Today my dh was watching the MTV Movie Awards and I sat down to nurse Gabe. As we watched I was struck by how self-aggrandizing the whole thing was. These stars get together to basically worship each other's fame. Adam Sandler (who was getting some sort of "life time achievement" type award) even sang a song about how awesome he is. And everyone thought it was hilarious. If that's not idolatry I don't know what is.
Aren't you glad we have a purpose in life? That we are not here just for ourselves, but have an eternal purpose that is much bigger than our tiny lives? I am so grateful that God chose to save me. That the eternal and infinite King of the universe chose me to be His friend and gave me a unique purpose for this life and the one to come. How blessed we are to have a destiny that is greater than glorifying ourselves.
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Ouch!
Yesterday, Nate and I discussed the Sixth Commandment. He wanted to know what the difference was between killing in wars and murder. We had a very thought provoking discussion and I was surprised at his depth of insight.
Then today he comes up and says, "Mommy, how come if God hates murder, and we're supposed to love the things that God loves and hate the things that God hates, you like to watch CSI and Law and Order? Aren't those just about murder? I don't think you really love the things God loves if you think those shows are so interesting."
Ouch!
Out of the mouths of babes...
Then today he comes up and says, "Mommy, how come if God hates murder, and we're supposed to love the things that God loves and hate the things that God hates, you like to watch CSI and Law and Order? Aren't those just about murder? I don't think you really love the things God loves if you think those shows are so interesting."
Ouch!
Out of the mouths of babes...
Labels:
Christianity,
Kids,
Media,
Nathaniel,
Parenting
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Scream!
Many of my friends enjoy horror movies. I hear my co-workers discuss how terrified they were at the latest slasher flick and recount with joy how they had horrible dreams afterward. When I say I don't like horror films (I still have occasional nightmares about "Silence of the Lambs"), they act shocked. "You have to work up to it," they say. "The more you watch, the more it won't bother you." Possibly true, but is that a good thing?
Should we inoculate ourselves against fear? Should we scratch ourselves with the sandpaper of horror flicks/books/media until we develop spiritual calluses? Should we desire nice little numb spots on our souls where we can't feel fear? Because there are real things in life to fear. A death without Christ, eternal damnation (yes, it's real, folks!), falling prey to the devil's schemes, the wrath of a just God: these are all things to be feared. But when we have numbed our souls to fear we cannot rightly feel the fear we should. Pain is a gift (just ask a leper), just as real fear is a gift. We are scared of jumping off a cliff because of a little thing called gravity.
The old hymn says, "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved..." God has given us healthy fear so we will understand the gravity of the judgment to come. But He has also given us a release from fear - the assurance of salvation through His Son. I think this is what is meant by I John 4:18, "There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out all fear." We need not fear judgment and damnation when we are saved by the One who loved us and gave Himself up for us.
Should we inoculate ourselves against fear? Should we scratch ourselves with the sandpaper of horror flicks/books/media until we develop spiritual calluses? Should we desire nice little numb spots on our souls where we can't feel fear? Because there are real things in life to fear. A death without Christ, eternal damnation (yes, it's real, folks!), falling prey to the devil's schemes, the wrath of a just God: these are all things to be feared. But when we have numbed our souls to fear we cannot rightly feel the fear we should. Pain is a gift (just ask a leper), just as real fear is a gift. We are scared of jumping off a cliff because of a little thing called gravity.
The old hymn says, "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved..." God has given us healthy fear so we will understand the gravity of the judgment to come. But He has also given us a release from fear - the assurance of salvation through His Son. I think this is what is meant by I John 4:18, "There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out all fear." We need not fear judgment and damnation when we are saved by the One who loved us and gave Himself up for us.
Labels:
Christianity,
Media
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Voice over
Last month, our little pfamily went on a trip to see relatives. Being cheap, I mean, frugal, we have not purchased a DVD player for the minivan. But since we were going on a long trip we toted along our TV/DVD combo that we use for our homeschooling math and science lessons. The children could watch a few movies each direction and dh and I were spared listening to The Laurie Berkner Band CD on repeat.
We had purchased a few new movies for the trip and the kids had a blast watching Robots and Curious George. As we were talking in the front seat, dh and I tried to identify the actors and actresses who did the voice overs for the cartoon characters. (Phil is much better at this than I am). When he mentioned one of the actor's names, I struggled a bit. I had heard of this actor before, but couldn't really remember what his voice sounded like, because I'd only seen him in one movie and it was quite some time ago.
This struck me as a spiritual principle. I could not tell that the voice of this robot belonged to that actor because I was not very familiar with the sound of that actor's voice. I had heard it once, but not recently.
We are the same way with the LORD. Often Christians complain that we can't hear God speaking to us. Maybe the problem is that while God is speaking, we have forgotten what His voice sounds like. We have not spent enough time in prayer and in His Word to know what His voice is like. We can't tell the voice of the Holy Spirit from the voice of our culture because we have not cultivated our recognition.
Makes me want to turn off the TV and tune in to the Word of God. I can live without knowing that Mel Brooks is the voice of Bigweld, but I cannot live well without knowing the voice of my Creator.
We had purchased a few new movies for the trip and the kids had a blast watching Robots and Curious George. As we were talking in the front seat, dh and I tried to identify the actors and actresses who did the voice overs for the cartoon characters. (Phil is much better at this than I am). When he mentioned one of the actor's names, I struggled a bit. I had heard of this actor before, but couldn't really remember what his voice sounded like, because I'd only seen him in one movie and it was quite some time ago.
