[308 words]
You are watching a movie on TV or DVD. You are really rooting for the hero to overcome the obstacles before him so that he can ride off into the sunset. Suddenly it dawns on you: “I should not be rooting for this guy!” He has been violating the law! He has conquered every adversity via violence! He has told one lie after another! Every word out of his mouth has been filth! There have been numerous scenes of barrooms and bedrooms. He is in the process of taking another man’s wife! Correction: He is happy in an openly gay relationship.
“What am I doing rooting for this guy?” Hollywood! Hollywood is the devil’s most effective tool in desensitizing us! All the “pretty people” are telling us: “Evil is not evil, evil is not to be shunned, evil is glamour, evil is to be welcomed into your living room…and into your life!” Wrong! So wrong! We think of the words of Isaiah: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20). Be warned!
Hollywood does not stop at promoting immorality; it belittles morality. Those who believe in God and stand up ethically are portrayed as unlearned, narrow-minded, bigoted and moronic. Solomon wrote, “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 17:15). The Master said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).
“What am I doing watching this?” Watch what you are watching! Watch what your children are watching! You do not want to ride off into the sunset with the wrong values! Cervantes said, “Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.”
Dwight Fuqua
Findlay church of Christ
Sparta, TN