot. And my sincere prayer is that you can hear my
heart for each of you in my words. 50
Shades of Grey and Magic Mike contain
explicit sex which translates to me as porn for women. And there are a whole lot of other books,
magazines, TV shows, etc that may not be this explicit, but are not okay for us
to read and watch. If we do, it comes
into our minds and infiltrates our lives with the ultimate goal of destroying
us, our marriages and our children. Sex
isn’t bad… in fact it is a beautiful,
amazing and fulfilling gift God has given us when we follow His Word regarding
it (and trust me, if you study it, it is exciting too… see below for information on a book Intimate Issues which will greatly
impact your married sex life!)
What Will You Choose?
If you are a Christ follower… if you love Jesus with all of yourself… will you please pray about what you are
putting in your mind? Will you run
everything through the filter of Philippians 4:8 this week with me? Will you take a stand and then with great
love encourage your friends and family to do the same? What will we learn together this next week by
making this commitment? What changes
will take place in our lives… our
marriages… our families? Will you commit with me to be aware this next
week and put aside the things of this world?
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us we can put it aside, “For
though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The
weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary,
they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish
arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of
God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ.”
Let’s take our thoughts captive and experience more and more
freedom in Jesus as we seek His face and His grace in this life.
Lord, I do not want to
continue to be desensitized to the things of this world. Please forgive me for letting my own sinful
pride cause me to think that things of this world do not impact me. I acknowledge that every sinful image I see
and read adds the world to my
heart… and I don’t want that. I want more and more of Jesus… less of me and more of You. Convict my heart and open my eyes to not only
the obvious infiltration tactics of Satan, but also the subtle ones. Purify my heart. May Your Holy Spirit help me capture every
thought and make it obedient to You, Jesus.
And may I be a Light that shines brightly for You and reflects Your
love. Thank you that my time on earth is
but a breath when compared to eternity.
Thank you for the promise of life forever with You where everything will
be perfect, pure, holy, praiseworthy, admirable and beautiful. Amen
For further study:
What does 1 John 2:15 tell you?
How does 1 John 3 apply to this?
Other resources:
If you want to see what God says about sex (and He says it
is good according to His Word!) read Intimate
Issues by Pintus and Dillow.
For more biblical Truth and insight on 50 Shades of Grey and
Magic Mike, check out these blogs:
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