This struck me as a spiritual principle. I could not tell that the voice of this robot belonged to that actor because I was not very familiar with the sound of that actor's voice. I had heard it once, but not recently.
We are the same way with the LORD. Often Christians complain that we can't hear God speaking to us. Maybe the problem is that while God is speaking, we have forgotten what His voice sounds like. We have not spent enough time in prayer and in His Word to know what His voice is like. We can't tell the voice of the Holy Spirit from the voice of our culture because we have not cultivated our recognition.
Makes me want to turn off the TV and tune in to the Word of God. I can live without knowing that Mel Brooks is the voice of Bigweld, but I cannot live well without knowing the voice of my Creator.
Labels:
Christianity,
Media,
Philip
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Have they lost their minds?
Last week my handsome husband and I went out on a date. It was his turn to choose the movie and he chose the latest Mel Gibson flick, Apocolypto (http://apocalypto.movies.go.com/). We settled down in our seats at the dollar theater and I was somewhat surprised to see many parents with young children (the movie is rated "R"). About 15 minutes into the show the violence began. First, the protagonist's village in the rain forest is raided. It showed the brutal capture of the adults, the rape of some of the women and the abandonment of the children. I looked around to make sure parents were covering their children's eyes. Nope.
The movie continued to grow progressively more violent. Halfway through, the captives are lead into the Mayan capitol and three of them are sacrificed to the sun god. It showed their abdomens being sliced and their beating hearts being ripped from their chests before they are beheaded. It was gruesome. I had to cover my eyes. Surely the parents should be standing up and taking their children home at this point, right? Nope.
From that point on, the movie continued down the same violent path, showing, among other acts, stabbings, beatings, spearings, and impalements. I got up at one point to use the bathroom and heard a small boy (around 4) saying to his mom "this movie is scary." She told him to "shut up, it's just pretend." I was astounded. I went and had dry heaves in the toilet I was so upset about the poor children being subjected to this.
What is wrong with our culture when this is considered appropriate parenting? Why did the parents take their children to an "R" rated movie? If it was in err, why didn't they stand up and leave when the movie showed it's true colors? My husband pointed out that they probably just found that it was cheaper to buy tickets to the dollar theater than pay a babysitter. Ugh. Part of being a parent is doing what is best for your child. That means sucking it up and going to see "Flushed Away" or another G-rated, kid friendly flick when you cannot afford a sitter.
It seems sad to me that so many children are exposed to horrible violence like this on TV, in movies and in video games. These same kids later become angry, violent, rebellious teens and young adults. Why are we so surprised? We fill their minds with violence and wonder why violence is the end product. Maybe one reason our young people are angry is because they should have been protected.
Recently a friend was criticizing us for our plans to homeschool next year. "You don't want your kids to be sheltered, do you?" she asked. Yes! I do want my children sheltered. What is the opposite of sheltered, exposed? I certainly don't want my sweet, impressionable, vulnerable children exposed to the nastiness, amoral sexuality and senseless violence of this world. I want to allow their minds to be free from that garbage until they are old enough and have the moral foundation to process it. We certainly revel in the idea of the Lord being a refuge and shelter to us ("For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe." Ps 61:3), yet we want to deny our children the God-ordained refuge of parental discretion, forcing them to fend for themselves in a perverse world far before their hearts and minds are ready.
Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, 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." This is what we should be filling our children's minds with: pure, lovely admirable, true, noble, right, excellent and praiseworthy things.
The movie continued to grow progressively more violent. Halfway through, the captives are lead into the Mayan capitol and three of them are sacrificed to the sun god. It showed their abdomens being sliced and their beating hearts being ripped from their chests before they are beheaded. It was gruesome. I had to cover my eyes. Surely the parents should be standing up and taking their children home at this point, right? Nope.
From that point on, the movie continued down the same violent path, showing, among other acts, stabbings, beatings, spearings, and impalements. I got up at one point to use the bathroom and heard a small boy (around 4) saying to his mom "this movie is scary." She told him to "shut up, it's just pretend." I was astounded. I went and had dry heaves in the toilet I was so upset about the poor children being subjected to this.
What is wrong with our culture when this is considered appropriate parenting? Why did the parents take their children to an "R" rated movie? If it was in err, why didn't they stand up and leave when the movie showed it's true colors? My husband pointed out that they probably just found that it was cheaper to buy tickets to the dollar theater than pay a babysitter. Ugh. Part of being a parent is doing what is best for your child. That means sucking it up and going to see "Flushed Away" or another G-rated, kid friendly flick when you cannot afford a sitter.
It seems sad to me that so many children are exposed to horrible violence like this on TV, in movies and in video games. These same kids later become angry, violent, rebellious teens and young adults. Why are we so surprised? We fill their minds with violence and wonder why violence is the end product. Maybe one reason our young people are angry is because they should have been protected.
Recently a friend was criticizing us for our plans to homeschool next year. "You don't want your kids to be sheltered, do you?" she asked. Yes! I do want my children sheltered. What is the opposite of sheltered, exposed? I certainly don't want my sweet, impressionable, vulnerable children exposed to the nastiness, amoral sexuality and senseless violence of this world. I want to allow their minds to be free from that garbage until they are old enough and have the moral foundation to process it. We certainly revel in the idea of the Lord being a refuge and shelter to us ("For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe." Ps 61:3), yet we want to deny our children the God-ordained refuge of parental discretion, forcing them to fend for themselves in a perverse world far before their hearts and minds are ready.
Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, 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." This is what we should be filling our children's minds with: pure, lovely admirable, true, noble, right, excellent and praiseworthy things.
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